"Becoming a British citizen is a significant life event. The Government intends to make gaining British citizenship meaningful and celebratory rather than a bureaucratic process. "
"I have asked this new advisory group... to consider how best to achieve the Government's plan to promote language skills and practical knowledge about the United Kingdom for those seeking to become British citizens."
"As a result, we are developing new types of courses specially suited to the needs of migrants. English language courses which use teaching materials based on the concept of citizenship; and courses specifically about citizenship for people who already have adequate English but need to know more about WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY."
[The Home Secretary, The Rt. Hon, David Blunkett, July 2004]
Text Book to study for Life in the UK Test - £10.00
24 Multi Choice Question, Computer Based Test - £34.00
Application for Indefinite Leave to Remain, a full day of waiting in Home Office Croydon, dealing with morons behind a glass protective screen for a rightful stamp on the passport- £500.00
Mr David Blunkett, who happens to be blind and walks around with a guide dog, caught in a scandal with a woman and left the Government not long ago - Priceless
2 comments:
*sigh* This topic both baffles and saddens me.
I see it everyday where I live, people that don't know what it means to wave a thank you when you stop to let them cross the road, neighbours that ignore you in the supermarket even though you go up to say hello. People that throw rubbish on the street even though there is a bin within sight.
Where did common courtesy go? It seems being 'nice' has gone out of fashion. And with it, we have lost a sense of belonging somewhere that we share. A sense of community.
The England I knew, and remember from childhood, has a passion for tolerance and a respect for fair play. It is a culture that is creative, outward-looking and most important of all, has that unique irreverent British humour that no one else gets. It used to be said that the English were always saying please and thank you and excuse me and pardon me. These days its more fuck off and fuck you and wanker and cunt.
We need a glue that holds us together.
It seems the pursuit of diversity has gradually driven a wedge between different sections of the community. Re-emphasising our difference over and above our similarities.
I don't know if citizenship classes are the way forward, but it should be an educational process about social behavior, the respect for difference, an embracing of tolerance, a return to politesse.
On my street I see people from every part of the world - Irish, French, Chinese, Polish, Pakistani, African, Jamaican, Ethiopian, Ukrainian etc etc etc... and yet few say hello, most seem suspicious of one another. And from observation, the only people that still smile and say good morning when I smile and say hello seem to be either white residents or the old pensioners.
And I've thought about this a few times, trying to work out what the hell that might mean.
The only thing I can think of is that neither the younger generation nor the newer immigrants have ever been taught simple manners. And if they haven't been taught that, how can they know what it means to share a sense of belonging, let alone what tolerance and common purpose is.
Sometime I do wonder what's the point of all these?
To implement courses and tests to teach us 'Britishness'... and to understand and pass the test before you are eligible for citizenship...
Someone odviously is missing the point here!
I totally agree with what Fabien have said, but who is listening?!
Post a Comment