Imm or Emi - it ain't all that grate

Immigration seems to be a very hot topic in England.  Now that the Conservative government has taken over from Labour, whose main downfall seems to be their lax attitude towards immigration, the matter has been swiftly dealt with and various measures have now been put in place which have made it more difficult to enter this country, for example, all spouses entering the country from jurisdictions where English is not the national language, have to take an English test and pass to qualify for entry.  Additionally, there are more strict interviews which take place and a person needs to know the basics about England like its capital, it’s national anthem etc.  Additionally, a person has to be residing in England for five years before they qualify to apply for a passport (although I am still not sure about that one!).

When people used to negatively talk about immigration, it used to anger me.  Mainly because I immigrated to England as well (from Saudi Arabia) and wasn’t born and brought up in this country, although my siblings were born here.  I used to get really vexed when people’s main qualms about immigration would be the lack of jobs being available on the market for the indigenous people as well as usurpation of other resources e.g. houses, water, electricity.  It is one of the main reasons why the British National Party has seen such a vociferous rise in its members; because they feed on people’s fear and worry for their country’s “culture” being whitewashed (literally).  The people of this country want their country to remain “British”. 

I never used to understand why there was so much anger towards these so-called “floodgates” of immigration being opened.  Isn’t that what the British did in other countries they conquered during the height of the British empire? Didn’t they nonchalantly enter countries like India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica etc and claim the land to be theirs? First proceeding to usurp the natural resources through vicious trade practices e.g. land tax, opium wars in India and trade of criminals in Australia, stealing of Koh-i-Noor in India, and then proceeding to take over the country with their “intellect” and heightened image of self-sufficiency.  They were making the uneducated more knowledgeable, the uncouth less reviled and making the masses more “civilized”.  There can be no denying that they did try and remove certain inhumane practices like banning the burning of widows at the funeral pyre of their husbands in India, as well as placing infrastructure like railroads and train stations in countries where transport was mainly by donkey cart or horseback.  However, apart from that, they did not express concern at the subjugation they made the conquered populace experience as well as the people they massacred when conquering their lands e.g. the Aboriginals in Canada and the Great Uprising of India in 1857.

Two world wars passed by and it was the people from the former colonies of Britain who came to their aid (including my grandfather who fought alongside the British in WWII).  What good came out of the war? Nothing.  London was cindered and a good proportion of Europe was devastated.  Who would help rebuild these nations? Immigrants of course.  Soon, immigrants from India, Pakistan, the African nations started arriving in droves to clean up the mess and assist in the financial cogs of London moving again.  Not only were they needed in the capital, it seems the manufacturing industry, which was Britain’s specialty, required a boost of manpower.  British passports were being issued to immigrants like free samples of food in a supermarket. 

Fast forward another sixty years and you enter the current era where getting a British passport has become such a difficult hurdle to jump.  But the country’s landscape has completely changed. More and more people emigrated abroad to countries like Spain and Canada whilst city and town centres noticeably started to become more “brown”.   Places like Southall, Green Street and “curry mile” started to become synonymous with Asians and Carribean Carnivals and Notting Hill festivals plus Camden Town became more famous for showing African culture.  As manufacturing in Britain ground to an almost halt, more “Asians” and people of other ethnicities moved to the cities to look for work and the white people moved out to get away from the wave of brown skin.

Immigration exploded and did get out of control as some areas became “no go” areas for white people.  The Oldham and Peckham riots were indicative of the friction which had started to come too close to the surface resulting in this odd culture “earthquake”.  Overt, face to face, racism disappeared almost completely only to go underground and fashioned as “ethnicity questionnaire” in job applications.  Mosques and gurdwara’s were erected whilst churches became emptier and abandoned.  Politically correct words were now introduced into vocabulary and nursery rhymes were no longer about “baa baa black sheep”.  I distinctly remember a BBC comedy called “Fawlty Towers” which my parents recorded in which an old resident (a frequent stayer at the clumsily-run B&B) said the word “wog” and it was shown on BBC without any problem.  Watching that scene made me flinch uncomfortably and I thanked the Lord that words like that are no longer said on TV anymore, even in a comedic situation!

As these demographic and sociological changes swept the country, the indigenous, white, union jack waving, 100% British people started to think that they were given a raw deal by the government.  These are people who have no means of moving out the country and won’t ever leave their homeland lest they are overtaken by hook wielding mullah’s incorporating Sharia Law into British Law.  The media, as ever, didn’t help either and they gave a platform to fundamentalist like Anjum Chaudry.  Soon enough, Polish people started to infiltrate the borders although legitimately using a EU passport.  This really irked the locals because the Polish were good at everything! Working hard, carpentry, mechanic, plumbing…all kinds of house jobs really.  They were willing to work for less pay and put in more hours.  It was bliss for local businessmen but a total slap in the face for the local people.

Personally, we must all remember that Allah (SWT) has provided us with this planet as our home, our place of rest and worship.  Borders and boundaries mean nothing to Allah (SWT) and where we earn our living or death is all up to Him.  Alhumdulilah. May He make all our Halal efforts worthwhile and aimed at pleasing Him. Ameen. 

Secondly, I used to get really angry when people used to denigrate immigrants and their ability to steal jobs but recently, I have seen that some of these issues are not so unreal or hurtful.  Some immigrants come to this country, but don’t know a word of the language, anything about the history of this country or its origin.  They live here for more than half of their lives here but still have nothing good to say about this place or all the naimaat that Allah (SWT) has provided them with.  Lastly, and most important of all, when immigrants receive a status here, they do rely very heavily on benefits which they get from because of the numerous children they have and that in a way is usurping a huge benefit that the government is providing you with.  They know that their country of origin would never allow such ample benefits to be given to them so they feed off this country’s and go back home to build huge mansions from such money. 

So now I have a very neutral outlook on immigration.  I do think things have gone out of hand completely and there does need to be a realistic cap on the numbers before anarchy breaks out.  Leave this country to those whose it is.  If I see a white person in an influential position in Pakistan, it makes me very angry, because I do think a local person would be best suited for the role (and would probably work harder as well), so you can just imagine what they think of when they look at us taking their jobs through “positive discrimination”- a great oxymoron if ever there was!

I think that if you live in this country having immigrated here, and you plan to stay for a long time (possibly life), it is important to integrate into this society up to a point which is acceptable to your religion/culture.  If you are planning on returning to your home country then criticizing the UK is reasonable but not to a point where you start offending others who have made this place their permanent residence. 

I wish you all success in whatever you pursue.  Ameen.   Read on and enjoy  life :D

xxx