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What David Blunkett said...
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
He said that ethnic minorities should make more of an effort to fit in in Britain, ie. by learning the language and integrating in society rather than having separate areas and schools. What do you think? I think it's natural for big cities to develop Jewish/Muslim/Sikh/etc areas but I do think people should learn English. Minority "community leaders" have said that what DB said is fuelling racists. I think DB is a good politician compared to most. He says he won't pander to the politically correct brigade anymore.
It said in a report into the race riots that one of the reasons they happened was because white people were annoyed at the amount of government money being put into "ethnic minority" areas and facilities.
Let me know what your opinions are. <IMG alt="image" SRC="smile.gif" border="0"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="confused.gif" border="0"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="confused.gif" border="0">
It said in a report into the race riots that one of the reasons they happened was because white people were annoyed at the amount of government money being put into "ethnic minority" areas and facilities.
Let me know what your opinions are. <IMG alt="image" SRC="smile.gif" border="0"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="confused.gif" border="0"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="confused.gif" border="0">
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Comments
You say its natural that people form jewish,muslim,sikh areas in cities. Unfortunately this is true and our govt encourages it....That kind of segregation does nothing but stoke racist attitudes. You cant have integration in everyday life if people are living apart and only get to see people of their own race/group.
May I ask what group your parents were from KT? Jews, Poles?
I think its essential that people keep hold of their identity when they come to this country. However, holding onto your identity and traditions is a whole lot different than setting up a mini version of your old country inside the UK. Teaching people to speak the language of their new country can provide nothing but good results. I wouldnt go to Pakistan and expect to get by just speaking English, they wouldnt put up with it..We on the other hand are perfectly happy writing our census forms in punjabi and hiring interpreters for everyone who cant be arsed to learn the language.
Asylum seekers, we have a moral obligation to take them in and give them support in the form of food and shelter. These people should only have to learn English and about the UK culture if they are planning on staying indefinately.
Illegal immigrations I really dont have much time for. They should be deported as soon as they are found. They arent fleeing persecution and are simply looking for a better life. Now thats not a bad thing in itself but when they sneak into the country illegally then thats when problems arise. You cant just have people running round the country without being known about. They can avoid paying taxes and it all just contributes to the black economy.
It's very sad to read about people who are so desperate to get here that they will risk death.
Last year 2 African boys (don't know what country specifically, sorry) were found in the luggage part of a plane at a British airport, dead. They had a note with them saying they wanted to highlight the desperation of their people.
Who can blame people for wanting to come here, to a free country with lots of jobs going?
It just feels like many refugees can't win-if they are on benefits, they are "scrounging", but if they are working, they are "stealing our jobs".
One thing that bugs me is that any European person coming to the UK can have free English lessons but any British person in another country has to pay to learn the native language. Fair? I think not.
We are a rich country. We can afford to support refugees for a while, until their claims are processed. Unfortunately our govt wont let them work at present, even when some of them are doctors and nurses. I can honestly say that I have never heard someone say 'they are stealing our jobs'..That seems like a stereotype from the 70s racist groups. Our govt should change its policies. They should keep the new refugees/asylum seekers in secure accomodation until their applications are processed. If they are genuine asylum seekers then they should be given housing and given the option to work.
In Birmingham my home town, there are loads of refugees, especially young men from Kosovo and Albania. My friend's boyfriend is a refugee from Kosovo and he worked in a factory for a bit, the guy refused to pay the men that worked there so my friend went down there are threatened to report him if he didn't pay them.
I don't come down on any side, but I get really annoyed when people talk about "dirty refugees" and slag them off. Each story is different and it's a disgusting form of racism that seems acceptable. I have had arguments with people at home over this. They just agree with whatever the papers shove down their throats, if they actually got to know a real refugee and saw that they are human they would not do that.
It costs about £500 million a year, again Gov't data, to sort them out.
While they are being sorted out they cost money and are a drain on the resources that are all ready failing.
True asylums seekers welcome the bogus ones can piss off.
peacechild
I do agree with what you have said, however do you not feel it is these scenario's that are the source of some problems ? generally asylum seekers are housed in inner city council estates where unemployment is high, seeing them ushered in and getting jobs must provoke racial tension ? I do feel asylum seekers should be welcomed and helped, as we as a country are in a position to do so, but i also feel that neglecting our own needs into the bargain is a dangerous combination. I also have to hold my hands up and admit i have no solution <IMG alt="image" SRC="confused.gif" border="0"> to this.
I just wanted to say a little about assylum seekers.
One problem with the placement of refugees is the way in which governments do it.
I was brought up on a small farm in a remote part of Ireland. The town has a population of a couple of hundred, mostly farmers. A couple of years ago around 80 Refugees were housed in a holiday village (off season) in the area which more or less doubled the population. The refugees spoke little English and were given a limited amount of help to do so, the were not allowed to work.
This ultimately led to great annoyance in the area because little was done to integrate this new community, both sides became suspicious and the atmosphere was one of dislike and distrust.
It's the same kind of thing that happened in Scotland last year. Place a load of foreigners (cos that's what they are really) within a poor strugling community who already feel that they are forgotten by the government, and resentments arise.
there must be a better way? Pewrhaps they could be placed in Kensington.
But I think that they should be spread out more evenly so both middle and 'lowe' class areas have to accept the responsibility.
The whites moving out when blacks move in does also happen these days but not as often as a few years back..I believe its called 'white flight'.
I agree, i'm not sure us doing everything for them solves anything in the long term. We can offer them asylum, a temporary base, education of the english language and culture and then let them go out into the country and get on with it ! perhaps designating them an area to avoid congregation. laying on the present welcoming party isn't working
So why don't they then integrate?
I'm not sure that a pledge of alligence will help, but I do think that English lessons should be compulsory - if you don't attend then you should be deported...