Before I begin, I feel with this blog I am about to type that I need to put some form of disclaimer beforehand that I'm not racist, fascist or member of the BNP or EDL etc. My godfather (though I wasn't christened I must add) is an Afro-Caribbean gentleman and I grew up in a family that embraced foreign people and the multicultural society we've had for decades. However sadly it's not the done thing to talk about foreign people or immigration these days, people get uneasy or angry about it and most generally want to avoid such conversations, unless it is something that suddenly affects them of course. We've become a 'bite your lip' nation mostly when it comes to talking about such matters, even the political aspects of it.
It occurred to me this morning whilst paying my last council tax instalment 'Do we really know how many Eastern Europeans are actually here in the UK?'. The notion was instigated by an Eastern European man in the queue asking in broken English 'Please, give me form for council house?'.
I must confess I felt uneasy at this because I believe (and I hope) that preferential treatment should always be given to British nationals for that sort of accommodation. Usually such schemes go on points and rightly so but it left me wondering just how easy it actually is for foreign people to get into British council housing? Only today reports have been released that indicate immigrants do take British jobs. I'm sure the report is valid, though I don't read the actual paper the headline was in. Migration Watch the none political website also ran an article on the 9th of this month saying youth unemployment and immigration are more than a coincidence. All said and done I'd hope British people are always put before foreign applicants, even if they are unemployed. Recent reports have said there is a real shortage of council accommodation and unfortunately we always have a supply of single mums or old people here needing it despite peoples opinions on it and we should look after our own first.
Most British people actually feel there are too many foreign people here, especially Eastern European and they'll quietly say so. This doesn't mean they are racist because most of those people will actually know Indian or Afro Caribbean people either as friends or in the work place or even just to exchange small talk with down the local curry house or takeaway.
Before I go into where I actually stand on it politically and personally, I think a paraphrased history lesson is in order to better understand my viewpoint and understanding of our British multicultural society.
Post world war two we welcomed many Free Polish people that had gallantly fought either in the British army or as part of the free Polish forces. These Polish people settled into British life, in some cases married British partners and worked in industry, in my area it was the coal mines they worked in mostly. They integrated into British life and became British citizens whilst still retaining their culture. Over the next few decades that Polish population grew slightly as some escaped the Iron curtain and made their way to Britain. You'd see Polish working mens clubs back when I was young or even Ukrainian clubs of the same nature but that generation of Eastern European very much settled into the English way of life and culture, were hard working and an asset to the country and more importantly 'integrated'.
In the 1950s Britain of course there was a post war man power shortage and people were invited from within the commonwealth to come and work here, especially in the cities where there was a shortage of labour. Many did come, they settled and they became proud citizens, adopting their new country but also bringing their culture with them, in time multicultural Britain flourished and was welcomed by most of the native population. I love the fact this country has a fusion of different cultures, that we have our Indian and Chinese cuisine, fantastic foreign doctors and health workers and many others too numerous to mention.
Its with some irony that generations down the line immigrants that settled here long ago and integrated are also against the mass influx of Eastern Europeans.
Coming back to the present day influx. Are East Europeans actually to blame? Of course not, they want better pay and gainful employment and most of course have a strong work ethic.
So what are my objections and problems with it?
Firstly the new wave of incoming Eastern Europeans don't mix very well like past generations did. They open Polish food shops and generally stick to their own, I don't see how such shops benefit our economy, they only import food stuff to serve the local Eastern Europeans. You rarely see Eastern European people mixing in our communal society, it's become a 'them and us' mentality, they should ideally take heed from those that settled here generations ago. This brings me to the point the new influx are kind of here in a mercenary capacity if you'll excuse the phrase. This is because they are getting used to the system here and it's benefits, especially health care, welfare and housing. That said we have mercenaries of our own, landlords that charge high rents for small houses that many are forced to share. This of course has led to a shortfall in our own private housing and increased rents before of greedy British landlords, so our own suffer as well as foreigners being ripped off in many cases.
It all boils down to the money at the end of the day, that's the sad thing. They come here, earn money and many send it home or go back home with some, which again isn't putting into our economy. The fact many have come here and will work for low wages has undercut British workers and tradesmen, that's why wages have fell and living standards dropped. Nobody bothers with local green grocers anymore, they go to 'poundstretchers' or supermarkets instead but I'm not blaming that on migrants (though they do like their Poundstretchers). Our own Employment agencies actively work with representatives in countries such as Poland to bring foreign work in, locally here its in warehouse, factory or farm work. Again, this is a political issue that should be addressed because the government should be monitoring this more and be actively involved with placing our own people, especially youngsters in such employment whether they moan about it or not because back in the day you worked regardless, you never really could pick and choose unless you were well educated or from a privileged background.
My view is really simple. I think the government knows there are real problems facing communities and services due to the influx of Eastern Europeans. Mr Cameron if you don't believe me try getting an appointment at a local doctors surgery then when you manage it take not on how many immigrants are there when you're sat waiting. Smaller provincial towns such as my own are awash with Eastern Europeans, whilst in a mobile phone shop the other day I was (beside the staff) the only English speaking person in there. This does of course feel odd at times, oddly enough had there been Afro-Caribbean or Indian people sat near me speaking English I wouldn't have given it a second thought. A friend recently once told me her town of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire has been nicknamed 'Wizbeckistan' by the locals, you don't need to muse why.
In the past I worked with homeless people in Nottingham, many of which were Eastern Europeans. Most of them had come to England to avoid problems back home for reasons mostly known to themselves though we did know many were on the run from authorities and were now leading life's of petty crime and begging on the streets of the city. Some of course had come expecting a better life, it wasn't so and so they lapsed into drinking and again, petty crime. The benefit system here doesn't usually pay out until Eastern Europeans have worked for a year and paid in, so things can often go wrong if they suddenly end up without employment. The sad thing was that most of the men I dealt with were 40+ years of age, spoke almost no English and had come here expecting to walk into a job regardless, the reality was different, this country has its own problems and people of their age weren't as employable, so began a descent into drink and desperation rather than go back and face the authorities or tell their family they had failed, such is the social stigma in Poland I am led to believe. So the above said, I can speak with some knowledge of how immigration doesn't work and needs to be monitored more because bluntly speaking we have many that simply shouldn't be here or our responsibility. It was only a few weeks ago that someone I once worked with, an elderly Polish gentlemen dropped dead outside McDonalds in Nottingham, friendless, cold, bereft of money and made to beg for others by his own countrymen. A thoroughly sad end to a life.
So, do I think there are too many Eastern Europeans here? Well that's a resounding yes, it's not their fault but the governments fault for letting too many in and buying into European dictated legislation etc. That said it's almost like the new wave of them don't actually give a damn for Great Britain as a nation and what it's about, they want to earn cash, keep to themselves and that's as far as their minds go. I for one on going abroad at least like to absorb as much of their culture as I can. I've seen Eastern Europeans get aggressive in a few instances in the past, once I was pushed away from an ATM machine in town by two Eastern European gents and couldn't do anything about it, though to be fair English people could have done the same but some immigrants do have a belligerent nature, possibly because they aren't at home so don't have to worry so much but maybe some is down to apprehension, cultural differences and the whole being 'en guard' in a strange place. I dunno really but it's there to be seen.
Am I racist? Well those who know me can see the answer to that or read it within this blog. I love the fact we have a multicultural society and generally are a very tolerant country compared to others. It's amazing that due to foreign doctors and specialists that the national health is so good and helps so many. I think it's great foreign students come here to study and take back a little bit of Great Britain with them and I feel proud of our multicultural heritage over the last few decades though some would argue it's a legacy brought upon us by our grand imperial days of the empire. There's some irony to the fact that most third world or Indian countries still see Britain as a mythical land of greatness and want to become 'British', you see them talking about it on tv, especially fleeing migrants or impoverished people with dreams of a better life. The same I feel cannot be said for many of the new wave of Eastern Europeans because if that was the case they'd be making more effort.
When I walk through the cities and towns of England now and hear so many foreign accents I wonder if we are losing our own 'British culture', have we sunk into an apathy of not fighting for our own, or our own jobs? Have we become more materialistic and less hard working (probably) and thus more immigrants coming here was inevitable? I can't help seeing stark contrasts between say 15 years ago and the present day and come to the conclusion the government has let us down and we've lost our initiative work wise. The new thing in the high street seems to be lots of salons full of Chinese people painting fingernails cheaply, why didn't we think of this or would we even want to do it? You really can't fault immigrants for being industrious in some ways but the bottom line is, with rising population and unemployment the government should be looking inwards towards our own, finding new employment initiatives and even encouraging apprenticeships that once was. If it all goes wrong then we only have ourselves to blame. Sadly the phrase 'Britain, the workshop of the world' will never be commonplace again, probably because immigration aside we readily give contracts out to foreign companies.
Anything in moderation is good but I honestly feel there are too many immigrants in this country now, and as I have said above, some without purpose and a good few taking jobs we should be making our own people do. Instead of a Polish lads doing a cheap car wash down the road it should be our own youngsters taking the initiative but I doubt that will happen because it again goes back to a sense of national apathy to a degree that we seem to have cultivated. I'm not leaning towards slating benefits here because many of us have used state benefits in the past either between jobs or because of ill health. It just seems to me the government and indeed past governments are largely out of touch with the changing social landscape and problems of this country, problems which I think that unchecked immigration are only compounding.
I sincerely hope that the foreign friends I have and cherish that work and reside here see my points above and think along the lines of their own nationalistic thoughts, own government faults or personal viewpoints and respect mine.
It occurred to me this morning whilst paying my last council tax instalment 'Do we really know how many Eastern Europeans are actually here in the UK?'. The notion was instigated by an Eastern European man in the queue asking in broken English 'Please, give me form for council house?'.
I must confess I felt uneasy at this because I believe (and I hope) that preferential treatment should always be given to British nationals for that sort of accommodation. Usually such schemes go on points and rightly so but it left me wondering just how easy it actually is for foreign people to get into British council housing? Only today reports have been released that indicate immigrants do take British jobs. I'm sure the report is valid, though I don't read the actual paper the headline was in. Migration Watch the none political website also ran an article on the 9th of this month saying youth unemployment and immigration are more than a coincidence. All said and done I'd hope British people are always put before foreign applicants, even if they are unemployed. Recent reports have said there is a real shortage of council accommodation and unfortunately we always have a supply of single mums or old people here needing it despite peoples opinions on it and we should look after our own first.
Most British people actually feel there are too many foreign people here, especially Eastern European and they'll quietly say so. This doesn't mean they are racist because most of those people will actually know Indian or Afro Caribbean people either as friends or in the work place or even just to exchange small talk with down the local curry house or takeaway.
Before I go into where I actually stand on it politically and personally, I think a paraphrased history lesson is in order to better understand my viewpoint and understanding of our British multicultural society.
Post world war two we welcomed many Free Polish people that had gallantly fought either in the British army or as part of the free Polish forces. These Polish people settled into British life, in some cases married British partners and worked in industry, in my area it was the coal mines they worked in mostly. They integrated into British life and became British citizens whilst still retaining their culture. Over the next few decades that Polish population grew slightly as some escaped the Iron curtain and made their way to Britain. You'd see Polish working mens clubs back when I was young or even Ukrainian clubs of the same nature but that generation of Eastern European very much settled into the English way of life and culture, were hard working and an asset to the country and more importantly 'integrated'.
In the 1950s Britain of course there was a post war man power shortage and people were invited from within the commonwealth to come and work here, especially in the cities where there was a shortage of labour. Many did come, they settled and they became proud citizens, adopting their new country but also bringing their culture with them, in time multicultural Britain flourished and was welcomed by most of the native population. I love the fact this country has a fusion of different cultures, that we have our Indian and Chinese cuisine, fantastic foreign doctors and health workers and many others too numerous to mention.
Its with some irony that generations down the line immigrants that settled here long ago and integrated are also against the mass influx of Eastern Europeans.
Coming back to the present day influx. Are East Europeans actually to blame? Of course not, they want better pay and gainful employment and most of course have a strong work ethic.
So what are my objections and problems with it?
Firstly the new wave of incoming Eastern Europeans don't mix very well like past generations did. They open Polish food shops and generally stick to their own, I don't see how such shops benefit our economy, they only import food stuff to serve the local Eastern Europeans. You rarely see Eastern European people mixing in our communal society, it's become a 'them and us' mentality, they should ideally take heed from those that settled here generations ago. This brings me to the point the new influx are kind of here in a mercenary capacity if you'll excuse the phrase. This is because they are getting used to the system here and it's benefits, especially health care, welfare and housing. That said we have mercenaries of our own, landlords that charge high rents for small houses that many are forced to share. This of course has led to a shortfall in our own private housing and increased rents before of greedy British landlords, so our own suffer as well as foreigners being ripped off in many cases.
It all boils down to the money at the end of the day, that's the sad thing. They come here, earn money and many send it home or go back home with some, which again isn't putting into our economy. The fact many have come here and will work for low wages has undercut British workers and tradesmen, that's why wages have fell and living standards dropped. Nobody bothers with local green grocers anymore, they go to 'poundstretchers' or supermarkets instead but I'm not blaming that on migrants (though they do like their Poundstretchers). Our own Employment agencies actively work with representatives in countries such as Poland to bring foreign work in, locally here its in warehouse, factory or farm work. Again, this is a political issue that should be addressed because the government should be monitoring this more and be actively involved with placing our own people, especially youngsters in such employment whether they moan about it or not because back in the day you worked regardless, you never really could pick and choose unless you were well educated or from a privileged background.
My view is really simple. I think the government knows there are real problems facing communities and services due to the influx of Eastern Europeans. Mr Cameron if you don't believe me try getting an appointment at a local doctors surgery then when you manage it take not on how many immigrants are there when you're sat waiting. Smaller provincial towns such as my own are awash with Eastern Europeans, whilst in a mobile phone shop the other day I was (beside the staff) the only English speaking person in there. This does of course feel odd at times, oddly enough had there been Afro-Caribbean or Indian people sat near me speaking English I wouldn't have given it a second thought. A friend recently once told me her town of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire has been nicknamed 'Wizbeckistan' by the locals, you don't need to muse why.
In the past I worked with homeless people in Nottingham, many of which were Eastern Europeans. Most of them had come to England to avoid problems back home for reasons mostly known to themselves though we did know many were on the run from authorities and were now leading life's of petty crime and begging on the streets of the city. Some of course had come expecting a better life, it wasn't so and so they lapsed into drinking and again, petty crime. The benefit system here doesn't usually pay out until Eastern Europeans have worked for a year and paid in, so things can often go wrong if they suddenly end up without employment. The sad thing was that most of the men I dealt with were 40+ years of age, spoke almost no English and had come here expecting to walk into a job regardless, the reality was different, this country has its own problems and people of their age weren't as employable, so began a descent into drink and desperation rather than go back and face the authorities or tell their family they had failed, such is the social stigma in Poland I am led to believe. So the above said, I can speak with some knowledge of how immigration doesn't work and needs to be monitored more because bluntly speaking we have many that simply shouldn't be here or our responsibility. It was only a few weeks ago that someone I once worked with, an elderly Polish gentlemen dropped dead outside McDonalds in Nottingham, friendless, cold, bereft of money and made to beg for others by his own countrymen. A thoroughly sad end to a life.
So, do I think there are too many Eastern Europeans here? Well that's a resounding yes, it's not their fault but the governments fault for letting too many in and buying into European dictated legislation etc. That said it's almost like the new wave of them don't actually give a damn for Great Britain as a nation and what it's about, they want to earn cash, keep to themselves and that's as far as their minds go. I for one on going abroad at least like to absorb as much of their culture as I can. I've seen Eastern Europeans get aggressive in a few instances in the past, once I was pushed away from an ATM machine in town by two Eastern European gents and couldn't do anything about it, though to be fair English people could have done the same but some immigrants do have a belligerent nature, possibly because they aren't at home so don't have to worry so much but maybe some is down to apprehension, cultural differences and the whole being 'en guard' in a strange place. I dunno really but it's there to be seen.
Am I racist? Well those who know me can see the answer to that or read it within this blog. I love the fact we have a multicultural society and generally are a very tolerant country compared to others. It's amazing that due to foreign doctors and specialists that the national health is so good and helps so many. I think it's great foreign students come here to study and take back a little bit of Great Britain with them and I feel proud of our multicultural heritage over the last few decades though some would argue it's a legacy brought upon us by our grand imperial days of the empire. There's some irony to the fact that most third world or Indian countries still see Britain as a mythical land of greatness and want to become 'British', you see them talking about it on tv, especially fleeing migrants or impoverished people with dreams of a better life. The same I feel cannot be said for many of the new wave of Eastern Europeans because if that was the case they'd be making more effort.
When I walk through the cities and towns of England now and hear so many foreign accents I wonder if we are losing our own 'British culture', have we sunk into an apathy of not fighting for our own, or our own jobs? Have we become more materialistic and less hard working (probably) and thus more immigrants coming here was inevitable? I can't help seeing stark contrasts between say 15 years ago and the present day and come to the conclusion the government has let us down and we've lost our initiative work wise. The new thing in the high street seems to be lots of salons full of Chinese people painting fingernails cheaply, why didn't we think of this or would we even want to do it? You really can't fault immigrants for being industrious in some ways but the bottom line is, with rising population and unemployment the government should be looking inwards towards our own, finding new employment initiatives and even encouraging apprenticeships that once was. If it all goes wrong then we only have ourselves to blame. Sadly the phrase 'Britain, the workshop of the world' will never be commonplace again, probably because immigration aside we readily give contracts out to foreign companies.
Anything in moderation is good but I honestly feel there are too many immigrants in this country now, and as I have said above, some without purpose and a good few taking jobs we should be making our own people do. Instead of a Polish lads doing a cheap car wash down the road it should be our own youngsters taking the initiative but I doubt that will happen because it again goes back to a sense of national apathy to a degree that we seem to have cultivated. I'm not leaning towards slating benefits here because many of us have used state benefits in the past either between jobs or because of ill health. It just seems to me the government and indeed past governments are largely out of touch with the changing social landscape and problems of this country, problems which I think that unchecked immigration are only compounding.
I sincerely hope that the foreign friends I have and cherish that work and reside here see my points above and think along the lines of their own nationalistic thoughts, own government faults or personal viewpoints and respect mine.
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