25 May 2011: Even after spending years in the UK, foreigners find themselves being treated as “foreigners”.
Blame it on the economic scenario, or the social fabric, but integration is hard to come by even after spending several years. Foreigners befriend foreigners; and English don’t trust them easily.
A “foreigner totally grateful to the UK” for giving her a passport after she married a Brit” has come out with an assertion like this. Her views, carried in The Weekly Gripe, are individual but reflective of what a substantial number of foreigners in the UK feel.
The writer, Andypandy, says the chances of her being killed where she came from were pretty good; and she is grateful to the country for taking her in.
The writer goes on to add she is blue-eyed, blonde and speaks perfect English with just a 5 per cent accent; and has spent five years in the UK.
But, she is still regarded as a foreigner. She asserts all her friends are primarily foreigners, as they have come to realise they are all in the same boat.
She asserts her best friend is Swedish and has lived here in the UK for about 12 years. Still, the writer is the only person she has ever invited her home for a coffee!
The writer says they have been told to be patient as it takes time for an English person to trust you — maybe four years of acquaintance. Once they are friends, they are best friends in the world. She says she has given up trying and hoping.
The letter brings to fore the need to bring about a change in the attitudes towards the foreigners; and to give them a fair share. After all, they contribute to the country’s economy, and make the UK diverse and a better place to live in.