ChomskyFan wrote:The concept of 'Integration' also incenses me. If 'Integration' means paying your taxes, being a generally respectable member of society and respecting the rule of law (within your own political beliefs), then yes, I would agree with it. But I get the feeling Mr. Clarke and Co. want everyone to sort of 'become' English.
You're missing the point CF. The problem with immigration into this country has been the creation of ethnic 'ghettos' in some areas of our cities. This has created a particular problem particularly between the Pakistani and Bengali communities and the rest of society in that there has not been any connection between mainstream society and these communities. I had the misfortune of living in Luton for a couple of years and driving through the Bury Park area of that city was like entering a new country. Also, as a pretty liberal kind of guy, I actually felt intimidated even driving through there as you did get stared at as if you didn't belong, if you stopped at the traffic lights you would get a car pulling alongside you with its occupants literally scowling at you, it was quite bizarre.
I don't want everyone to become English, but when you enter a country and make it your home, you should at least attempt to connect with its host communities. Many immigrant groups that have entered the country and done so, like Indian Hindus and Sikhs, the asian immigrants from East Africa and indeed the GC and TCs have made positive connections with mainstream English society and have reaped the rewards in terms of wealth, education etc., where they tend to outperform the average. However, in the case of the Pakistani and Bengali communities, the same cannot be said. My wife taught in a school in Luton and was confronted at the start of term by 6 year old children who had been born in the UK yet could not speak a word of English - they were thus disadvantaged from the very genesis of their school experience and this feeds right up through to GCSE and A-level results, where kids from these communities are way below the national average.
It's therefore a case of getting away from this ghetto culture, where no mixing is encouraged. Many of those who bombed in London on July 7th were the product of such a culture and felt total disassociation from British society which made it far easier to attack it.
I've lived in a number of countries around the world and my aim has always been to get as close to the mainstream culture as possible because you can learn and gain so much. When I ultimately move to Cyprus in a few years, my aim is to embrace Cypriot culture wholeheartedly in terms of speaking Greek (and some Turkish), an aim which I am already adopting in the UK through learning the language, listening to Greek and Turkish music and studying the history of the island extensively. I feel that this is the approach that I will gain most from, and that if adopted by others they would gain most from too.
