Introduction
The following interview was conducted on May 12, 2010, with Agantuk Nazad (the name is fictitious) – a first-generation immigrant from Bangladesh, who came to Britain in 2000. Agantuk agreed to meet me at Cyprus Mangal Restaurant (Nottingham Hill, London) – this is where the interview had taken place. The following is the transcript of a recorded conversation with Mr. Nazad. According to Mr. Nazad’s request, the actual records of this conversation were deleted after the transcript’s compilation was completed.
Discussion
The interview conducted with Mr. Nazad fully substantiates the validity of Hommi Bhabha’s theory of ‘hybrid identity’, which emphasizes perceptional ambivalence of ethnic immigrants’ mentality. In his book, The Location of Culture, Hommi Bhabha, pointed out the fact that, by being constantly confronted by the realities of post-industrial living, ethnic immigrants eventually cease to think of their individuality in specifically ethnic terms: “Hybridity is the sign of productivity, its shifting forces and fixities; it is the name for strategic reversal of the process of domination through disavowal hybridity is the revaluation of the assumption of colonial identity through the repetition of discriminatory identity effects” (1994, 159).
As it appears out of the interview’s context, Mr. Nazad was able to reach his goal of immigrating to Britain and establishing himself socially here, despite the impossible odds. In a similar manner, during the course of the Exploration Era, the handfuls of Western adventurists were able to attain the impossible goal of subjecting the whole empires of Maya and Incas to their rule – in both cases, the chances of enterprise’s success were defined solely by its affiliates’ strength of determination.
What it means is that, despite the particulars of his ethnic affiliation, Mr. Nazad’s existential mode is being absolutely consistent with the values of Western civilization. However, given the fact that during the course of his upbringing, Mr. Nazad was not instilled with Western-based ethics of social appropriateness, it resulted in him deciding in favor of indulging in a variety of questionable activities, while in Britain.
In its turn, this can serve as yet additional proof as to the fact that, under certain circumstances, immigrants’ endowment with hybrid identity might pose danger to society’s overall well-being. As it has been rightly suggested in Pnina Werbner’s study The Limits of Cultural Hybridity: On Ritual Monsters, Poetic License and Contested Postcolonial Purifications: “In a globalizing society, hybridity and transgression, while being potential tools of resistance which upturn taken-for-granted hierarchies, play dangerously on the boundary and can thus become a source of offense” (2001, 138). Just as it was the case with representatives of British colonial authorities in British Pakistan, during the course of the colonial era, Mr. Nazad’s foremost psychological trait appears to be his extreme cynicism.
Also, the earlier conducted interview points out at conceptual fallaciousness of the policy of multiculturalism as such that is being concerned with dividing Western societies along cultural, religious and racial lines. Even though Mr. Nazad was well aware of his ethnocultural affiliation, he never thought of it as something that deserves to be ‘celebrated’. Therefore, we cannot agree with the idea that it is namely one’s ethnocultural affiliation, which defines the particulars of his or her psyche, as being suggested in Henry Tajfel’s book Human Groups and Social Categories: “The new claims of the minorities are based on their right to decide to be different (to preserve their separateness) as defined in their own terms and not in terms implicitly adopted or explicitly dictated by the majorities” (1981, 317).
It was not due to his ‘cultural uniqueness’, that Mr. Nazad felt ‘separated’ from others, but because his own humanity was being denied to him by British Immigration. Even though British media hardly mention this fact, according to an unofficial estimate, 90% of ethnic immigrants from non-Commonwealth Third World, that during the course of a recent decade have managed to obtain residential status in the UK, did it by entering the marriage of convenience – this was only the way for them to be allowed to stay in the country.
However, the psychological trauma, they have sustained, while being humiliated by Immigration officials, has irreversibly affected the workings of their psyche – thus, turning them into ultimate nihilists. This is exactly what accounts for socially inappropriate attitudes, on the part of many of these immigrants, and not the fact that they are being continuously exposed to ‘racism’ and ‘institutionalized poverty’.
Despite what it is being often suggested by especially ‘progressive’ spokesmen of New Labor, who never held in their hands anything heavier than a pen, ethnic immigrants’ sense of identity has nothing do with the notion of ‘uniqueness’, but rather with the notion of ‘hybridity’. As an earlier conducted interview indicates, Mr. Nazad was able to recognize a simple fact that, by being constantly preoccupied with exploring its cultural roots, he would deny himself the prospects of intellectual and social advancement.
In its turn, this allows us to draw parallels between the interviewee and the characters of Shahana and Bibi from Monica Ali’s novel Brick Lane, who despite their formal affiliation with Bengali culture, never ceased professing Western values of individualism, tolerance and existential secularism: “Shahana did not want to listen to Bengali classical music. Her written Bengali was shocking. She wanted to wear jeans. She hated her Kazmeez and spoiled her entire wardrobe by pouring paint on them” (2003, 180). Since living in Britain is being so much better than living in Bangladesh, there was not even a single reason for both characters to revere Bengali culture, as their parents were expecting it.
Nowadays, immigrants from Third World are being often stereotyped as communally minded individuals, quite incapable of adopting the values of urban individualism as their own. Yet, as it has been illustrated, during the course of an interview with Mr. Nazad, such stereotyping is not always appropriate. In recent years, even many of those representatives of ethnic minorities that, upon coming to this country, had initially become preoccupied with creating their own societies with the host-society, while being encouraged to do that by left-wing politicians, eventually grew to realize that the color of their skin has nothing to do with their actual identity.
This is exactly the reason why, during the time of most recent parliamentary elections, the percentage of ethnic immigrants who have voted for Conservatives, turned out to be significantly higher than what the majority of British political scientists expected. The reason for this is simple – ‘ethnically unique’ citizens had grown weary with New Labor politicians continuously prompting them to be respectful of their ethnic identity.
As Christian Joppke had put it in his article Multiculturalism and Immigration: A Comparison of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain: “In response to New Labor ‘racialized’ style of ethnic politics, Tories coined the famous notion ‘Labor calls him Black, we call him British” (1996, 485). Even though it has taken some time, this slogan was eventually able to find its way into the hearts of representatives of racial minorities in this country.
Interview
Me:Thank you for coming to see me, Mr. Nazad. I’m thrilled to hear your story of immigration to Britain and also your accounts of what it was like adjusting to the realities of living in London.
Mr. Nazad: You’re very welcome. I happened to have some free time on my hands, so I can afford the luxury of being here with you, in the first place.
Me:How old are you Mr. Nazad? Are you married? Do you have any children?
Mr. Nazad: I’m 35 years old. I’m still married officially, but I have only seen my wife a few times, ever since we got married – that was a marriage of convenience, you see. Maybe I’ll talk more about it later. As to your question about my children – yes, I have a whole bunch of them back in Bangladesh. In fact, I’m making arrangements to bring them over the next year.
Me: I’m well aware it might be a sensitive topic to wonder about – but still, what had prompted you to consider relocating to Britain from your native Bangladesh?
Mr. Nazad: My reasons to decide in favor of immigration to Britain were not any different from those, on the part of other recently arrived Bengali immigrants… The foremost reason, I guess, was the fact that, while living in Bangladesh and while working hard at the textile factory, I could barely meet ends – despite the fact that I was managing the factory’s whole department; my monthly salary was approximately $200 a month.
Me: Wow… that’s really nothing. I wonder how you were able to survive, in the first place?
Mr. Nazad: You see, the employment for the majority of citizens in Bangladesh is only a supplementary source of income – just like everybody else; I had to mostly rely on living off the land… Beside my shanty little house in Dhaka, I had a backyard, where I grew all kinds of fruits and vegetables.
Me: While in Bangladesh, were you living all by yourself?
Mr. Nazad: Oh no… that would have proven impossible. In Bangladesh, men are expected to get married as soon as they reach the age of 18-20, otherwise, the rest of the people would end up treating them as outcasts.
Me: This always puzzled me… why do young people in Third World tend to get married even before they establish themselves socially?
Mr. Nazad: This is because most Third World countries, like Bangladesh, are essentially pre-industrial. What it means is that the overwhelming majority of citizens in these countries are endowed with a rural mentality. This mentality celebrates communal values of family kinship, collectivism and strong religiosity. Given the fact that in Bangladesh, there is almost a total absence of modern medicine, it comes as something natural for people to try to make as many babies as they can – the more children they have, the better there are going to be chances for at least few of these children to be able to survive.
Me: So, what happened to your children, after you had left for Britain?
Mr. Nazad: Well, my wife is supposed to be taking care of them – that’s why I send her money, every once in a while.
Me: So, you have two wives – one in Britain and one in Bangladesh?
Mr. Nazad: As I have told you earlier, the ‘wife’ that I have here in Britain is not really my wife – she was nothing but my ticket to this country.
Me: Any chance you could tell me more about it?
Mr. Nazad: Sure, I don’t mind, for as long as you keep my actual name confidential. You see, there was no chance on Earth to be able to immigrate to Britain legally – where am I was supposed to get £200.000.000, in order to invest it in the British economy, so that Immigration would grant me a residential status in this country? Therefore, the marriage of convenience with a British woman was only the way for me to go.
Me: I guess, you had to pay her money?
Mr. Nazad: Yes, of course. I had to pay her £1000 up in front, and then we had an agreement that I’d pay her the rest of £6000 over the course of few years. I’m pretty much through with the ‘payments’, but I want to make sure that I obtain British citizenship, before divorcing her.
Me: Didn’t Immigration figure your marriage with this British woman was fraudulent?
Mr. Nazad: I’m sure they did (laughs), but they simply lacked any concrete proof as to it. One day, I remember, they were trying to give me some hard time – I threatened buggers that the whole of London’s Bengali community will show in front of the Immigration office just to make a few inquiries on whether there are still some subtle racists among Immigration Officers. It worked – they simply left me alone (laughs).
Me: Have you married this woman before coming to Britain, or after?
Mr. Nazad: I married her after got here.
Me:But then, how were you able to come here, in the first place?
Mr. Nazad: Well, that is actually quite some story. At first, I made my way across the border into India. Then, in Mumbai, I sneaked aboard sea-freighter, headed to Britain. Had to pay one of the sailors $300 so that he would show me an unlocked container, where I was hiding for the duration of the whole 2 months, while the ship was sailing to Britain. In Liverpool, I managed to sneak ashore unnoticed – that’s where I’ve met with one of my old friends from Dhaka. He allowed me to stay in his apartment for a few days and then he arranged with some of his friends in London to look after me.
Me:What do you mean ‘look after me’?
Mr. Nazad: Well… I didn’t have any money on me, by the time I got to Liverpool, so I needed to get myself some job right away. However, the thing is, I was illegal, so I needed to get some documents.
Me:Yes, but how would you go about obtaining these documents, given the fact that you did not have a right to be here, in the first place?
Mr. Nazad: Oh, don’t be so naïve. If everybody lived by the law, this world would come to an end. Of course, I did not have a right to apply for any paperwork, but these friends of my friend got me a counterfeited driver’s license and they also helped me to find a job delivering morning newspapers. Besides, after I came to London, I went to Immigration and claimed myself being a political refugee. That actually gave me about one year of semi-legal status in Britain, before the Immigration hearing would take place, and also gave me the right to apply for social assistance.
Me:So, you were receiving social assistance and working as a newspaper deliverer at the same time?
Mr. Nazad: Yes, that was the case. I would have to get up at 4 am every morning, and start delivering newspapers in that old, rusted little Ford I bought me for £100.
Me: But you said your driver’s license was counterfeited, have you ever been pulled over by the police?
Mr. Nazad: There is a good old saying – those who never risk, never get to enjoy the taste of champagne to its fullest. Of course, I was constantly afraid that bobbies would pull me over and that they would realize that I had a fake driver’s license on me, but I was lucky enough – that never happened to me.
Me:So, what happened next?
Mr. Nazad: In about half a year of time, I was able to save myself £1000. By that time, I made many acquaintances with the members of the Bengali community in London. One of those acquaintances was this Bengali woman, who just like me, had come to Britain by marrying another Bengali man with British residence, who had previously married some British chick to be able to stay in the country – and so on and so forth (laughs). She was not exactly super-rich, so she agreed to marry me for money.
Me:But how were you able to get married in Britain, without being a legal resident?
Mr. Nazad: I did not have to be a legal resident to be able to do that – entering into a matrimonial relationship with a representative of the opposite gender, is one of the most fundamental human rights – any lawyer will tell you that.
Me:Yes, but you were still waiting for your Immigration hearing, weren’t you? I guess the fact that you are here talking to me means that the outcome of this hearing was positive?
Mr. Nazad: No, it was negative, of course. Do you think I would bother getting married to this woman if there was even a slight chance for this outcome to be positive? They told me that I was an economic refugee, not a political one, which is why I had to go back. Buggers had even scheduled time for my departure (laughs).
Me:I cannot wait to hear what happened next.
Mr. Nazad: Nothing happened. I simply told them: “I am a married man now, who’s pursuing the life of happiness in Britain and who’s working hard on getting his wife pregnant, so your decision has no effect on me. If you have any doubts, you can always contact my lawyer. Do you people want to end up dealing with Human Rights Commission? Do you want me to contact newspapers and tell them the story of White racists from Immigration taking advantage of defenseless representatives of ethnic minorities? You want my friends to hold a little rally, in front of your office?”. Basically, I told them that they could make their decision and shove it.
Me: I guess it worked since you’re still here.
Mr. Nazad: Of course it worked. Just as it is the case with representatives of any other governmental authority, Immigration officers are out to get you – that’s their job. So, the immigrant’s job is not to let them do that. These people go by the set of rules and regulations, they are not creative, and above all – they are utterly afraid of publicity, simply because what they do to poor illegal immigrants is immoral. Therefore, when it comes to confronting governmental bureaucrats, the best way to proceed with it is to deprive them of their anonymity. They are so used to putting immigrants on the defensive that when they realize themselves being in a defensive position, they lose their cool.
Me: I cannot believe you managed to beat the system.
Mr. Nazad: Well, it wasn’t like they changed their decision right away, but they adjusted it “in the light of newly emerged circumstances”, as they had put it (laughs). Apparently, buggers wanted to find evidence as to my marriage being fraudulent. And, I have to say that if it wasn’t up to my ‘wife’ playing cool, they probably would’ve busted me. I remember they have called her a few times while asking her some humiliating personal questions about how my genitals looked like, and stuff like that. However, this woman was smart enough to tell them that if they continued harassing her, she would call the police.
Me: That’s quite some story, you were right. Still, what happened next?
Mr. Nazad: In about another half a year, after the hearing, Immigration called me and told me to come and pick up my resident papers.
Me:Is that so? I guess if you went by the rules, you’d be now in Bangladesh living off the land, as you’ve used to?
Mr. Nazad: Exactly. There is no fate – it is up to every particular individual to go about assuring its happiness. And, if there is a law on the way, this law has to be stepped over – plain and simple.
Me: You now sound very cynical. I wonder whether it means you’re being a criminally minded individual?
Mr. Nazad: Comparing to most British politicians, I am an angel. But, as you have probably noticed, I’m the last person to be referred to as being associated with any religion or with some ‘traditional values’, which actually sets me apart from most of my countrymen in Britain. Have you noticed what kind of car I drive now?
Me:No, I didn’t really notice.
Mr. Nazad: That’s Porsche 911. Not a brand new one, but still Porsche.
Me:Don’t tell me you’ve won the lottery, have you?
Mr. Nazad: Oh no, I’m not that lucky. But sometimes it’s better to be quick-witted than to be lucky. After having lived in Britain for a few years, I figured out how to make a lot of money, without applying much of an effort into it – isn’t it what we all dream about?
Me: I guess you’re right – after all, that’s what children are being prompted to study hard at school so that they would be able to get well-paid but not overly exhaustive jobs.
Mr. Nazad: Good point. Let me just put it in this way – my agricultural skills came in very handy in Britain and I have now a few hydroponic grow-up operations, set up throughout Nottingham Hill.
Me: Are you trying to say what I think you’re trying to say?
Mr. Nazad: (laughs) Yes, but I didn’t say it, did I? The reason I mentioned it, is because the process of immigrating to Britain can be compared to kayaking – while kayaking, you have to initially struggle hard to get over the rapids, but once you’re past these rapids, you get to enjoy the scenery around you. In a similar manner, once you’ve successfully dealt with harassers from Immigration, the whole new world, the whole new opportunities become instantly available to you. You see, unlike native born-Britons, many first-generation ethnic immigrants possess what I refer to as a ‘fresh outlook’ on surrounding reality. That is, they are often able to turn objectively existing circumstances to their advantage. For example, it is a well-known fact that, after London’s racial riots of 2001 and 2003, police officers have been given an unofficial order to try not to show up in London’s ethnic ghettos too often, in order not to provoke any more riots. And, as a person not overburdened with ‘morality’, I was quick enough to take advantage of this fact – there is very little danger for either of my operations, located in these ghettos, to get busted. As of today, I’m making £20.000- £25.000 on monthly basis, without even being required to be physically present at the places of my business.
Me: But, aren’t you afraid that something might go wrong?
Mr. Nazad: Officially, I have nothing to do with any of it. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just lose a part of my income, but that’s about it. Besides, I now got me a good lawyer – this lawyer can get you out of just about any kind of a mess, for as long as you keep your mouth shut, before he gets to talk to you.
Me: To be honest, I was expecting that during the course of this interview, you would mention the issue of racism. But so far, you haven’t done it. Why? Don’t you think that the fact that you’re a first-generation non-White immigrant puts you in a somewhat disadvantageous position, in the social sense of this word?
Mr. Nazad: If I was preoccupied with savoring my own bitterness, out of being exposed to racism, I’d never be able to advance far. You see, even though that I’ve made many friends with other Bengali immigrants in this country, I never wanted to socialize with only ‘my people’. Yes, of course, I often have to deal with White Britons’ racist attitudes, but it does not affect me in any immediate way. As far as I’m concerned, there are only two races in this world, consisting of winners and losers. The overwhelming majority of ethnic immigrants who never cease complaining about racism belong to losers, simply because it is a matter of one’s choice whether to get insulted by being exposed to racism or not. I personally, do not take all this too close to heart. I will rather be ‘paki’ who drives Porsche, than a ‘native’ who takes ‘looser-cruiser’ to get to work every day.
Me: It is often the case among ethnic immigrants to experience homesickness, after having lived in Britain for some time. Have you ever felt being homesick?
Mr. Nazad: One time I watched this movie (forgot its name) about a blind guy, who eventually managed to restore his vision. While he was blind, he used to spend every day sitting in the attic of his parent’s house, because he felt comfortable there… that was his little world. However, after he got his eyes back, he could never bring himself to go check on his attic again, because, on a subconscious level, he was afraid that would cause him to become blind again. It’s the same with me – Bangladesh is a part of my identity – despite the fact that this is one of the poorest countries in the world, I love it. However, I feel that, if I focus too much on thinking about this country, I will end up going there. And, I don’t want to be going there, because I hate it. I guess it’s kind of hard to explain.
Me: Mr. Nazad, thank you very much for your time, this interview was very insightful.
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