Do you think being born and raised in your country of origin can be considered a privilege ?

[maggiecian]

Just that really.

Surely that depends on where you were born? I feel privileged to have grown up in the UK with all it faults. North Korea? Syria?

You need to expand more on your point @maggiecian !!!

Yes I agree. But I meant more like- if you never know the feeling of being 'foreign' in your own country, because your roots are in the country you were born in ( both your parents were also born in the same country and grandparents etc).

Not necessarily. I was born in the UK but lived in NZ when I was small and then we came back to the UK. I don't think I was particularly privileged to be in the UK instead of NZ, although I like being in Europe.

And what about those families where one child is born in one country and the other elsewhere. For example, I have a friend whose wife is German, their first child was born in Germany, their second in London. Is their second child more privileged than her brother because she's been brought up where she was born (I would say in their case they are privileged because they have EU passports).

Yes, but this is coming from a first generation immigrant so I'm a bit biased about this.

However, this is only because most immigrants coming into this country are economic ones. My 'ex pat' friends never had the same experienced as me.

I'm a first generation immigrant (moved here as a DC) and I feel lucky that I speak two languages and have two places I consider home.

Yes of course it is definitely a privilege.

From another 1st gen immigrant - yes (presuming we're talking about the UK, not North Korea). Just the levels of connection, understanding, the nuances of language. We're now thinking of relocating to Europe and a huge psychological barrier is the idea of dislocating my child in that way. I went through it myself at age 5 (and again in my 20s to come here) and it does stay with you.

@Camomila

Do you never just feel 'lesser than'? Like you don't quite fit ? Like people always mention your background and you feel separate and different because of it ?

Happy if you don't feel those things !

Of course.

There is also a flexibility that can come from being cross cultural. It's not all negative ime.

But I meant more like- if you never know the feeling of being 'foreign' in your own country,
Then no.
I feel privileged I wasn't born into a lawless corrupt country full of war or poverty, I've lived abroad.

Well it really does depend on the country. My parents were born and raised in Northern Ireland and were Catholics. I don't think there was much privilege there.

I think it has its advantages.
However, there are also advantages to having lived in a different, or number of different countries to your "country of origin". There are disadvantages too - the risks of rootlessness/being a "third country kid". But like @meadowbreeze suggests I think a lot of the disadvantages people tend to associate when they are talking about privilege/lack of privilege are really to do with money and race. So a child born to working class Bangladeshi parents in 70s London will likely have a very different experience to a the son of a UK diplomat who was based in Hong Kong, then Germany, then America. Or for that matter to a child born to British parents in 1920s India.
Once you take racism/classism/economics etc out of the equation then it becomes a matter of pros/cons and different experiences, rather than "privilege".

I too am biased because I am bringing my (UK passport holder) son up in another country, so I hope I am not harming him in doing so!

One of my children was born in another European country. Both have spent a significant portion of their childhood abroad. I think their mixture of experiences has been a big privilege to them.

It definitely depends on what countries you are talking about.

You're right. It depends if you are an ' immigrant ' or an expat. British people tend to be expats....

Generally, I think so. My parents were both immigrants. My mum moved to England as a child and was bullied relentlessly for her Dublin accent until it was knocked out of her. My dad has experienced racism (North African) and occasionally puts on a fake English accent for things. Or tries to. It's sad to see.

Interestingly I now live in NI and quite like the feeling of not being in either "community" even though I do feel a bit 'other'. Being of mixed heritage I've always felt other-y though and the people here are lovely so it's an internal feeling, not one I would blame my neighbours for.

I feel like it is a privilege (but also a choice) that I have lived in five different countries over the course of my life. I like the feeling of moving across this planet and experiencing different bits of it. I am now back in the UK - and felt very sad plus trapped after Brexit that DCs won't be able to move as easily as I have been able to. I definitely feel a lot more rootless than say my sister who only ever remembers living in one place but I can't imagine having that life.

Yes because of racism, and institutional racism, both of which are sadly unavoidable in England

Yes I agree. But I meant more like- if you never know the feeling of being 'foreign' in your own country, because your roots are in the country you were born in ( both your parents were also born in the same country and grandparents etc).

I’m an immigrant with no family here and no recent family ties.

Being born in the country of my birth makes me privileged compared with most in the world, and while I’m an immigrant to the UK, my country of birth (and the fact that I’m white) convey privilege here in the UK as people will often stop an anti-immigrant tirade to reassure me that they don’t mean immigrants like me.

I do know the feeling of being foreign here, I don’t think that ever goes away.

Not sure what the difference is between an immigrant an an expat (other than branding).

I currently live in Switzerland, and I do think people who were born in Switzerland have had a privilege that I have not (mainly advantages around naturally speaking the language and having all their friends and family in the country).

However I am also in a fairly privileged position, do I probably shouldn't complain too much.

@OverTheRainbow88 yes of course it is.

I'm actually white ( so I have that privilege ) but often feel 'other' because of being the child of immigrants and I guess looking different, to the extent that people may ask- where are you REALLY from? They immediately know I am not 'from' the place I live and was born.

Anyway. I always wondered what it would have been like and very much empathise with how people who feel excluded by race must feel. Not that I'm comparing, but long standing xenophobia isn't really discussed that much- but it's very real to me.

It’s a bit of a lonely feeling that you don’t actually belong anywhere. But on the flip side, you can move to a lot of places and make it work, as you’re adaptable. I will always be a foreigner. It’s just how it is.

Yes exactly @apalledandshocked
I remember being super jealous of my friends that their mum's and dad's understood the importance of SATS and GCSEs. I also remember begging my mum to not buy the cheaper tickets back home and miss the last 2 weeks of y6. They just didn't understand why things like end of y6 assembly and school journey were important. I was also jealous that my friends didn't instantly recognise an application for housing benefit because they weren't the local 9 year old translator.
I remember being so stressed that I was potentially responsible for someone not getting their benefit payment. This is a very normal first gen immigrant experience. If I had stayed back home my life would've been very different. Things were much harder here but it was too late.
The expat kids are sooo different. My brother had a best friend from Germany who's parents had great jobs, his mum learnt all the school culture stuff and helped me through my GCSE options, she didn't grow up here and just learnt.
I didn't really have the benefit of going back and forth as we didn't have the money to. I still love being able to go to the embassy and say my name without spelling it out, I feel like that's a massive privilege.

@maggiecian

You're right. It depends if you are an ' immigrant ' or an expat. British people tend to be expats....

Please,do not use this archaic,racist,white privilege label. British people are same as anyone else travelling and living abroad.