In the whirl of energy this week that starting home education and the seasonal shift has brought, I overlooked one of the special days on my personal calendar - Arrival Day. 14 years ago, I arrived in the UK in early September, not sure how long I would stay. I’d dreamed about moving to Britain since I was a small child, but I hadn’t considered how different it would be to America until I arrived here and had to make sense of new accents, new systems, new money, new everything. The new smell of Autumn in a damp, leafy place.
I am an immigrant to this country, but I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that I’m not an immigrant, or excused me from their xenophobic rants because I’m ‘not who they mean’. But I am: I’ve come here, taken a job that could have otherwise been done by a British-born person, and had two babies on the NHS.
The idea that white immigrants are not ‘real’ immigrants (and therefore are acceptable) is what white privilege looks like everyday life. My friends and colleagues who are Asian and Black immigrants to Britain have to face anti-immigrant discrimination (even after they have lived here for years and years) that I will never experience, although I have definitely contributed less to the overall fabric of British society than many of the women and men I’m thinking of.
In this political moment, it feels more important than ever to talk about the anti-immigration undercurrent in society and disrupt the narrative that some immigrants are ‘better’ or more ‘welcome’ than others. If you have friends who have immigrated here from other countries, ask them about their experience. Hear their stories of anti-immigrant discrimination and the bravery it’s taken to leap forward into in a new country without having a network of friends and family to fall back on. Pay attention to the value that immigrants are adding to your community - who are your doctors and nurses, your teachers, your favourite cafe owners?
Talk to your children about what it means to be an immigrant - that someone has moved from the country where they grew up to the country that you now share. Remember that not everyone immigrates to a new country because of a dangerous or hard life in their country of origin. Lots of people (like myself!) immigrate to experience new cultures, get a different kind of education, or follow their dreams of a specific career path.
Here’s a list of a few books to share with your children about immigration and being a welcoming neighbour.
Chow Mein and Potstickers by Liselotte Schippers follows a young boy who’s just moved to a new country through his neighbourhood. He meets children who have also moved there from around the world, and they share their favourite foods from their countries of origin.
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi shares the story of a young girl whose new classmates have a hard time pronouncing her name.
Islandborn by Junot Diaz features the story of a girl doing a school assignment about the country she emigrated from as a baby.
The Day you Begin by Jacqueline Woodson beautifully describes how it feels to be a child who has just immigrated to a new country.