Unit II

WARMING – UP

1. What do you think multiculturalism is?

2. Which countries can you call multicultural? Why?

3. What do you think advantages and disadvantages of multiculturalism are?

4. What are the reasons of immigration?

READING

1. Read the text and say if you’ve got the answers to the questions given above.

The development of multiculturalism

Why did so many people from different ethnic backgrounds come to Great Britain? As subjects of the British monarch, people from the Empire were expected to fight in all Brit­ain’s wars, and the part they played in both World Wars made a decisive difference to Brit­ain’s future. Faced with the massive task of reconstruction after the Second World War and acute labour shortages, the British government encouraged immigration, first from among European refugees exiled by the war, and then from Ireland and the Common­wealth. Before long, in some factories, the great majority of workers were Black or Asian: Afro-Caribbeans from the West Indies as well as from the mainland territories of Guyana and Belize, and immigrants from Hong Kong and the Indian subcontinent. Prior to 1962, Commonwealth citizens had always been free to enter Britain. Since many British people complained that their “homogenous” Anglo-Saxon society was being seri­ously undermined by the massive immigration, the government decided that is was ne­cessary to limit the influx of immigrants to a number the country could absorb, both eco­nomically and socially. Further Immigration Acts followed. The majority of those who are now allowed to settle in Britain are married couples or dependants of people who are Brit­ish citizens. People from the New Commonwealth countries make up more than 55% of the total number accepted.

Some statistics on ethnic minorities

Population by ethnic group, 2001

No. in 1000s/(Percentage)

White		54,154	(92,1)	Black or Black British	1,149	(2,0)
All ethnic minorities		4,635	(7,9)	Black Caribbean	566
Asian or Asian	British	2,331	(4,0)	Black African	485
Indian		1,053		Black other	98
Pakistani		747		Chinese	247	(0,4)
Bangladeshi		283		Other groups	231	(0,4)
Other Asian		248		Mixed	672	(1,1)

• The Office for National Statistics projects that the nationwide minority ethnic popula­tion (currently nearly 8%) will almost double by 2020 due to a higher birth-rate.

• Ethnic minorities are mainly represented in large cities and towns and are rarely found in small towns or areas in the countryside (in Scotland and Wales, they are just over 1 % of the population).

• There are diverse settlement patterns within the ethnic minorities (nearly 60% of Afro-Caribbeans, but only about 35% of South Asians live in London; many South Asians live in the West Midlands, Leicestershire and West Yorkshire).

• The highest concentration is in Greater London (home to nearly 50% of all minorities, approximately 20% of the capital’s population).

• In London, the over 30 ethnic communities of more than 10,000 residents each have a huge influence on all areas of life (e.g. over 300 languages are spoken; the Caribbean Notting Hill Carnival celebrating multiculturalism).

The two sides of multiculturalism

On the positive side, the great pluralism that multiculturalism creates contributes to the cultural and economic vitality of the British nation. For example, due to the linguistic vari­ety of the staff that multinational companies can recruit, Britain continues to be a pre­ferred location in Europe. This variety is also noticeable in terms of British food. Today, curries and Chinese takeaways are as popular as fish and chips, while the combination of Indian and British tastes has made Chicken Tikka Massala more or less a British national dish.

Members of the ethnic minorities as a whole, though, experience a greater number of social disadvantages than other groups. Their children are more likely to need special help in education; unemployment is higher among the ethnic minorities than among the population at large, particularly among the younger age group, and racial discrimination is often experienced on a daily basis. The 1980s riots in Brixton, Birmingham and Liver­pool and more recent racial clashes in Oldham and Bradford in 2001 have seen a dramatic breakdown in confidence between the police and certain members of the community, both black and white.

Despite some negative aspects of life in Britain for ethnic minorities, in general they are probably better integrated into society than ethnic minorities in other European coun­tries. Almost everyone has British citizenship, and citizens of Commonwealth countries who are not British citizens may even vote in elections if they reside in Britain. Despite this, it should be pointed out that only 15 of the 646 Members of Parliament are of Black or Asian descent.

Like many other European nations, Britain has over the past few decades had to cope with an increasing influx of asylum seekers, refugees and illegal immigrants. The smuggling of people into the country is a fast growing criminal business. In many cases, organized crime is involved in this trafficking of people.

In more recent times, the bombings committed by assimilated third-generation immi­grants in London’s Underground in July 2005 have triggered off a debate about whether the concept of multiculturalism has failed altogether.