MULTICULTURALISM IN UK

Is multiculturalism dead or alive in the contemporary UK?

Is multiculturalism dead or alive in the contemporary UK?

Background

Within the United Kingdom many years ago, black and Irish citizens experienced extreme racism by the white citizens within the UK. In the past the UK has seemed to be overly populated by white citizens and when the country changed to a more multi-cultural Britain, it was found that people of different race and ethnicity were experiencing extreme prejudice and were often targeted for being of a different colour to the average white British Citizen. Within the UK in the past weren't able to gain jobs due to the prejudiced they faced from British people. Within shop windows there would be signs up saying no blacks no Irish, Therefore black people and Irish people were experiencing racism at this time and were not able to gain jobs and were often no allowed in shops by local citizens. They would often get picked on and would be classed as lower class citizens scum as some people would say (Dawkins 2004, 28).

Introduction

It may also become harder for applicants to prove that they are learning English, as the current government reviews the language requirements. The flexible course, often used by the most vulnerable groups, could be axed under a current Home Office consultation. Prospective MIPEX data warns that requiring all to take the B1-level "Life in the UK Test" would set unrealistic bars for many willing learners to succeed. Most European countries require just A1 or A2. In the MIPEX III study, only Denmark, Estonia, and Germany explicitly require a level like B1 for permanent residence (McGee 2008, 29).

Politicians pinpointed the erosion of traditional values and the negative consequences of multiculturalism. The recent riots in which people from all ethnicity, religions and cultures played their destructive role proved that Britain has traditionally been characterized as a failing multicultural society.

Multi-culture in UK

No other English-speaking country even requires that much for citizenship. In the future, the UK's highly demanding and poorly supported requirements may instead make English into an obstacle for integration. The UK could learn from traditional immigration countries where support for learning English helps make integration a reality. Immigrants were valued in early modern England but usually not for their Duchess or Frenchness alone. More often, cultural differences were only one factor in English men and women's attitudes toward their immigrant neighbours. Religion, guild affiliation, family ties, all might come into play in one's relationship with an immigrant neighbour. Cultural differences were of course recognized, but points of common interest often bridged the cultural and linguistic gap between native-born and immigrant in early modern England. Often England came to incorporate certain elements of immigrant culture and industry into its daily life. Early modern England was not advanced in its multiculturalism, however; limitations on employment and property rights throughout the period, impositions on specific religious practices, occasional suspicion, scapegoat, and discrimination plagued the lives of early modern immigrants. Still, England was at times showed great sensitivity toward ...