Happy new month everyone! March already, time is speeding by it seems! I hope you’ve all been good.
If truth be told I rarely watch TV shows. Firstly, where is the time and secondly is there anything really worth watching? Admittedly I do love a good documentary especially those on social issues /commentary.
Now, I don’t know if any of you watched ‘Immigration Street’ which was shown earlier this week? If not you didn’t miss anything much anyway. I struggled to see the aim of it and what exactly it wanted to get across. The only concerning thing is that there has been a significant increase in those kind of shows. In fact, an hour before on the same channel (Channel 4) ‘The Romanians are Coming’ was shown which I half heartedly watched.
You don’t need to be 100% clued up on politics to see that there is definitely an agenda that the media (not all but a good few) are pushing. It is also no coincidence that all these programmes are being shown months before the next election.
If I’m being totally honest I didn’t feel anything whilst watching the show. I felt detached from it all. It was definitely interesting to hear the different views on immigration.
If anything the whole debacle has caused me to see being ‘British’ in a different way. I think it’s more to do with the fact that I am also very comfortable and exposed to being Nigerian too. What I’m trying to say is that if one identity is now questionable I always have another one.
But what about those who have only ever been exposed to all things British? Those who have never been to their country of origin talk less of knowing anything about the place. It becomes another thing entirely and issues surrounding identity are always going to be sensitive.
Because at the end of the day it’s not just about immigration is it? It forces immigrants to delve deeper. You suddenly question what exactly you are. As I’ve grown older there are times when I’ve felt maybe not as ‘British’ as I did when I was younger. I don’t know if that is a good thing or not.
Immigration is a hot topic for the upcoming elections and understandably so. I guess I’ll just have to wait with bated breath to see what exactly the parties will propose/promise and eventually the reality that will follow. Either way whether you like it or not the door has been opened, opinions have been shared and it will be very hard to go back to how things were before. Who knows, the door may never be shut and that is something we will all have to deal with.