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Calling
Citizens Foreigners. Is it fair?
WSN Bureau
The Diaspora communities are often at the receiving end in the host
country but the most vulnerable are the immigrant labourers, but
imagine what would be the reaction even among the better educated
citizens of the host country if one morning they are suddenly told
that 80 per cent of the jobs created in the last one decade have
been cornered by the foreigners? Clearly, it will make life
difficult for the immigrants and most locals will look at them as
usurpers of resources.
Except that there is a catch: the agency that made the calculations
in Britain also counted among the "foreigners" the 300,000 Britons
who had been born abroad but are very much British and also British
citizens.
Britain’s Statistics Commission virtually triggered a strong
negative reaction against the immigrants when it recently said that
80 per cent of British jobs over the past decade have gone to
“foreigners”. News papers in Britain, the US as well as in India,
from where many immigrants come, splashed the headlines.
The lazy media forgot to check out the correctness of the news
report, something it hardly does these days. The headlines had
appeared on December 11, and considering the sensational aspect of
the story, found great place on front pages. Since the Statistics
Commission works closely with the British Government, one had little
reason to doubt. But is it not the job of the media to always doubt,
and be very sure?
Anti-immigration groups seized on the stories and claimed
vindication for their allegation that outsiders were “stealing”
British jobs. London's figures so far had said the percentage was
around 50. Now many were alleging that the Government had concealed
the real magnitude of jobs secured by the immigrants.
Now, a close look at the report of the Commission has revealed that
the Commission had ended up including a whopping 300,000 British
nationals in the category of “foreigners” because they were born
abroad and came to Britain as immigrants. Its excuse? It said it
relied on the definition of foreign workers as given by the Office
for National Statistics, a government department.
But the fact remains that the Commission ended up creating a wholly
misleading impression and fuelling anti-immigrant prejudice. Can any
country classify foreign-born citizens as “foreigners”? Citizenship
is not granted lightly and the most important privilege it confers
on a new citizen is not to be called a bloody foreigner ever again.
The Punjabi NRP Diaspora must add its voice to those protesting
against such classification of citizens even for statistical
purposes. We must always be seen as supporters of exhortations to
immigrants to integrate with the host society.
26 December 2007
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