Explain why Britain should work to integrate the various groups within communities?

Many people think that Britain is an integrated society and many do not. Is a fully integrated society impossible?

Many people think Britain should be more integrated, especially in schools. Statistics state that in a borough with 30% to 40% minority, there could be some schools with 95% of minority people and others with just 2%. People are worrying that Britain could be split up into racial divisions like New Orleans in America. The Government could set up more schools that would separate children on the basis of religion and race, but this can be seen as wrong in some people’s eyes.

Britain has tried to integrate people of different race and religions. They have tried to finance integrated sport activities. This was done to help people of different races to get to know each other. Some council in states such as Lambeth have tried to produce literature in 10 different languages which can attract people of different ethnic groups to study there.

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As stated by the head of commission for racial equality, Trevor Philips, “people share space in Britain’s towns and cities but do not know who each other are,” and that “Britain is sleepwalking its way to segregation.” These comments were said after the riots in Bradford in 2001 by Trevor Philips because the riots were the most violent of protests seen in the last 20 years. The riots in my opinion were proof that Britain needs to work on controlling the number of people in ethnic groups in a community and it is obvious there was and still is tension in many various groups in Britain. Since the London bombings people are more aware of Britain’s circumstances with segregation and logically segregation does often lead to racism. In Bradford for example there is a high proportion of Asians living there. There is a lot of racial tension there, especially amongst the young males. They clash over girls and drugs rather than naked racism. 8/10 people in Bradford are white, therefore 2/10 are coloured. The issue is that the people living in Bradford are not equally divided between the races and in one area of Bradford could be full of Asians but a few miles away in Holme Wood 9/10 people are white. They plan to integrate the races in Bradford through houses, sport and education.

Many people think that Britain should not be a society which is very integrated. Some people feel more socially safe living with their own race. They want to be with people who speak the same language as them and are interested in the same activities. Sometimes people want to live more close to their family and also they want to be closer to areas with the foods they like to eat. Some people living in Bradford want to live in a more mixed area but feel as if it will cause problems on both sides. There are many religious schools in Britain. They are there because many children of different religion find it hard to socialise and study with people of different religions. Children are sent to these schools because their parents do not want them to lose their identity, and moreover to ignore their religion. Also in these schools bullying is not a major problem because the children would have more respect between themselves and racism would not occur. The advantages of these schools are children are reminded of their religious beliefs and teachings because of their surroundings. Socialising is easier for the children because they share the same lifestyles. Also parents worry less about their children being discriminated because of their religion. The disadvantages of these schools are the children are not aware of other lifestyles different to theirs and they will often find it hard later in life like in university to socialise with people of different races. The schools can often lead children to follow the paths of terrorism such as Islamic extremists who have always lived in ghettos their life. Also sending children to religious schools can often affect their personalities and character because they are used to one sort of lifestyle.

There are many schools that are racially diverse. People are attracted to these schools because they give children knowledge of other races and religion. Different races mix and socialise, therefore the children are more confident in socialising with other races. Also the children are more prepared to face the real world. The disadvantages are there are often various groups formed based on race in school, and therefore this can lead to racial hatred and bullying.

In my opinion Britain should not work so hard to integrate ethnic communities, but should work on decreasing the number of ethnic minorities. Having predominately white and predominately coloured communities is seen in every country, however as long as the government invests in keeping communities diverse and keeps Britain segregated to a certain extent, Britain is going in the right direction. So, an answer to my question in the first paragraph “Is a fully integrated society impossible?” I would have to say yes, because even if almost everyone thought Britain should be more integrated there are always going to be a minority who do not.

By Inderraj Alg 10C