Our London rainbow nation

For the past few weeks I have been a regular visitor to West Croydon, where my elderly mother has been an inpatient at Mayday Hospital.  This past week in particular has been eventful.  My son turned 12 on Wednesday and that same day my mother had a major operation.  Nelson Mandela died the next day and in the midst of all this, we have all been sick with some kind of bug.  This also explains why I have been quite quiet on the blogging front, my time and attention having been diverted elsewhere

I have the journey to the hospital by public transport fine tuned now: train connections and platform changes at Clapham Junction honed to a fine art like a seasoned commuter.  The train takes me to West Croydon and from there I usually walk the 20 minutes or so up to the hospital for the exercise.  I’m afraid I still can’t quite call it by it’s grand new name of ‘Croydon University Hospital’ (which university?) and still think of it, and refer to it as Mayday.  I always think name changes and new management teams at institutions are slightly suspicious of things having not gone very well prior to that - coupled with ‘Mayday’ very easily turning into ‘Maydie’ (as it became commonly referred to).  I, of course, make absolutely no allegations about the hospital whatsoever, which I am sure is a very fine place.

The London Borough of Croydon is overall very ethnically diverse.  From the last census data (2011), 14.6% of the population of England are from Black or Ethnic Minority (BME) groups.  The average for London is 40.2% for BME groups and for Croydon it is even higher at 44.9% (up from 30% in 2001).  A minority of people in Croydon – 47.3% - described themselves as White British (1).

Beyond these averages though, Croydon has always been divided from North to South.  The leafy suburbs of South Croydon, where I grew up, are more affluent and solid Conservative-voting, Daily Mail-reading territory.  The 2001 census shows only 15% of the population in Sanderstead as being BME (the 2011 data didn’t seem to be available, but would be roughly similar).   Thornton Heath, however – in the North of the Borough and where Mayday Hospital is situated - has 56% of the population from BME groups (2001 figures) and has always been Labour (to the best of my knowledge).

Growing up in South Croydon, we would always be warned to ‘be careful’ if venturing north of the town centre, preferably not to go there at all – which of course just made it all the more interesting as a destination.  Memories of my teenage years include visiting my half English – half Pakistani friend in West Croydon where he lived with his mother and grandmother; going ice skating at the Streatham rink (a sports option in my all-girls sixth form); browsing in a large Indian supermarket that had opened in Thornton Heath, exploring unfamiliar ingredients and browsing the women’s Asian magazines.

I have not lived in Croydon for many years, so my regular walks from West Croydon station to Mayday Hospital and back have been a bit of a re-acquaintance, or really just getting to know the area properly for the first time.  It would be fair to say I don’t see many other white people around – perhaps one or two, the mix being Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani and possibly some East European now.  The shops reflect this local population, together with evangelical Christian churches, a mosque, an Ayurveda clinic and even a Jain temple – seemingly now inhabiting a former old church.  All in stark contrast to the whiteness of South Croydon.

Mandela faced legally enforced apartheid.  We do not have, nor have ever had apartheid in the UK.  But parts of London are still very segregated along both ethnic and class groupings despite its overall diversity making up our very own ‘rainbow nation’.

(1) Taken from http://www.croydonobservatory.org/population/2011census/56978

Identity and diversity in London 2012

Officially now I am an ethnic minority in London according to the latest UK census statistics released from 2011. That is actually quite a strange thought. In London now, white ethnic Britons (ie. white people of English, Scottish or Welsh heritage) make up only 45% of the population (although all white people, including those not ethnically British are still slightly in the majority).

I don’t want to fill up this article with loads of statistics as there are plenty of other news sites that will do that, but here are some snapshots:

• London’s population is now 8.2 million – an increase of 12% since 2001, making it the fastest growing region across England and Wales

• Hounslow (Borough – where I live) has a population increase of 17.6% since 2001, Tower Hamlets increased 26.4% and Newham is up by 23.5%

• Overall in London, 37% of the population was born outside the UK (this includes those born in other European countries and also to British families living abroad)

• The top source of new migrants to London was India, followed by Poland then Bangladesh.

• Hounslow now has 23.27% of the population who are Asian or Asian British (Newham and Tower Hamlets are both at around 30%)

• The population who describe themselves as ‘mixed race’ has increased by 50% in the last decade in English and Wales as a whole.

Does it matter though? The argument always goes that the UK is made up of various invaders and immigrant populations through the centuries, many of whom have encountered discrimination and opposition when first settling here. These include the Romans, Vikings, Normans, Huguenots, Irish and Jews among many others. The pace and scale of change, though – especially in London - does seem to be something new.

Listening to a radio phone-in this morning, it was interesting to hear callers, who themselves were immigrants back in the 60s and 70s, now objecting to the presence of recent new arrivals – denigrating them in the same way they may have been spoken of when they first arrived. The area of London where I live is certainly very different to the suburb where I was brought up. My son is at a school where the class is probably 1/3 white (of various backgrounds: EU and the UK) and majority Asian (Indian / Pakistani) with some Somali. Among the parents in the playground you will hear a lot of Hindi/Urdu being spoken as well as Polish and Somali. The school has also had to expand to cater for the population increase – for the last 2 years now taking in 2 classes of children per year group, rather than one – housed in new portacabins in the school grounds.

My local Tescos and Asda stock large bags of basmati rice and chapati flour, Indian spices, chick peas, dhals, coriander, paneer – everything you previously would have had to buy from a specialist Indian grocery shop. The Asda has a large halal meat counter and a Polish section. Both Tescos and Asda had counters selling Indian sweets for Diwali. I am conscious sometimes in my local Asda of being one of very few white English people there. Some of the signs at the till are in Hindi.

Among my friends and acquaintances, the majority are probably post-war immigrants to the UK. My own family has also become global – with my 2 brothers living abroad in Asian countries. My wider family, originally from Liverpool, are now scattered around the world in Canada, the USA, New Zealand, Sweden, Alaska, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Personally I have always loved London because of this, because of its openness to new arrivals and cultures, its tolerance and freedom for people to be whoever they want to be. I love that we can at least strive to be a model for the world on upholding human rights, the rule of law and equality of all no matter what our background, ethnicity, religion and so on.

But still, a strange thing happened recently. At my son’s school, they teach about all religions, and mark each of the important days and festivals – Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year as well as Christmas and Easter. The assemblies are not therefore particularly Christian, which I was absolutely fine with, not being a believing Christian myself. Then one day I caught the end of ‘Songs of Praise’ on the television and I suddenly felt quite sad that he was not being brought up with the Christian culture that I was brought up with: he wouldn’t know all the hymns that I knew, from singing them every day at school, wouldn’t know the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ that we recited every day, the grace we said before lunch at school or the range of Christmas carols. Nostalgia set in, even though I am an atheist and don’t believe in the theological underpinning of Christianity or go to church.

I can acknowledge that for my parents, and grand parents generation – particularly in London and other cities in the UK – it may be bewildering as their neighbourhoods are changing so fast around them. It may be that the last 10 years have been an exception for the UK, with population growth fuelled by the open door policy to some of the newly acceded EU member states, by the continuing demand for highly skilled workers in the City (particularly in IT) and also by overseas students coming here to study.

For my generation (and the next one now), we have been brought up with the diversity enough to learn to embrace it. It’s probably an art and takes experience and wisdom to know how to preserve our own sense of identity whilst learning from and being open to others. Let’s hope we can continue to do so here in London and the rest of the world.

 

Cosmopolitan London

The other day I invited my Pakistani friend and her partner over for lunch. It was a delight to see them, as always, and our conversation ranged from schools and education, to politics and Bollywood. There were 4 of us: myself (white British, culturally CofE origin), Susen (Indian Bengali Hindu origin), my friend (Pakistani Muslim origin) and her partner (Irish Catholic origin). All of us living in London and having far more in common than anything that might divide us.

In my family, we have nearly all the major religions represented through marriage, relationships, conversion and children: Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. What a fantastic place London is. Long may it continue.

Could I be the next Sonia Gandhi?

No, I don't actually have pretensions to the next President of the Indian National Congress, or any British political party for that matter.  It is, however, worth looking at how someone looks can mean acceptance or rejection by an electorate - and on what basis.

Sonia Gandhi was born Antonia Maino to an Italian Catholic family in a small village in Italy.  She met Rajiv Gandhi (eldest son of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi) in Cambridge while he was at the university and she was studying English and working as a waitress to make ends meet.  It was love at first sight apparently and they married in 1968 and went to live in Delhi.  Her family nickname for her was Sonia, hence her transformation into Sonia Gandhi.

Those familiar with modern Indian history will know that neither she nor her husband Rajiv had any intention originally of entering politics (Rajiv was an airline pilot).  It was after the death, however, in a plane crash of Rajiv's younger brother Sanjay that Rajiv entered politics.   Rajiv was then elected as Prime Minister in 1984 after the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi.  Tragically,  Rajiv himself was assassinated in 1991 and, despite, initial reluctance, Sonia Gandhi became the leader of the Congress Party in 1998.  She is currently the President of the Congress Party.

So, Sonia, originally from a Catholic family in a small village in Italy, has now become an immensely powerful figure in Indian politics.  She has been named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world for 2007 and 2008 and also ranked as the ninth most powerful person on the planet by Forbes Magazine in 2010.

Her Italian origins have certainly not gone unremarked, and she received (and continues to receive) hostile remarks from the opposition once she entered politics.  Bal Thackeray, the late leader of Shiv Sena once asked, 'How is it that when we ask one white skin to quit India, you are welcoming another white skin?.....Our ancestors, who fought for freedom, overthrew the British' (quoted by Patrick French in 'India' p.71).

But Patrick French goes on to comment on her popularity among voters in India - and their lack of concern about her foreign origins.  He says her appeal rests partly on iconography - someone who shared the suffering of the masses, her original reluctance to enter politics and 'renunciation' of the leadership in 1991.  She wears saris, avoids Western clothes and speaks Hindi.  Her name - Sonia - is a name that had become popular in India as well, so didn't seem out of place.  But crucially, her Mediterranean light brown skin colour and black hair meant she looks as though she might have come from a high-caste north Indian background.  French comments that had she been of blonde northern European or black African origin, she would never have been credible as an Indian leader.

This raises some interesting questions.  If I had been like Sonia Gandhi, met and married an Indian man in politics, would I have been accepted with my fair skin, blue eyes and blonde hair?  If not, is that inherently racist - judging someone by their colouring rather than who they are?  Could I ever fit into India and become an Indian citizen in a way that now in the UK, we have come to accept that someone can be of any colour or ethnic origin and still be British.  Patrick French, apparently is a 'Person of Indian Origin' - or at least has a PIO visa by virtue of being married to Meru Gokhale (presumably of Indian origin).  It has occurred to me that if Susen and I got married, then I too could have a 'Person of Indian Origin' spouse visa despite my blonde hair and blue eyes.

India is actually highly ethnically, religiously and linguistically diverse.  But could this one day stretch to a blonde hair, blue eyed female leader? (that is, elected, not a foreign imposed colonial figure Queen Victoria style).  That would be interesting.