Amidst the recent Windrush scandal, discussions of immigrants have arisen again and again in the media. But what is it like to be an immigrant living in Britain in this day and age? I asked one of the locals in Essex, who preferred to remain unnamed, whether she truly felt welcome as a newcomer to this country after escaping political strife in Sri Lanka.
My interviewee told me that when she first arrived here, she did indeed feel welcomed by the British. For instance, she said that “I went to a college in London for an English language course. The teachers there were very helpful and understanding.” Furthermore, she also described how the teachers at the college were empathic and very “patient” with her. This of course paints an excellent, tolerant picture of our attitude towards foreigners, whom many of which would have had to tackle cultural and linguistic barriers. Moreover, my interviewee also elucidated that she has never faced racism in the UK, further brightening the outlook on the treatment of migrants in the UK.
An important part of being welcomed into a country is unquestionably being embraced and woven into the rich tapestry that is British society. Therefore, I asked my interviewee whether she felt like she was a part of Britain’s community. Saying yes, she explained it was because fortunately “the community we live in is quite culturally diverse, I don't feel too different in this environment.”
However, of course locating to a completely different country was not without its struggles. In our discussion, my interviewee told me how she missed her family and friends after leaving them behind in Sri Lanka. Moreover, she also reiterated the difficulty of the language barrier, as she explained to me that “in Sri Lanka we were taught everything in the Tamil medium, so it was obviously very difficult coming to a new country and trying to make sense of a language completely new to me. The fact that I was new to this made me feel sort of inferior at first.” Despite this initial hardship, she persevered, successfully mastered the language and now is fluent.
Now my interviewee is happily settled in Britain with her own family and feels like she has the freedom to encompass her own Sri Lankan culture into her daily life here in the UK, in order to bridge the gap between her two identities. This is exemplified by her stating how “there are a lot of Tamils where I live and so I feel that I am free to embrace my culture and traditions.” Thus, it is apparent there is an atmosphere of acceptance and communal spirit in her local area.
Samira Lily Chowdhury Woodford County High School
