oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2002
- Posts
- 56,017
Emma Raducanu's parents were Romanian and Chinese. She was born in Canada and moved to the UK when she was two.
She, and he parents, are British citizens, but she speaks Chinese and was known in China for being a great table tennis player.
It says a lot about how accepting we Brits are of immigrants that we see her as wholly British.
In my own town - my former dentist had been born Finnish, became a Swede, and I sponsored him to become a British Citizen. His wife, another dentist, who was and is Finnish but has dual nationality as she became the wife of a new British citizen.
Our local takeaway restaurants have a mixed bag. Two are run by Hong Kong Chinese who are now British and their children were born British in the UK. My local newsagent is run by a family of Ugandan Asians expelled by Idi Amin but they too are British and their children were born British.
The 'Indian' restaurants are run by British Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis and yet all their children were born here as British and went to the local schools.
When we were in Gibraltar we had a Spanish maid who had been a refugee from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. She was stateless and couldn't return to Spain because she was on a death list as the wife of a former senior policeman for the original government. My father managed to get her papers as a British Gibraltarian, but changed her surname. After the death of Franco, she was able to return to Spain as a Gibraltarian and see her son whom she had left at school, aged ten when she had to flee.
My oncologist is Greek, married to another Greek consultant, both working for the NHS. But they aren't Greek anymore. they are British, as are their children.
My physiotherapist married a Mexican and has two British Children and his wife (but not mother-in-law) is British too.
Without all these new British people, our town would be a poorer place.
She, and he parents, are British citizens, but she speaks Chinese and was known in China for being a great table tennis player.
It says a lot about how accepting we Brits are of immigrants that we see her as wholly British.
In my own town - my former dentist had been born Finnish, became a Swede, and I sponsored him to become a British Citizen. His wife, another dentist, who was and is Finnish but has dual nationality as she became the wife of a new British citizen.
Our local takeaway restaurants have a mixed bag. Two are run by Hong Kong Chinese who are now British and their children were born British in the UK. My local newsagent is run by a family of Ugandan Asians expelled by Idi Amin but they too are British and their children were born British.
The 'Indian' restaurants are run by British Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis and yet all their children were born here as British and went to the local schools.
When we were in Gibraltar we had a Spanish maid who had been a refugee from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. She was stateless and couldn't return to Spain because she was on a death list as the wife of a former senior policeman for the original government. My father managed to get her papers as a British Gibraltarian, but changed her surname. After the death of Franco, she was able to return to Spain as a Gibraltarian and see her son whom she had left at school, aged ten when she had to flee.
My oncologist is Greek, married to another Greek consultant, both working for the NHS. But they aren't Greek anymore. they are British, as are their children.
My physiotherapist married a Mexican and has two British Children and his wife (but not mother-in-law) is British too.
Without all these new British people, our town would be a poorer place.
