Should non-british ppl convert to british living???

[AnnaInManchester]

e.g. wearing western clothes, speaking english in public

Its AnnaInManchester here, decided to do a name change.

Of course my family comes first monkey trousers, doesn't yours?

Anna - Fair enough! Just posting what you did made me quite irritable especially in light of the climate that some of us are living in at the moment. I am not 'having a go' at you personally, I don't know you, i am commenting on your post.

Pabla - Totally agree with second paragraph of your post. As for the first part, well its not always the case where i have lived/travelled/visited..and i don't really care to be honest, just don't like to see it when the shoe is on the other foot.

Please note that I am merely voicing my opinion here and not attacking any individual. I am also grown up enough to apologise if anyone felt any different.

Peace and respect

Monkeytrousers

Just out of interest I can think of one ethnic group in the UK that would be bloody pissed off if they were forced to only spek english in public, the Welsh!

FFS we have more than one language that is indiginous to the UK, whould others matter that much??

I do think that anyone moving to a new country should learn to speak the language but to insist on it in public? Nonsense!

yes, custardo, I just wanted to gather more opinion, especially as i actually disagree with what my friends said as I have several friends from my college days who were assylum seekers and just people coming to the uk for a decent life for themselves and their wives and children. They came mostly from south africa, sierra leone and nigeria, and I've got to say without them I wouldn't have experienced their way of life and their culture. I wouldn't have been able to teach Oliviya how to cook african dishes without the help of these people in my life, and both Leo and Oliviya wouldn't be able to speak Yoruba and Zulu (I can't speak a word of them!!!). And when we get from church, which is attended by africans (we are the only non-blacks there) - we go to my best friends house and have african food and the children hear stories of what it was like to be caught up in the terrible wars. Having people come over from abroad is very culturally endearing and we can learn a lot from them.

monkey trousers-

great post

....and as said by someone earlier, most of these assylum seekers and friends of mine have been housed in slums on the edge of Manchester where crime is rife or they're put in high-rise flats and the communal entrance to these flats, the stairwell and the lifts are covered in human excrement and they have needles lying everywhere. I'm sure these ppl would rather live in their own countries than in places like the mentioned above.

Anna - of course I do. The argument can't simply be dichotomised like that. I just try to live by the golden rule of treating others how you yourself would wish to be treated.

Quite right, ciao whateveritis! Cultural background doesn't affect how much you love your kids / mum / mates, and to leave and start a new life elsewhere, possibly not knowing if they will be allowed to join you....

I had a colleague who social worked with three young men (boys really- 15) who had come here through fear from Bosnia. She said she had never seen so much misery, anyone who thought they did it for any reason other than survival was so wrong.

I haven't read the whole thread - so sorry in advance if my view isn't applicable.

Absolutely not to the original question - to dictate what a person can wear, what language they speak and what they do in the own homes would make British society a dictatorship and we all know what comes next.

As an expat Brit, I would like to say that you should revel in the multicultural society that Britain is. There are problems but on the whole there is a great deal of acceptance and integration, this is fantastic and one of the things I miss most about living in England.

Yes, ppl often have to leave their children or parents behind when they come over.

Here's a new discussion: does it take the piss when assylum seekers come over, then refuse to return to their country when it is safe to do so?

I'm not agreeing or dissagreeing with the above, before ya'll bite my head off!

But if someone has been here a long while, has settled down, started a family (even if it's with an immigrant partner), they have jobs and the kids are happily settled in school -- who can blame them if they don't want to "go back"?

Besides, it's usually contentious whether a dangerous place has really become safe again, usually there will never really such a thing as "safe" in these places.

What business is it of anyone else if they want to stay??

There's a latent sense somewhere in this of the deserving and undeserving poor. But flip it over and who's to say who the deserving and undeserving rich are?

the deserving rich are those who work hard for their money. No one deserves to be poor unless they robbed a bank, got banged up and is now broke.

Given the atrocities that many of these people have witnessed / been part of / lost close ones to, it just isn't realistic to ask them to go back- too much trauma. And like the other post said, when they come here they often marry, work, make friends. Surely the last thing we need to do is marginalise people by giving them temporary boarder status?

I've just come back from 2 months working in Germany. As a privileged white westerner, I'd never experienced racism until I got there. I had doors slammed in my face, was sworn at, my UK plate car was routinely the subject of agressive driving and I felt unwelcome and was extremely glad to leave (I chose not to extend my contract because of the problems I had).

Now, I've worked internationally for many years, so I know what is cultural difference and what isn't. This was genuine racism.

It has given me a very welcome perspective on what it must be like for people to live in the UK and be the victims of racism. Personally, I've always welcomed other cultures, and been pleased that they've chosen our country to live in. I mean, honestly, what a compliment!

In my case, I was only in Germany for 2 months so couldn't possibly have assimilated the culture and learnt fluent German (although I did actually study it for 5 years, so I wasn't quite the philistine they thought I was).

I do think however, that to get the most out of living in another country, and this is from personal experience, you should attempt to learn the language and make friends outside of your local community.

I don't think this actually translates as non-British people converting to British living though. I'd feel terrible if we forced all non-nationals to ditch their traditional clothes, wear shell suits and eat burgers. Embrace other peoples differences - otherwise shouldn't we stop having curry as our national dish??

Oh Germany's still like that is it? I thought it might have changed in 20 years. I experienced more racism there from being a foreigner, than I did in London in the seventies for being Irish and Catholic after the Birmingham and Guildford bombings (and that was pretty bad)

I was genuinely shocked. My best friend is German and by default of course they were all going to be lovely!

I'll still trot off to the next country expecting them to be thrilled to have me though!

pinotgrigio - what part of Germany did you go to?

I went to Bochum in the 90's as part of my degree course and found the people very friendly.

at Pinotgrigio's dreadful experience in Germany.

I've been to Munich and the environs and found the Germans I encountered very civilised - but perhaps that was because it was Munich?

pinotgrigio - very sad to hear that you had a bad experience in Germany

It largely depends on the area though - In less developed areas in the eastern parts of Germany you will still find resentment towards foreigners, same probably in areas with specifically high unemployment, like in the "Ruhrpott".

But, I have been working a couple of years in Frankfurt, where about 30% of the population are foreigners, and in my place of work there were lots of british people. None of them learnt a single word of german over a period of 2-3 years and it wasn't even expected as more and more global players just accept english as a standard of communication. Outside of work it wasn't a problem either with Marks & Spencer and Harrods around the corner. No big deal. Convenience for people that were needed.

I was in Dusseldorf. Not any more though .

I agree with the idea of learning English, so that they face less discrimination in public life. How they speak in private is their own affair. I love the fact that this country has so many different cultures being publically expressed. I'd hate it if we all dressed and acted the same.

One thing I think is great, though, is the ceremony for obtaining British Citizenship. Once you've sworn your duty to the Queen, they give you a cup of tea! So quaint.

Mind Your Language anyone??