Conversing Across the Divide: A Encounter Among Different Perspectives
Meeting the Participants
One Participant: Peter, 34, from London
Profession Ex- civil servant, currently a learner focusing on public health
Voting record Voted the Green Party last time (also a affiliate of the party); formerly Labour. Describes himself as “left, and globalist rather than nationalist”
Amuse bouche A sketch of a teacup he did as a kid was once hung in the Irish National Gallery
Other Participant: A., 43, Harrow
Profession Risk manager in the infrastructure industry
Political history Hailing from the Indian subcontinent, he has lived in the UK for five years, and voted the Conservative Party. Describes himself as “slightly moderate right”
Amuse bouche He taught himself to understand the Urdu language. “I have no use for it, I simply found it intriguing”
For starters
The first participant During the past 20 years, I’ve lived and worked in the Middle East, East Asia, the United States. The topics Peter and I talked about are focused on Britain, but they are also universal, because people's lives more or less follows the same curve across the world. I anticipated someone very liberal, but he was quite measured – we had a productive, logical conversation. I had a couple of beers, he opted for mojitos.
The second participant We split starters – seafood rolls, steamed buns, radish cakes with sprouts, which were superb. I was a little nervous, as I think he was too. Would he criticize me for being a snowflake? We each have immigrant backgrounds. I grew up in Dublin; I have resided in the US and Spain. We bonded over our love of London.
The big beef
Akshat I view migration like adding salt to a dish. With a small amount, the dish tastes wonderful. Add too little or too much and the dish is insipid or overly seasoned.
The second participant Akshat used an analogy about salt. It would be a funny place to be if the state was choosing some ideal ethnic makeup of the country.
Akshat There are, unfortunately, people fleeing persecution, but a lot of people arriving in the United Kingdom are economic migrants who do not necessarily contribute much and can weigh on the welfare system. Nobody forces you to move to a different nation for prospects, so you should only go if you can take care of yourself and your family.
Peter We became confused with some of the facts. I don’t think it’s like you arrive and are employed and then after five years you obtain indefinite leave to remain. No process is guaranteed. It’s been a hostile environment for some time, application costs are really high, there is an healthcare levy, access to benefits is restricted. The red carpet isn’t rolled out for anyone. And concerning the new policies, whereby family reunification is restricted, it is astonishing to state: we desire your labor, but we reject you as a person. I believe we must maintain a degree of humanity.
Sharing plate
Akshat Peter’s sceptical of unregulated markets. I am, too, but simultaneously, wealth creation benefits society and ought to be promoted.
The second participant We’re both internationalist. And we agreed that some parts of the community – politics, the press – thrive off creating conflict. We did find shared understanding in basic principles and values.
For afters
Akshat Peter believes that because the United Kingdom benefitted from colonial times, it should pay compensation to affected nations. My view is simply: it is unfair to assess the past with present day morality; times are different, current society were not responsible of what happened 50 or 100 years ago. Let’s say the UK was obliged to repay India, it would be a significant sum of funds. Is the UK in a position to manage that? No.
Peter In the past, I don’t think adequate reflection occurred with colonial history. As an instance, upon my arrival to the UK, people weren’t aware of the Irish famine and the role that colonialism contributed to it. My view is decolonisation isn’t just about signing a cheque, it ought to involve examining what went wrong and our current responsibilities.
Final thoughts
The first participant It won’t change the way I think, but I understand Peter’s concerns. I converse with people every day whose views are opposite to my own. The goal is uniting people to the common understanding, in order that everyone can work towards the improvement of the community.
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 could hopefully be more receptive to engaging in dialogues with others in future.
