Society
Cameron's Ministry of Cohesion
Published 06 March 2008
A new concoction is at hand: so many Asians per square mile, with dollops of blacks (Africans and Caribbeans) thrown in, and the majority of whites at the top
David Cameron has just made a loud attack on multiculturalism. Inspired by the Chief Rabbi, he introduced us to a new concept that he calls "state multiculturalism". It is best represented, he said, "in the idea of Britain as a hotel . . . with separate private spaces so separate cultures can live behind locked doors and be merely 'serviced' by the hotel management - in this case, the state".
I have never before read or heard of the relationship between the state and the people described in this way. It is pure and unadulterated tosh, delivered by those without any historical sense of how these communities were formed and how they have developed to where they are now. And within this process there are hints to where we are headed.
The historical truth is quite simple. We formed communities near our places of work. There is Southall near Heathrow Airport, where thousands of Asian workers are employed. Brixton provided labourers in the factories that semi-circled south London. There was an outward migration to east London once Ford set up operations in Dagenham. Travel to Dudley and Smethwick, where Asian and Caribbean communities lived in striking distance of the engineering factories. Or to Lancashire, where the textile mills were set in motion by Asian workers who lived in Oldham.
We were mostly men who had two major priorities other than being at the factory gates of a morning. We sent funds back to our countries of origin to support parents, wives and children. It was that simple. We lived cheek by jowl as a matter of physical safety. Those were the days when "nigger-hunting" was a white man's sport.
These communities were not carbon copies of those we left behind. We could not possibly re-create them. We were as new to ourselves as we were to the locals. We were in the process of becoming.
We played sport, sang and danced the weekends away, pined collectively for those whom we had left behind. We fought racism from day one. There were strengths in togetherness.
Cuisine and couture spawned small businesses. We were a huge presence at evening classes. We worshipped the gods of all religions in our homes and in established churches. We were not moved to act by any idea of segregation. These were spontaneous responses to the conditions we met. In so doing, we were able to destroy myths cultivated by British imperial rule. These processes laid the basis for multiculturalism. Its acceptance was a victory recognising who we are and what we have become over 50 years.
Now we are under attack for being separatists. Our attackers require us to inhabit a mould that bears no relation to who we are. This is the battleground of the hour and the integrationists are hot, sweaty and rowdy. They have to negotiate the fact that we, as ever-changing communities, are here for ever, and with every new generation the content changes.
There is no way that we will voluntarily move out en masse from our communities and disperse in isolation to different parts of the United Kingdom. The separatists are left with the only alternative. I suspect that forced dispersal from above is being contemplated, using public housing as the main means.
A new concoction is at hand: so many Asians per square mile, with dollops of blacks (Africans and Caribbeans) thrown in, and the majority of whites at the top. This can be the only recipe for the cohesion that they so often demand.
Some readers of this column may well respond that this "final solution" is far-fetched to the point of being impossible. If you are in doubt, check out the Ministry of Cohesion.
Post this article to
We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary.
