Dining Over the Gap: A Meeting Between Different Viewpoints
Meeting the Participants
One Participant: Peter, 34, London
Occupation Former civil servant, currently a student studying community health
Voting record Supported the Green Party last time (also a affiliate of the party); previously Labour Party. Identifies as “left, and internationalist instead of nationalist”
Amuse bouche A drawing of a teacup Peter created as a child was once displayed in the National Gallery of Ireland
Second Participant: Akshat, 43, Harrow
Occupation Risk analyst in the construction sector
Voting record Originally from India, Akshat has resided in the United Kingdom for five years, and supported the Conservative Party. Identifies as “somewhat right of centre”
Amuse bouche Akshat self-learned to read and write Urdu. “It has no practical use for me, I simply found it intriguing”
For starters
The first participant During the past 20 years, I have resided and been employed in Qatar, East Asia, the United States. The issues Peter and I talked about are focused on Britain, but they are also global, because human life more or less follows the same curve wherever it is. I anticipated a staunch liberal, but Peter wasn’t all gung ho – we engaged in a productive, logical conversation. I had a couple of beers, Peter had mojitos.
The second participant We split appetizers – seafood rolls, steamed buns, daikon cakes with beansprouts, which were superb. I felt somewhat anxious, as I believe he was too. Would he criticize me for being a snowflake? We’re both immigrants. My childhood was in Dublin; I’ve lived in the US and Spain. We bonded over our affection for London.
The big beef
The first participant I view migration similar to sprinkling salt to a dish. When you add a little bit, the dish is delicious. Use too little or too much and the dish is either too bland or too salty.
The second participant Akshat had a metaphor regarding seasoning. It would be odd to exist if the state was selecting some preferred demographic of the nation.
The first participant There are, sadly, individuals fleeing persecution, but a lot of people arriving in the UK are economic migrants who may not contribute much and can weigh on the benefit system. No one compels you to move to a different nation for opportunity, so you ought to relocate if you can take care of yourself and your relatives.
Peter We became confused with some of the facts. In my view it is the case that you arrive and are employed and then after five years you get indefinite leave to remain. No process is guaranteed. It’s been a hostile environment for some time, visa fees are quite expensive, there is an NHS surcharge, eligibility for support is restricted. The red carpet isn’t rolled out for anybody. And regarding the new policies, whereby you can’t bring your family over, it’s incredible to say: we want your work, but we reject you as a person. I think we have to have a certain level of humanity.
Common ground
Akshat Peter questions unchecked capitalism. So am I, but at the same time, economic growth benefits society and should be encouraged.
The second participant We’re both internationalist. And we agreed that certain elements of society – government, the media – thrive off creating conflict. We did find shared understanding in basic principles and values.
For afters
The first participant Peter believes that because the UK benefitted from colonial times, it ought to provide reparations to affected nations. My view is simply: it is unfair to assess history with present day morality; eras vary, current society had no control of what happened decades or a century ago. Suppose the Britain had to compensate the Indian nation, it would be a huge amount of money. Is the UK in a position to do that? No.
The second participant In the past, I believe there was much reckoning with colonial history. As an instance, when I first moved to the United Kingdom, people weren’t aware of the Great Famine and the role that imperial rule played in it. My view is decolonization isn’t just about issuing payments, it should be about looking at what went wrong and where we should be now.
Takeaways
The first participant It may not alter the my perspective, but I appreciate Peter’s concerns. I talk to individuals every day with opinions are opposite to my own. It’s about uniting people to the same page, so that all of us can work towards the betterment of society.
The second participant We remained for 150 minutes. Akshat had dessert and I drank a Japanese dessert wine. I didn’t persuade him of anything, but we each liked the meal, so we might become more receptive to engaging in dialogues with other people in the coming times.
