As I stand here, I feel that they are seeing us, our ancestor, our parents, our families, who fought for freedom. If they came back, they would see with rejoicing and astonishment how much we have grown, how much we have improved, how much we have changed.However, they would also feel disappointed, because after 200 hundred years, we have not reached social justice, the basis, the foundations of the true freedom, this freedom for which they lived and died. But it’s not only them who fought for our freedom, for our nation. It’s also been people from Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, from Barbuda, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, from India, Australia, South Africa, Egypt and many more other countries who under our control went into wars, supplied us with raw materials and money.
Without their help, their support, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It’s our job to thank all those people, from all over the globe, from all over the planet, who committed to give their lives to defend us.But now, not only are we ungrateful but also we reject them in our society. Personally, I think our duty is to accept them in our country, to accept them in the place they fought for, the place where they worked either as slaves or citizens. When we needed them, to reconstruct after wars in which our nation was involved, we invited them to come or even worse we forced them to come, but now that some of us presume they cause harm to our society and stop economic and social development, we rapidly blame them for our problems and we don’t want them in our country.However, my friends, today, I’ll tell you why apart from this moral duty, we should accept every foreigner who desires to come or stay with us. Multiculturalism has not failed in England, comrade David Cameron. Multiculturalism has been the reason from which our country’s has benefited a lot and it’s one of the main motors of our economyDavid Cameron, England is the world’s 7th biggest tourist destination, with 29.
2 million visiting last year. They spent in our country US$17.2 billion and therefore tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK — worth approximately $127.9 billion.
It employs more than 1.5 million people in hotels, restaurants, pubs, travel agencies, museums etc. Is this a failure of multiculturalism?Is it a failure of multiculturalism that about 4.2 million foreigners citizens live in our cities? These 4.2 million people have adapted to our society, to our system. They work for our enterprises, for our economy, for our country.
They pay for our pensions and as young people arrive to our country, they cover jobs which we can’t. They pay for our pensions, they pay taxes and their families come to visit them generating wealth and tourism. Thanks to them, we are in the G8 and we are one of the biggest economies in the world.In London, approximately 200 languages are spoken. The city is home to over 300 nationalities that have over time molded and shaped London’s culture to what it is today.
Our children have the opportunity to grow in a multicultural society, where they are free of stereotypes, where they have the opportunity to learn about other cultures and countries, to grow as a person, to meet different people with different views, learning to respect and tolerate others. So, where has multiculturalism failed and in what ways does it damage our society?Is it true that immigration brings problems of security to our cities, that foreigners do not integrate in our society and turn to violence and thefts? Well, let me tell you first England is one of the safest countries in the world according to the results of organization Vision analysis of Humanity. Crimes recorded by the police last year show that only 9.100 crimes were reported in 2011/12, down from 9.7000 the previous year and 27.2% lower than ten years ago. Now I want you to suppose that all of these crimes were committed by foreigners and without the same person committing various crimes.
From a total of 9100 crimes divided by 4.2 million foreigners living in our country we get the fantastic result that only 0.00225% of the foreigners citizens would have been involved in criminal acts. So does foreigner represent a national danger or a threat to security? Results talk for themselves.My fellow friends, today, I hope we raise the question again of if multiculturalism has failed. I hope that we reconsider whether foreigners are a problem or a godsend.
I hope we realize how many benefits multiculturalism brings to our society. I hope we find our own reasons to support a multicultural society and be proud of the nation we have become and the people we give homes to.
