wie zal het hardst *werken*
Things that would makes us even more popular for immigrants - less contentious, more collaborative politics - a more diverse and creative media - harder policing of gangsters, traffickers and fraudsters - more reliable and extensive public transport - better, cheaper, less exploitative housing
I think people want to live in the UK because we're OK but not perfect. - changeable but survivable climate - mostly honest and impartial civil service - not too patriarchal: supportive of women - sort of businesslike and entrepreneurial - generally free to say what we like - good at education
This is just me. Everyone in Britain could tell similar stories. I am so tired of simplistic headlines, political dog whistles and the fomenting of hatred around immigration. Can we please all discuss the subject in a civilised, nuanced and kind manner for a while? End of rant.
Just outside Cambridge there are Czech slaves working in McDonalds, trafficked Vietnamese farming marijuana in Fenland houses, and Eastern European fruit and veg pickers shopping in Sainsbury's of Thetford alongside American military families. 8/n
Many of our local immigrants have come here via America, their ethnic origins having been previously diluted and mixed with other stocks in Seattle, New York, Washington and Boston. One of the Chinese had previously been a journalist in Brazil. 7/n
The people I've described as "Indian" so far have been Tamil, Punjabi, Sikhs of East African heritage, Sri Lankan, Bengali and other (unknown). The people I've described as "Chinese" are from Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore. 6/n
The amazingly clever people in the Cambridge work places of my son and his partner are Chinese, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Belgian, Azerbaijani and Indian 5/n
My sons have attended weddings of their friends this year to Japanese, Zoroastrian Iranian, Azerbaijani and Indian partners. 4/n
My barber is a Kurdish moslem from a traditionally Christian outpost in Eastern Turkey. My mother in law is looked after by Brazilian, Indonesian and Indian carers in her nursing home. 3/n