Conversing Over the Divide: A Encounter Between Different Viewpoints

Introducing the Individuals

First Participant: Peter, 34, London

Occupation Former civil servant, now a learner focusing on community health

Political history Voted the Green Party last time (also a member of the party); previously Labour Party. Describes himself as “left, and internationalist instead of patriotic”

Amuse bouche A drawing of a teacup Peter did as a kid was once hung in the National Gallery of Ireland

Other Participant: Akshat, 43, Harrow

Profession Risk analyst in the infrastructure industry

Political history Hailing from the Indian subcontinent, Akshat has lived in the United Kingdom for five years, and supported Conservative. Describes himself as “slightly right of centre”

Interesting fact Akshat taught himself to read and write Urdu. “It has no practical use for me, I simply found it intriguing”

For starters

Akshat Over the last two decades, I’ve lived and worked in Qatar, East Asia, the US. The issues we discussed are UK-centric, 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 Peter wasn’t all gung ho – we had a good, rational discussion. I had a couple of beers, he opted for mojitos.

The second participant We shared appetizers – seafood rolls, dumplings, daikon cakes with beansprouts, which were superb. I was a little nervous, as I think he was too. Was he going to attack me for being a snowflake? We’re both immigrants. My childhood was in Dublin; I’ve lived in the United States and the Iberian Peninsula. We connected through our love of the capital.

The big beef

The first participant I look at migration similar to adding salt to a meal. With a small amount, the dish is delicious. Use too little or too much and the dish is either too bland or too salty.

Peter He used an analogy about seasoning. It would be odd to exist if the state was choosing some preferred demographic of the country.

The first participant There are, sadly, people fleeing persecution, but a lot of migrants arriving in the UK are economic migrants who do not necessarily contribute much and can weigh on the benefit system. Nobody forces you to move to a new country for opportunity, so you ought to relocate if you can take care of yourself and your relatives.

The second participant We became confused with certain details. In my view it’s like you come over and work and then after five years you obtain permanent citizenship. Nothing is automatic. The climate has been unwelcoming for some time, application costs are quite expensive, you pay an healthcare levy, eligibility for support is restricted. There is no special treatment for anyone. And concerning the recent changes, under which family reunification is restricted, it is astonishing to state: we desire your labor, but we reject you as a person. I believe we have to have a certain level of compassion.

Common ground

Akshat Peter questions unregulated markets. So am I, but at the same time, economic growth benefits society and ought to be promoted.

Peter We each have global outlooks. And we agreed that some parts of the community – government, the press – benefit from stoking division. We did find common ground in basic principles and ethics.

For afters

Akshat Peter believes that since the UK benefitted from colonial times, it ought to provide reparations to affected nations. I simply think: it is unfair to assess the past with contemporary ethics; eras vary, modern people were not responsible of what happened 50 or 100 years ago. Let’s say the Britain was obliged to repay the Indian nation, it would be a huge amount of funds. Is the UK in a position to do that? No.

The second participant Until recently, I believe there was much reckoning with colonial history. As an instance, when I first moved to the UK, the public weren’t aware of the Irish famine and the part that colonialism contributed to it. I hold that decolonisation is not merely about signing a cheque, it ought to involve looking at past errors and where we should be now.

Final thoughts

The first participant It may not alter the my perspective, but I appreciate Peter’s concerns. I converse with individuals every day whose views are opposite to my own. The goal is uniting people to the common understanding, in order that all of us can work towards the betterment of society.

The second participant We were there for two and a half hours. Akshat had dessert and I had some sweet Japanese wine. I did not convince him of any point, but we each liked the meal, so we could hopefully be more open to engaging in dialogues with other people in the coming times.