Well, once again it seems that immigration has landed fairly and squarely, like a burning meteorite at the heart of the UK election campaign. This time it is not being toted as the domain of the radical and rabid far right, or even the left leaning liberal chattering classes. This time, it has been snatched from the mouth of a Rochdale pensioner, off for a loaf of bread no less, and splashed across the global media, like a worm snatched from the mouth of a baby bird- still warm, still wriggling and still as indigestible for most politicians.

There is no doubt that immigration is a political hot potato, and that a reasonable well informed debate about controls on who comes and goes into a country is necessary for security, planning and social cohesion. I am however, amazed at the reactionary nature of the popular debate, as politicians and political commentators alike 'flip flap' from being 'tough on immigration- tough on the causes of immigration' to 'valuing' the contribution of newcomers to our shores. This has at least given me one of my favorite soundbites from the campaign to date.

"What I want to know" spat one irate burgher, "is where are all these Eastern Europeans coming from" **~~""!!!!!

I know that I have given up throwing things at the television each time I here a diatribe prefaced with the remarkably hackneyed justification...."I'M NOT RACIST BUT..." . I am however beginning to wind up my pitcher's arm to let fly with a steady aim, the next time I hear one of those jockeying for power and influence, seek to prove that they are in touch with 'the mood of the people' by proving how illogical and mean-spirited they can be, and how they can catch the wave of popular` opinion by aligning themselves with 'us' rather than 'them'

I have declared my colors in the past, as being for integration over assimilation, but I am now beginning to lose patience with the argument which says that the UK should put the wagons in a circle, pull up the drawbridge and man the barricades [ a great opportunity for multi-tasking there]. This would be a weak enough approach on its own merits, but when loaded with the inevitable caveats that those within our shores should be entitled to leave and settle at will, any other part of the planet, without restriction, it leaves me with my jaw on the floor.

So what, says who, who cares? More than we think I suggest. It is time now for those who have a more open minded approach to internationalism to stand up and be counted, in order that those who talk tough and would lead the UK towards an isolationist agenda do not win the day.

Mike

Home Thoughts From Abroad

I am still stranded in Helsinki, with little sense of when I will be able to return home. I have run the gamut of emotions, from anger, to frustration, gallows humor to resignedness. I am now philosophical about my position. Most of all I am missing my family.

Being marooned [I have been here for ten days] has left me ultimately philosophical. It has been, in one sense, a bittersweet experience. Bitter -because it has been personally, financially and professionally hugely disruptive Sweet -because I have had the support of friends, old and new, so far away from home, which has burnished my already quietly dulling faith in human nature.

I came to Finland to facilitate events for high profile clients, intending to be here for three days. I traveled light, as is my pattern, and was preparing to leave courtesy of British Airways last Thursday. By Wednesday, news of the volcanic eruption in Iceland was filtering through, and as cancellation after cancellation led to a flurry of rescheduling activity, it dawned on me that I was due for an unscheduled weekend in Finland.

It has always been my approach to make the most of things, and having been welcomed into a beautiful and warm Finnish home, for great company, music and a leisurely delicious breakfast, I was able to see some of the beautiful coastline, sample some great food, see live music, and meet new friends, whom I would otherwise not have met.
The fascination with ‘that damned volcano’, and the feverish activity to reschedule, further rearrange, postpone and ultimately cancel a series of Ukrainian Parliamentary delegations who were due to join me in UK for the next two weeks, have kept me busy. And I have to admit to moments in which I started to despair of ever getting away from Helsinki.

I have spent a lot of time and activity exploring how to get off Finland, physically and on to the UK mainland. It has taken on the precision and attention to detailed questions of a military campaign. Will I make a flight? Can we track air traffic across Europe live by RADAR, [yes we can] Can we approach UK by sea to Sweden and then overland to the Channel Ports? When I received an SMS from home saying that ‘British Navy to be deployed to Channel to repatriate citizens stranded overseas’ I assumed that it was a telegram delayed since the 1950s. But such is life. I may begin to dig the tunnel link to Estonia myself, with a tea-spoon. One friend has already suggested that the British Navy will commence rescue FLIGHTS, to which I look forward with great anticipation.

I am at times frustrated, depressed and feel unable to control my own destiny. This is something we have grown unused to in some sections of society. But this has also been a fascinating intercultural experience,-- beyond the norm- and often great fun in unexpected ways. I have, thanks to the support of my friends, lived like a citizen of Helsinki. I go to the office everyday. I take the bus and the tram, I have been to the movies, to see a band, done my laundry, bought groceries, found a local bar, and discovered a favorite brand of beer.

In this respect it has been an extraordinary and rare intercultural experience. It is not over yet. If I do not fly tomorrow, I have a likely odyssey by sea and land through Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Belgium, before I try to reach landfall at UK maybe by the weekend. A road-trip no less! Who knows what challenges await.

And of course, I am better off than many. I am not ill. I have not missed a wedding or baptism or funeral. I am amongst friends, old and new. The experience is making me re-evaluate our dependence on aviation, and consider the need for investment in other forms of travel and communication. It has made me grow to love Finnish hospitality, to see the perspective of the role of work in our lives. but above all, to realize how much I miss my beautiful family and home , when I am over the sea.

As Frank Sinatra memorably sang.. “It’s nice to go traveling, but it’s so much nicer, yes it’s so much nicer to come home. “
So this weeks blog is dedicated to, Mark, Jari, Mervi, Marjo, Kata, Eino, Petra, Johanna, Taina, Mikko, and Tuija who have made my enforced sojourn in Finland a richer experience. But a heartfelt and unending gratitude is due to Annina, Maria and Joose, who have given up their homes and their time and energy to make my life more than bearable.

Here’s to the next leg!!!Until I’m “homeward winging, ‘cross the foam” Kiitos!

So What, Says Who? Who Cares? In this instance the many hundreds of thousands stranded away from home.

The Class of 2010: Faith and Identity

The Class of 2010: Faith and Identity

I am beginning to feel ever more strongly, that the issue of identity is still at the centre of the work that we are doing here at inter-pares, and that faith and social class are orbiting identity; like two satellites; moons around a planet of ever evolving size and shape.
I suspect that there are few signs of the challenges associated with the much- rehearsed single dimension personal and social identity, slowing down. They may however be crystallizing, around a new and emerging set of identities particularly those around faith and social mobility. There is a sense for me, that seeking to understand the inter-related roles of faith and identity, is becoming a fertile ground, for those who would previously have used class and socioeconomic indicators as proxies for social position. I am not sure that this is altogether healthy. I think that faith identity is an added and ‘louder ‘dimension than it once was, rather than a straightforward replacement for class. It should perhaps be seen as a second ball on the pitch, which can cause confusion if not immediately understood and dealt with.

Faith is of course for many, a matter of choice, whereas, despite the cultural baggage attached to so many of our choices, socioeconomic class often is not. I would argue that the largely mono-cultural, traditionally Christian faith of the immediate post-war period in UK, was certainly very influential in public, social, civic and it could be argued, moral life of the nation. There was perhaps less focus on the role of spirituality and faith identity, and more engagement with the symbolic, pastoral and establishment role of the church. I think we have seen, with the rise of more evangelical churches, the decrease in overall traditional Christian worship and the prevalence of other faith communities, an increased focus on faith and identity as both a definer of and a signifier of difference.

I recall my father’s generation. He left school at fourteen, took up an apprenticeship, fought in the Far East and then married and ‘settled down’ with a family, in fairly short order- He and the majority of his friends, Irish Catholic, working class Mancunians to a man,[and woman] followed similar life paths, which were very much one dimensional in terms of their identities ,both self-perceived and externally communicated . True, they were less impacted upon by mobility and migration to the UK, and had no ‘virtual world’ challenges to take up, but they did live through the cataclysmic events of World War 2. There was however, a sense that they were comfortable with the single amalgamated dimension to their identities, and did not seek actively to break out of the confines of what seemed perhaps ‘preordained’

I on the other hand, have been a part of that generation which was; first to go to University, first to own a home, first to travel widely both nationally and internationally and first to stray from the traditional faith and break out of the socioeconomic grouping that had been our allotted position. This series of ‘firsts’, [and it is axiomatic that they were bought and paid for by the sacrifices of those earlier generations], has seen my identity crystallize around a much more multifaceted core.

I am of course aware because of the nature of the work that we do here at inter-pares, that I have a series of identities that I recognize as ‘me’. Equally, I am aware that there are identities, which are imposed upon me, others that I choose to share, and others that people both close and distant assume about me, either through first glance or through some form of stereotype or cultural modeling. However, I think that there is a greater likelihood today, that these, assumed, presumed and advertised identities will be multidimensional. That I believe is a good thing.
As for my children’s generation, I share the view that they will be faced much more with the challenge of multiple identities. I am inclined however to see this as both a challenge, [and of course a noisy one], and an enormous opportunity.

I understand the questions raised by some social scientists about the supposed growing pace of ethnic and cultural hybridity amongst the UK population. Whilst I do not share the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s celebratory tone, I certainly do not see it in such alarmist terms as some. I am convinced that the UK population will, as populations have always done, find a way to integrate, rather than assimilate, and that cultural heritage in our children’s generation will be stronger even than it is now. The cultures which are being celebrated however, may well be more mixed, and will not be those monotypes that we saw in the 1950s, trying to mix like oil and water, but will be perhaps more successful emulsions, less preserved in aspic- rather more distilled and ready to enjoy!

I am intrigued by the capacity inherent in the increasing diversity of our multiple identities. I see this as not only a capacity to inter-connect and create either fusion or fission in the present, but as both the building blocks of a future rich in unknowns, and a series of new legacies. I imagine that each of our multiple identities, has the capacity to leave a comet’s tail in its wake, slowly diffusing and becoming less visible like the vapour trail of a jet in the sky.
However, I believe that there is a case to be had, in casting an eye over the effect of these comet tails intersected over time. That is to say, the effect on our cultural life will come not just from the contacts that we have in the present with our multiple identities, but will leave ghosts and echoes in our social, cultural, spiritual and intellectual lives which themselves have the capacity to intersect and fossilize, forming a shadow socioeconomic history, of which we understand or predict rather little.

As for identity as a theoretical concept that we wrestle with, I feel that there is inevitably a set of ‘features and social memberships’, which are claimed, but perhaps an equal number which are disguised by individuals, or are assumed, presumed or imposed on individuals or cultural groups. I am very interested in the dynamics where difference is articulated, but also in the dynamics around claimed and imposed identities and the stresses and tensions this can cause.
My identity is something that has shifted over time, both in how I see it, and how others see me. That said, I believe that the need for genuine dialogue, based upon the zeal of curiosity across cultural identities, is ever more pressing.

So What? Says Who? Who Cares? On this issue we all have to.

Mike Waldron

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