MULTICULTURALISM

Lecture 3

The Native British:

The English – The Anglo-Saxons The Scots - The Welsh - The Celts The Irish -

Non-native British

Came through immigration (6% of the country population are non-white)

Before WW2 - from old dominions: Canada, Australia, N. Zealand, South Africa

After WW2 (after the collapse of the Empire in 50s) - from the West Indies (Caribbean) and South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh)

From the rest of the world (not so numerous)

Immigration to Britain was encouraged after the World War II

Poor and unemployed from formerly British dominions were promised jobs in Britain, were invited as cheap labour which was necessary for the destroyed country to be able to resume its national economy

Now:

Nearly half of the doctors are AsianNurses in National Health Service are

mostly blackDrivers and conductors are also mostly

coloured In service industry (in shops, banks,

transportation system) – and not only – there are mostly black immigrants

Discrimination against the black:

Most of them were and sometimes still are to take the lowest paid jobs

In case of unemployment they are the first to be sacked

Violent clashes – racists’ attacks on black people and their businesses

Government measures to deal with immigration:

By the early 60-s mass immigration threatened with overcrowding and unemployment for native British

The Government had to take actions to reduce the number and to protect the rights of new British citizens

Reduction of numbers

1962 – The Conservative government passed the first Commonwealth Immigrants Act, which limited the number of immigrants to Britain to 8.500 a year.

1971 - The Conservative government passed a law which aimed at treating all Commonwealth citizens as foreigners. Only people who were born in Britain, or had one parent born in Britain, had the right to live permanently in the country

Protection of rights

1965 – The Labour government passed the Race Relations Act, which made it a crime to stir up hatred between races.

A Community Relations Commission (CRC) was set up to advise the government and to give training to people in community work

1976 - A new Race Relations law made discrimination unlawful as regards colour or race, in unemployment, training, education, housing, etc

Ethnic cultures

The immigrants brought with them their languages, religions, traditions, attitudes and everyday habits

They try to preserve their national identity, especially in the families: they usually marry among themselves

Ethnic problems/clashes of cultures

Native British did not sometimes accept the immigrants’ way of life (cases of racism)

Young people in immigrants’ families born and brought up in Britain:

• adopted also (to some extent) British “authentic” culture. They got mixed cultural background.

• in many Asian families parents have much more control over teenager children than in white families. Many children don’t like it but have to accept

As a defensive reaction to racism:

The non-native British try to preserve their culture

They developed national pride in their cultural roots

Cultural ethnic centres were set up Mosques and other religious places were built

(Central Mosque in London is the biggest in Europe)

They brought in their cuisines, their food. Ethnic restaurants can be found in every little place.

EFFECT ON THE NATIVE BRITISH

They became more tolerant, learned to respect other cultures

Their own culture was enriched with some elements of other cultures

Their eating habits have changed. They started liking various and different foods, which also enriched English cuisine