A successful sportsperson is a ‘good’ immigrant; only some minorities are considered ‘model’. These essays,edited by Nikesh Shukla, cast a sharp light on ‘othering’ in the UKAccording to its editor Nikesh Shukla, or The Good Immigrant is “a document of what it means to be a person of colour” in Britain nowadays. In 21 essays by black,Asian and minority ethnic writers working across literature and the media, the book highlights the standards by which immigrants first or moment generation, or refugees and asylum seekers – are either accepted into,or judged to be apart from, a dominant culture determined by whiteness.
It’s a kind of unspoken deal at the heart of multiculturalism that immigrants are perceived to be “good” or “bad”. A black or Asian Olympic gold medallist or the winner of a reality TV programme is considered a “good” immigrant by a host nation wanting sporting success or culinary entertainment. “Bad” immigrants are “job-stealers” or “benefit-scroungers” or, and worse,potential terrorists. Sparked by a disgruntled comment below an interview in the Guardian, Shukla’s crowdfunded editorial project emerged from the “fixed anxiety we feel as people of colour to justify our space, and to show that we absorb earned our place at the table”. Against the unspoken backdrop of post-EU referendum hostility towards “foreigners”,Shukla points to “the backwards attitude to immigration and refugees, the systemic racism that runs through this country to this day”. Related: Typecast as a terrorist | Riz Ahmed | The Long Read Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com