According to the quality journalistic broadsheet that is Daily Mail, the face of the immigrant is a fat, lazy, scrounging Somali woman who is awarded a six bedroom semi by the council in Chelsea, and who takes self righteous, almost religious reproductive pleasure in pushing out an Aisha every year for an additional £86 a month in benefits. The face of the immigrant is the builder Pole who works on weekends at a dirt-cheap rate and who has stolen the honest British man on the Clapham omnibus' living (irrespective of whether or not the man actually wants to make a living). The face of the immigrant is the man or woman on permanent job seeker's allowance who spends it buying trainers at JJB sports, teenage moms with gold teeth in Brixton who frequent Chicken Cottage, the Jamaican "bad-bwoy" youth in Walthamstow stabbing innocent locals, the Pakistani who refuses to speak English and whose only contribution is a good curry, the "hordes" of Bangladeshis who "swamp" the local area and reduce house prices. Well, surprise lads, the face of the immigrant is mine.
On my first impression of the UK, I did not want to live in it. Who would? It was permanently grey, sublimely murky, and unfashionably dull. I wished the Siberian winds in Cambridge could blow me back home. The weather was depressing and the stiff British upper lip contrasted starkly with the belly rolling laughter of island life. I could not get the fascination with tea- coffee was so much better. I couldn't understand why people walked so fast all the time even if they were not in a hurry. I didn't like Marmite. Or baked beans on toast. Or velour track suit bottoms. The taste, the smell, the colour and the vibrance of the Caribbean stayed with me like the memory of a good lover, they were gently pulling at my heartstrings and wooing me back. I certainly had no intention to stay. Grenada was and still is home. And certainly, New York or Miami seemed brighter, more cosmopolitan, more colourful, more fun. Europe was my adventure into culture much in the same way as backpacking around Thailand or Africa was the adventure for many British young people.
Almost ten years later, I am still here. Why? Because I was taught that success was not the birthright of any one, least of all, those who because of the lottery of birthplace feel so entitled. Britain is one of the places where I can obtain myriad opportunities and have the chance to be successful in my field and I deserve the right, as long as I am honest and hardworking citizen of the world, to prepare a better place for me and my family. British workers once flocked to the West Indies to capitalise on our sugar- they bled us dry, they congregated on the shores of India and the Far East seeking expensive spices and silks, 17% of the UK population swamped the United States for commercial opportunities in the nineteenth century. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Brits leave the UK to take up hallowed status in embassies, government, industry, around the world. They drive up house and land prices in Barbados and St. Lucia, they have changed the cultural fascia of the coastal towns of Portugal and Spain. It is for the same reason we come to Britain, with a steely glint in our eyes. Why should we let arbitrary factors like nationality and geography determine our fate and our place in the world? Just like you, we want to be where it's at. And quite frankly, I don't give a rat's arse if anyone has a problem with that.
I worked hard for my degrees and for my job and so did most of my fellow migrant workers. Whilst most students I knew got a loan to pay for the LPC, I had three part time jobs and juggled the role full time student. I spent days, if not weeks poring over job applications, proving and overproving my worth. I trained for a number of years. I poured tea and coffee for senior management. I spent hours lost in hundreds of thousands of documents. I did my time. For six years. Most immigrants I know are like me. Even those migrant workers I know who are what we would term unskilled workers and who arrived via the student or marriage route are not content to sit at home to wait on the government for a measly weekly cheque. We came here for a better life, not for an easy one. We often work jobs way below the skill and education level of that which we are qualified to do. The security guard at a law firm I know is an ACCA qualified accountant. My cousin, who has an MBA manages a shop. Sometimes, even when we succeed in finding a job, we are often paid less than British workers. Fact. We live in a country that is for the most part, not the most welcoming and discard ourselves from any hubris all because we are jealous and envious. Jealous and envious of opportunity. The money that we earn often does not belong to us, they belong to our families, our communities and we are therefore more watchful, more focused, more driven.
We are not entitled to claim benefits. We do not qualify for government assisted housing or special payment schemes to get on the housing ladder. We do not have access to student loans. We pay our fair share of taxes but have no safety net if the proverbial shit hits the fan. If we are made redundant we cannot use government funded agencies like JobCentre Plus. We are not eligible for most grants and tax allowances. In higher education we pay four times as much as home students. We pay our national insurance without complaint. We pay exorbitant "visa" fees. We work very hard and face the same challenges that you face, plus more. After saving up tooth and nail for a deposit, we are more likely to be refused credit for a home purchase. We are refused what most people take for granted- a telephone contract, a credit card, a store card, a free bank account. This seems to make no difference to the average Jack on the street. Immigration is the biggest single issue in British politics.
According to the Daily Mail, 98% of the new jobs created over the last few years were awarded, on a platter, to immigrants. The fact that this statistic is implausible and quite frankly, ridiculous did not matter to the 2,495 zealots who commented on the report and cried shame on the UK government. Equally, The British National Party, a party whose founder John Tyndall describes Mein Kampf as his Bible, foams at the teeth: non white people must absolutely not be allowed to stay, even if their parents were born on British soil, they should be regarded as "permanent guests". The BNP's immigration "policy" (if you can call it that) wishes to not only deport over 2 million illegal immigrants, but also to review all recent grants of residence and citizenship (a breach of the rule of law), to offer generous grants to persons of foreign descent who wish to leave the UK permanently, to stop all new immigration and to reject all asylum seekers who pass safe countries on their way to Britain. I knew Nick Griffin is off his rockers but if he thinks that genuine asylum seekers have a choice in where they choose to escape he is worse than I thought- a crazy idiot. What is scary is that the BNP appears to be appealing to lots of voters. How exactly do they intend to execute this neo-Nazi campaign to keep the bloodstock of Britain pure? Because for sure, this small group of Britons who think like this would not have a chance in hell of rounding up us black people on the streets of Peckham, Brixton, Lewisham and Catford. In no uncertain terms: we will get them before they get us.
Even the ones who were once regarded as moderate are up in arms. The Tories are vituperative and wish to entice potential BNP voters with their rhetoric. Immigration is out of control. Britain is being swamped. Uncontrolled immigration is leading to higher crime rates. It is a strain on the demand for more housing. The environment is suffering. Educational standards are being compromised. Immigrants drive down wages. Britain is suffering higher unemployment. There is a loss of British identity, a breakdown in community spirit. Immigration, it is alleged even causes higher council taxes, long hospital waiting lists, a shortage of council homes, and in general, wait for it, higher levels of stress and unhappiness. In the last election it was set out in no uncertain terms "Are you thinking what we're thinking?" In short, let's Blame The Immigrant for Everything. Jay Leno joked that the problem with immigration is not new and that the Indians in the United States had a short term name for it “white people” but on a more serious note, as Margaret Mead an American writer explained: “Society is very like a fish society. . . . Among certain species of fish, the only thing which determines order of dominance is length of time in the fishbowl. The oldest resident picks on the newest resident, and if the newest resident is removed to a new bowl, he, as oldest resident, will pick on the newcomers”. It was telling that the first question in the first Prime Ministerial debate was “What formula would you use to assure a clear working immigration policy?”
David Cameron promises to drive immigration down to tens of thousands and to place limits on the numbers of non EU migrants. That means I, and the other non EU graduates who are in law, investment banking, and medicine will have a tougher time of it, for no reason at all, even though our fields need the best individuals, irrespective of nationality. With respect, Tory Boy, we are not the ones that you need to target. Under European regulations, EU job seekers need to leave the UK if they do not find a job within three months. This is very scarcely utilised. Surely, it is a waste of resources to kick out functioning contributing members of the British economy? He then proposes tightening the belt around the already tight student visa system which will more than likely cause it to implode. Your universities already cannot function without our overinflated fees because the government refuses to award more funding to higher education. He then suggests English language tests for persons who marry British citizens. What is it with the Tory party and marriage? If I wish to marry a person who cannot speak English I think I have a constitutional right to do so. His backwards politics are certainly out of touch with the proletariat viewpoints (maybe in touch with his Eton alumni?) and probably only looks not out of place in his Royal Reader style manifesto. Him emphasising that he spoke to a 40 year old black man- he did not mention race in any of his other anecdotes- demonstrated the mindset of the Tories. We are always the “others”.
Nick Clegg, in the just concluded debate, appeared almost Obama inspired. Campaigning on fairness, and a change in the status quo, he was real and refreshing. The Lib Dem’s immigration policy appears fair and workable. They wish to reintroduce exit checks so that Britain can have a handle on who are leaving. Fair enough. They wish to accord citizenship to families residing in Britain and living in the paperless exploitative limboland for over 10 years. Fair enough. They also wish to improve the National Border Force. Fair enough. He then wishes to introduce a third element to the current points based system where migrant workers would only be allowed to enter in areas where there is a shortage. On first glance, this system appears fair but from a pure selfish point of view, it is here I depart with Nick- he seems to be penalising the City and workers like me.
Labour, because of their experience probably have the most detailed policy on the issue. My score is Must Improve. Their recent reform of the points system was decried as too harsh so the 1 April revision has succeeded in ensuring that Britain continues to retain the best and the brightest. Gordon closed the bogus colleges that gave student visa beneficiaries a bad name and he took action against rogue employers- the precise persons against which action should have been taken. I have concerns about the Migration Impacts Fund, which is no more than a tax by stealth. Labour’s reliance on ID cards to prove identity of foreigners also has an aura of the Deep South about it. Otherwise, electronic improvement of Border Controls seems fair.
It was heartening to see both Brown and Clegg dismiss Cameron's cap on immigration as unworkable. Talent would inevitably be stifled. Statistics issued by the BBC clearly show that Britain needs migrant workers. At the top end of international law and finance, people who can dialogue in different languages and across different cultures are the lifeblood of the industry. Migrants are needed to prop up the construction industry especially with the advent of large projects in London like Crossrail and the Olympics. The fruit picking industry would not survive without the Poles, who pick fruits in summer on British farms for low wages- jobs Britons feel entitled enough not to want to do. British people are not the ones doing catering, childcare and cleaning. The NHS stands on its legs thanks to foreign workers- Indian doctors, South African nurses and Caribbean administrators. Immigrants. Even private companies like Sainsbury’s are high in praise for foreign workers- they usually have a stronger work ethic. This is for the most part because we are more grateful. Vacancies in social work and counselling are also highly dependent on migrants- very few "indigenous" Brits wish to work in these highly valuable but poorly paid roles, or let’s be honest, have the inclination to pursue the qualifications necessary. For a lot of young British kids to whom I have explained my career path, the consensus is that university is "long" and a job requiring you to put in the hours is "nang". There are 7.7 million economically inactive Britain- persons who can work and who are not working, nor are they are not looking for work. This figure dwarfs the hundreds of thousands of migrants who come in every year.
Immigration is also the most sincere form of flattery. We want to stay in Britain because for the most part, this is a fair liberal-minded country. Britain is the hub of Europe; it thrives in culture and the arts. We stay because we build communities, families and friends. We stay because we grow to respect and love this way of life. How much greater would Great Britian be it would be if the British would overcome their fears. We are here to build not to destroy, to add not to subtract.
As Jean Jacques Rousseau said:
"The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying, This is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not anyone have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his fellows, “Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody.”
