A Growing Problem for Immigrants

If you were the Minister of Immigration in the UK, would you change anything about it? Would you make it impossible for immigrants to get accepted in the country or would you accept them with open arms? Personally, I believe that no one should be discriminated against based on gender, race or ethnicity; rather I would invoke a stricter rule in regards to who gets accepted into the country and who doesn’t. Likewise in the article, I would seek immigrants who have a great background in education as well as excellent work experience in their career field. I also agree with the article in regards to the factor that many immigrants must acquire a good knowledge of the language. Many British stereotypes about immigrants are that they believe that immigrants do not integrate well into the British society. But I ask myself, is it really the immigrants who cannot integrate into British society or is it the fact that British society doesn’t want them to fit into “their society”? I think this is the problem in Britain, maybe even a problem throughout the world. It’s the fact that people are so ignorant about themselves that they do not see where the actual problem starts. Sure, I’ll applaud the government for trying to gain more knowledgeable and experienced immigrants, which will obviously benefit their economy but I will not applaud them for their stupid remarks when they say immigrants “do not integrate” well into society. This message by the government will not only send out negative views toward the public, but the citizens will start to develop these views, which eventually escalate into greater problems such as racism, xenophobia, etc.

How can an immigrant possibly integrate into British society when they get ridiculed for the way they dress, their accent, their skin colour, and even their homeland traditions? I know that I for one could not possibly combine well into a society if everything about me is made a mockery. Why must people exile immigrants for who they are, for where they come from? I just don’t understand how our world cannot live in one unified, peaceful world where nothing matters about who you are, where you’re from, etc. Why do they have to be completely British and forget about their homeland? Immigrants are unique for who they are and what they bring with them. The traditions, experiences, and stories the immigrants bring will help create a greater community. Take for example Canada. Now these may seem very biased opinions because I’m from Canada, but what I tell you is completely true. Canada has to be the most diverse country in the world through my experiences living there. Are we experiencing any problems regarding immigration? I don’t think we are! Instead, we are encouraging more and more immigrants to come to Canada. Everyone gets along in Canada; the fact that Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, and Asians get along should be a model to everyone. Why are we still complaining about these issues? Why are we making such a mockery of immigrants, when in fact we should all be united as one, caring for each other! This puzzles me every day; I cannot get over the fact that we are still living in the past when this was a problem, but surely now this cannot continue.

One day during my lifetime, I hope to see everyone share the same view as me: each and every one of us walking down the streets together. But in reality, this problem will never dissolve. But, being the person I am, I’ll continue to dream about the world I want to live in and, hopefully one day, everyone will be respected for who he or she is on the inside.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1805883.stm
BBC News
February 7, 2002