What do East London students really think about Eastern Europeans?
Students at the University of East London UEL displayed a high level of tolerance towards immigrants, when I toured the campus in December asking about attitudes to East Europeans. Three-quarters of those interviewed highlighted the positive effects of immigration as compared to the stereotypical negatives such as rising crime and refusal to integrate. The consensus was that immigrants, and Eastern Europeans in particular, have had a positive impact on the UK economy:
“The jobs that everyone else is trying to get away from such as cleaning and all the difficult manual type labour work that is vital and needs to be done, is mostly done by immigrants.”
“At the hotel where I work part-time to pay for my studies, 95% of the housekeeping staff are Polish and I work in central London…”
“I work with and am friends with quite a few Polish and Turkish people, and they are all making an effort to learn English, eat ‘English food’ and fit in into the British culture and way of life…”
“In my lectures I come across many Eastern Europeans who are obviously studying for the same reasons as I am, to make a better life for themselves and their families. They pay good money to be studying here.”
Most students thought that the claim “they’re all coming over here and taking our jobs and homes” has now become a broken record, and that these immigrants actually do pay tax, contribute to the economy and pay their way for health services – all this despite the fact that many migrants get paid the minimum wage which is almost peanuts.
A note of caution: many students agreed that immigration could only mean more people in the country, and by the same token, the housing problem was bound to become more acute.
From the apparent level of tolerance in response to my questions, it seems that UEL is an ideal place for people of all backgrounds to come together and study. Though it is likely that some people disagreed but were too shy to say so, the fact that the consensus at UEL is strongly in favour of diversity, is something positive in itself.
Sandra Miguel is studying Journalism
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