At the Bestco International supermarket on central EdgwareRoad, British customers can stock up on staples of Twinings tea and HP sauce.Muslims can buy freshly butchered halal chicken, while homesick Poles can buydistinctly non-halal pork kielbasa imported from Silesia.
Unscientific as they are, such snapshots reflect a moredetailed picture that emerged last month when the government published theresults of its first census in a decade. It was a moment in which Britainlooked at itself in the mirror ” and barely recognized what it saw.Shock-filled newspaper headlines tell the story better than raw statistics:“British whites are minority in London for the first time,” wrote the DailyMail newspaper, noting that less than 45 percent of the city’s inhabitantsdescribe themselves as white British.
The arrival of more than three million migrants in the lastdecade has led to a sharp rise in the number of foreign-born UK residentsthroughout the country. They now number 7.5 million, 13 percent of the overallpopulation. The news comes just as crisis-driven austerity is fuellingresentment of immigrants, who are accused of taking jobs and abusing welfare,and putting pressure on politicians to tighten immigration policies that havebeen credited with a radical shake up of Britain’s identity.
The current regulations are the product of Tony Blair’sLabour Party government. Elected in 1997, it relaxed border rules that allowedEast Europeans, Africans and others to settle and take low-income jobs during anera of economic boom.
Britain has long been a multicultural society, largely aresult of its seafaring imperial past. The last century saw large influxes ofeconomic migrants from the Caribbean and South Asia, as well as refugees fromNazi Germany and, decades later, from Idi Amin’s Uganda. While racial prejudicecan be an issue, most people now accept and even celebrate the country’scosmopolitan citizenry. At the 2012 London Olympics, Somali-born British10,000-meter medalist Mo Farah stirred national pride when his allegiances werequestioned. “Look mate, this is my country,” he retorted. “This is where I grewup, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my GreatBritain vest I'm proud."
But with the good times gone and Britain teetering on thebrink of the latest in a rapid series of recessions, its changing image hasmade a growing number of people angry and upset. They say the annual influx ofhundreds of thousands of foreign-born people threatens the social fabric. Some pointtheir fingers at Blair’s government, alleging it stifled debate aboutimmigration by characterizing any dissent as racism.
“I’ve got noprejudices about anyone of any color, but the fact is we’ve let too manyforeigners in,” said a 35-year-old white British man. “There are parts of thiscity that I hardly recognize any more because they’re like another country.”
Such conversations aren’t unique to the UK. France, Germanyand other Western European countries have also been re-examining their ownpolicies. Restrictions have already beenplaced on student visas, much the chagrin of universities that rely on thepremium fees paid by overseas applicants. Among the international customers atBestco, Dominik Soja, a 37-year-old Polish electrician with a strong grasp ofEnglish vernacular, says he understands the debate, but insists Britain hasnothing to fear from opening its borders.
“I came here eight years ago, I have worked hard,” he said.“Most people come here and they want to work, want to pay their taxes and buildthe society. Maybe Britain doesn’t look the same anymore because of people likeme, but so what ” it’s the same everywhere else.”
