In praise of multi-culturalism
My mother was Italian and came to Britain in 1946 when she married my father who was stationed in Italy with the Royal Air Force. My wife’s father was Czech and married her mother in 1942 when he had fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to fly with the wartime RAF. Our son did a degree in International Relations and currently lives and works in Kenya.
We live in London, the most ethnically diverse city on earth. In our road, our immediate neighbours include Irish, Cypriot, Spanish, Polish, Indian, Pakistani, Lebanese and Filipino. A near neighbour was a Kenyan Asian who was expelled from his country of birth.
Our postman is Nepalese, our doctor is Indian, our newsagent is Sri Lankan, our dry cleaner is Pakistani, my dentist is Iranian, my hairdresser is Greek Cypriot, and our local cab company is staffed by Tamils. Our friends include Jews, Muslims and Hindus and even a few Christians. Our closest friends come from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the United States, South Africa and China.
I never tire off visiting new countries and experiencing new cultures, So far, I’ve been to 68 other nations and I’d like to visit a few more if I can. It’s a wonderfully diverse world. Let’s celebrate that.
May 8th, 2016 at 1:02 pm
I live in a small village, our postman is from Pakistan, our village shop is run by Sikhs who hail from Birmingham and without them we would be at a total loss.
The policeman is a Czech. My local hospital is staffed by people from all over the world. The two specialist care homes in the village are mainly staffed with people from the Phillipines, Jamaica.
There are also people from different parts of the UK.
I do not have a clue about their beliefs and I am not interested either. The village is a working class village and the Village Hall is open 7 days a week with all sorts of educational, fun, exercise, classes, carving, photography, walking groups ad infinitum. And clubs for the kids.
We all get along just fine.
May 8th, 2016 at 4:09 pm
Good to hear, Mavis.
May 9th, 2016 at 6:50 am
Although we are less diverse here in the north of England, we still have a rich mixture of cultures.
It is pleasing to wander around Newcastle and mingle with people of all nationalities. It is a good feeling to be a citizen of the world.
May 9th, 2016 at 10:33 am
I agree, Alan. But not everyone does and we need to defend multiculturalism from the likes of Donald Trump and various political parties in Europe.