Reactions to Channel 4s Make Leicester British Channel 4’s Make Leicester British took eight people from different backgrounds and asked them to spend a week together. The resulting documentary, which some have unfavourably compared to a multicultural episode of Big Brother, has predictably divided opinion. Ciaran Fagan gets reaction and gives an overview Prof Richard Bonney Emeritus Professor of history at the University of Leicester. Professor Bonney has studied the way the city has developed as a result of migration over the decades. He said: “I could see what the programme was trying to do, but it didn’t show the city I recognised. “One of the problems was that it was an enforced social experiment which was trying to do very quickly something which is actually a gradual process. “With the best will in the world, you can’t put people together and force them to like each other. “There’s a whole area of personal dynamics which have nothing to do with race or culture which come into play. “However, there were some signs when some of the people involved met on their own ground and began to talk to each other they did begin to make progress. “It was striking that the businessman, Suki, became much more sympathetic to the Polish woman, Ola, when he saw her living conditions. “I thought that showed that common humanity can help overcome prejudice and powerful differences. “In other cases, some of the stereotypes they had about each other began to disappear. “It has always been the case that the newest migrants are judged most harshly and are scapegoats for all of society’s problems – both by the host community and people who migrated to this country some years ago. “Most immigrants want to work and to become functioning members of society. “The belief they are all here because of the benefits system is sloppy thinking.” Sir Peter [Soulsby] watched the programme on Monday night and felt it did not reflect the city he has lived in since he was a young man. Sir Peter said: “I saw Make Leicester British and I think it had more to do with Big Brother than it did with Leicester. “They described the city as divided but, fortunately, I think very few – if any – Leicester people will take that seriously. “I think people from outside the city will see through it, too. “The programme makers were interested only in making something which would get ratings, rather than making a programme which told the reality of life in Leicester or made a positive difference to the city. “The only things I recognised in it as reality were the parks and the streets when they were filming outside. “As well as saying Leicester is divided, the programme made a number of strange claims, including the reference to Leicester having a ‘Polish area’. “I haven’t got a clue what they were talking about. “Over recent decades, people, including the city council, have focused on getting a lot of positives out of the diversity of our communities. “Having a cohesive city is always a work in progress and we are never going to be complacent. We have a very positive story to tell about what we are doing in our neighbourhoods and schools and that work will continue.” The Somali community – represented in the show by single mum Sagal – has been in Leicester only a few years, but is becoming an integral part of life in the city. Jawaahir Daahir, director of Somali Development Services, a community group which, in fact, helps people of all communities to find employment and training, moved to Leicester 14 years ago. Like many Somalis, including Sagal, she left Somalia in 1990 because of the civil war, and moved to the Netherlands before later heading for Leicester. She said: “They filmed a discussion during which a group of Somali women talked positively about life in Leicester, but the only bit they used showed a woman saying she thought there was no integration in Leicester. “We had some meetings with Channel 4 and they told us the programme would be positive and that the main point of it would be about bringing people together. “It’s a shame they did not portray our city and community accurately. “After it was shown on television, we were getting a lot of messages from people by telephone and through Twitter and Facebook saying that they were angry about the programme. “The Somalia community is young in Leicester and we are making good progress and the majority support themselves. A lot of Somali women heard the Polish woman in the programme say how many toilets she had cleaned, and they identified with her. “I am very optimistic about the community’s future. We are already seeing Somali people qualifying as doctors, nurses and teachers.” Suleman [Nagdi], who came to Leicester in the mid-1970s, watched the programme with growing sadness. The spokesman for the Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations said: “I saw most of it and I have to say I found it quite troubling. I have lived in this city for 36 years and it did not portray the Leicester I know. “People I have spoken to since have also said they felt it did not truly reflect life in Leicester. “The messages I have seen on Facebook and Twitter also largely said that people felt the programme was not balanced. “I found it very sad that the programme called Leicester a divided city. “I think that is simply untrue and I think a lot of people are feeling hurt by the claim we are divided and full of immigrants. “The Queen chose Leicester as the city to begin her Diamond Jubilee tour and it was a matter of great pride for everyone here that we could show off the best of our city. “We are also looking forward to the re-interment of King Richard III. “That will also be a truly representative event. “A number of studies have also highlighted the hard work that has been going on in Leicester for many years now to promote understanding between different communities. “Not everything is perfect, of course, but it is regarded across Europe as a successful multicultural city. “The Somali community has arrived in the city relatively recently and has settled pretty well and has moved into the worlds of work and enterprise. “But it is still a very young community, as are the Afghan and Iraqi communities which have settled here.” Read more: leicestermercury.co.uk/Reactions-Channel-4-s-Make-Leicester-British/story-24113047-detail/story.html#ixzz3IEdf3MX4 Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 22:18:59 +0000
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