With the current issue of immigration, it is hard to give an opinion which is absolutely right. There are arguments for and against immigration and I do not wholly agree with one side. However I can express my thoughts and experiences on being brought up in the UK whilst being a part of an immigrant family. Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ has confirmed that many people do not know about the reality of immigration and whilst I don’t live in America, the Brexit result also suggests similar attitudes. I am a child of immigration in my own right and I hope to end some of the stigma concerning people like me and my parents.
My parents emigrated from India in 2000 to gain experience in medicine in the UK after they completed their postgraduate courses in medical science from India. One year later I was born. I have grown up in the UK all my life, and while people continue to blame immigration for the fall of the country, I have proof that this is not true. Not all immigrants are unskilled. My parents left India with medical degrees that they built upon in the UK and through years of hard work and fighting discrimination, are at the point where they are today; respected doctors relentlessly doing good for others.
They started off with nothing. Just with some clothes and money they had saved up from relatives and jobs back home. This may seem like an exaggeration but through hearing their stories over and over I have been able to envisage the hardship they had to deal with. Stories about not having money for a taxi so having to walk miles in the English weather with shopping bags. Only being able to afford shoes and clothes from charity shops and relocating to a different city every few months to obtain the best possible job in reach.
Being from this different background had various effects on me growing up. As children we are innocent – so something as trivial as the colour of my skin was insignificant to the other kids in the playground. Of course my contrasting culture did have some implications, like my tendency to always be back in India during the holidays and not being able to see my friends. Or some people finding it weird when I walked down the road with my grandma who was wearing a sari. Having to explain myself when I posted a picture in an Indian dress and not being able to attend events because of commitments at Indian festivals and pujas. However now I am 15 and I take pride in being Indian; I have the privilege of being able to experience two different cultures at once.
I have the privilege of being able to experience two different cultures at once.
Remember I can only speak for myself, but I am fortunate in that I have never experienced discrimination at school and have been able to live a liberal life by mixing with people of all races and religions which my parents were not as exposed to. As far as I can see, to a vast extent the people of the UK do not openly express intolerance towards immigrants, and this is something that has been misconceived by the media. In the time that we are living in, the world is a global place and we should all behave as global citizens.
