The immigrant hierarchy in the UK
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The immigration policies in the UK need to be stricter, if only to give the immigrants here a better reputation! I am a Caucasian, blue eyed, English-as-a-first-language immigrant to England – married to a British man. I am well educated with two university degrees, bilingual, never been on benefits, and have worked since I immigrated here (making a decent wage, paying taxes, and contributing to a pension). I had a by-the-books ordeal in moving here. However when my husband mentions his wife is foreign, everyone makes assumptions like I'm a Thai bride, I am on benefits, I'm a refugee, or I can't speak English. When they do finally meet me, I always get comments like "Oh, American! That's not a proper immigrant!" I am, in fact, Canadian but no one seems to understand the difference – it's a Commonwealth country for goodness sake! |
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I'm always told I'm not a real immigrant and then someone goes into a rant about the immigration system and how they shouldn't let anyone in. I left my family, country, and entire life to come here and I'm not really an immigrant? How strange. People will compliment my accent one minute, then rant how they can't understand the foreigners in this country and they should learn English. Everyone wants immigrants to conform to UK customs, but I am constantly asked to bring Canadian products, clothes, and food to people – someone even asked if I was having Thanksgiving this year. "No, I am not", I said, "Its not a British tradition!" Then there followed a protest about how I should keep my culture, even though I live here in the UK. |
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Is there such a twisted double standard that people don't even notice they are conforming to it? What if I were from a country other than Canada? Would people still stare at me in public when I speak? Would everyone still ask me if I miss 'home' and say they'd love to go there? There seems to be a hierarchy among immigrants; a level of acceptance that is granted to me and not others. It reminds me of something about cake and eating it too. By: Steph |
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Comments from visitors
"I suppose people are either very gullible or will choose to believe something which is patently ridiculous if it upholds their prejudices."
Not only was he gullible and showing his prejudices but he also lifted the whole hoax email word for word and presented as his own without quotation marks.
Check out this site
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/canadian-pension-refugees.shtml
2) What has this to do with immigrants? Can't you even post in the right place?
Worry not my fellow English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish countrymen and women, ignore the outsiders and carry on as usual.
I suppose people are either very gullible or will choose to believe something which is patently ridiculous if it upholds their prejudices.
* It is interesting to know that the federal Government of Canada allows :
A monthly pension of : $1,890.00 to a simple refugee
plus : 580.00 in social aid
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A grand total of : $2,470.00 monthly
X 12 months
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$28,920.00 annual income
· By comparison, the Old Age Pension of a senior citizen who has contributed to the development of Our Beautiful Big Country during 40 or 50 years, CANNOT receive more than :
Amount/month $1,012.00 in Old Age Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement
X 12 months
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$12,144.00 annual income
A difference of : $16,776.00 per year
* Perhaps our senior citizens should ask for the Status of Refugees instead of applying for Old Age Pension.
* Let us send this message to as many Canadians as possible, and maybe the allowance of refugee could then be reduced to $1,012.00, and that of our Canadian pensioners raised to $2,470.00 per month. (who actually deserve it) the money that they have been paying in income taxes for 40 or 50 years,
AN INCREDIBLE NONSENSE !!!
OUR CANADIAN SENIORS CITIZENS, DESERVE BETTER
Please circulate this text to see the reaction of your contacts !
We're "broke" and can't help our own seniors, veterans, orphans, homeless etc.
Are you aware of the following?
The British Government provides the following financial assistance: -
British old age pensioner : Weekly allowance £100
Illegal immigrants/refugees/bogus asylum seekers :Weekly allowance £250
British old age pensioner : Weekly Spouse allowance £25
Illegal immigrants/refugees/bogus asylum seekers :Weekly Spouse allowance £225
British old age pensioner : Additional weekly hardship allowance £0;00
Illegal immigrants/refugees/bogus asylum seekers : Additional weekly hardship allowance £100
British old age pensioner : Total yearly benefit : £6,000
Illegal immigrants/refugees/bogus asylum seekers : £29,900
Difference : £23,900 per annum – more than many people earn.
The average pensioner has paid taxes and contributed to the growth of this country for the last 40 to 60 years. The illegal immigrants and 'asylum seekers' have contributed what?
Sad isn't it?
but I guess spelling and grammar is the only way to be taken seriously in great England...oh sorry I meant in Great Britian...if someone is starving they first need to spell the words out correctly before someone helps them....isn't that right so old chap!!
Try using some grammar in your postings and people might take you a little more seriously, it's a little hard to decipher your meaning, if indeed there is any.
i'm just glad you can feel the payback!!!
One minute people are expecting me to conform to Japanese ways while they in return treat me like a strange wild animal escaped from a zoo, the next they are asking me to speak English rather than Japanese and when am I going back to my country?
There are constant exaggerated complaints in the media about 'foreign criminals'. Strangers wake me up on the bus to try to get me to help them practise English conversation.
In comparison, my British-asian friend is largely ignored because he doesn't 'look foreign'.
I still like it better here than in Britain. The weather, the food, the low crime rate (probably because of the fewer immigrants ha ha), the manners (usually).
People are the same the world over. They like novelty that they perceive as being to their benefit but resent strange things that might inconvenience them.





