Multicultural Britain

A- Read the poem by Benjamin Zephaniah and answer these questions:

1- What is the topic of the text? Suggest one word that may summarise what the poem is
about.
2- This text is a poem but it is also another text type. Which one? Provide examples to
support your answer.
3- Why does Zephaniah use that text type mentioned in question 2? In what sense does it
help him to express what he thinks about the topic of the poem?
4-What does the poem say about languages?
5-Look at the note and the warning. What does the poet suggest? Do you think those
comments are necessary? Why(not)?

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-british/

The British​ by Benjamin Zephaniah

Take some Picts, Celts and Silures

And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.

Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years

Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.

Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,

Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
Vietnamese and Sudanese.

Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians

And Pakistanis,
Combine with some Guyanese
And turn up the heat.

Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,

Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add to the melting pot.

Leave the ingredients to simmer.

As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish

Binding them together with English.

Allow time to be cool.

Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,

Serve with justice
And enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another
will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.

Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice
and equality to all.

by Benjamin Zephaniah

B- Read this short passage and make a list of the reasons why Britain is a multicultural
society.

C-Read this article from the BBC about an incident that happened due to Brexit Day, answer
the questions and complete the following chart.
1-What is Brexit?
2- Complete with the views and actions for and against multiculturalism mentioned in the
article.

Multiculturalism

For Against
3- Can you connect the article with Zephaniah's poem? Does it reflect any of the views
expressed by the poem?
4-What does the government think about immigrants and the English language?

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-england-norfolk-51
355481?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=158614079004
09&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=De%20%251%24s&ampshare=ht
tps%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fuk-england-norfolk-51355481
Happy Brexit Day' Norwich flat residents unite to show support

03 February 2020 Norfolk

Residents at a block of flats where "Happy Brexit Day" notices appeared have pinned up
positive messages which express togetherness.

The notices, which demand residents speak only English, were spotted at Winchester Tower
in Norwich on Friday.

On Sunday, about 50 people met at the block to say it was a "multicultural building and
everybody was welcome".

Norwich City Council said it would "not tolerate" the behaviour of those behind the original
signs.
The signs were posted on the fire doors on all 15 floors of Winchester Tower
The UK left the European Union at 23:00 GMT on Friday after 47 years of membership,
following a referendum in 2016.

The typed pages, which were posted on all 15 floors, said: "We finally have our great country
back."

They also add: "We do not tolerate people speaking other languages than English in the
flats.

"If you do want to speak whatever is the mother tongue of the country you came from then
we suggest you return to that place and return your flat to the council so they can let British
people live here."

'Happy Brexit Day' signs say 'only speak English'

Brexit's happened... so what now?
UK begins new chapter outside European Union
After a speech in London , Boris Johnson was asked by a Greek journalist whether he
condemned the notices, and he replied: "Yeah, I do."
The prime minster continued: "Of course I think it is a wonderful thing that people should
learn English and people living here for a long time should definitely do that and they should
be helped to do that and we put a lot of money into people learning English for speakers of
other languages.

"But the idea you propose [of the notices] is certainly new to me and I have not heard that
one."

A resident who lives in the block on Vauxhall Street reported the signs - which have since
been taken down - to police.

Norfolk Police said the matter was being treated as "a racially aggravated public order
incident".

A spokeswoman said no arrests had been made and inquiries were ongoing.

People have put positive messages on the walls at the block

Residents met to say "everybody was welcome"
After Sunday's show of support, resident Rosemary Miller said the block had "lovely people"
and a "lovely atmosphere" and she had not previously known of any tension.

"We all stood round the tower holding hands and saying that we were a multicultural building
and everybody is welcome," she said.

"I put on the wall, [a sign saying] 'let's live in a city of love for all, we love our tower block, we
love everybody, we are all family'."

The block of flats is owned by Norwich City Council and is for tenants over the age of 55
In a tweet , the city council said: "Norwich has a proud history of being a welcoming city and
we will not tolerate this behaviour."

Labour county councillor Emma Corlett said she knew residents would be "disgusted" and it
was "really important that that response was led by the people that live there and their voice
was heard".

"Equally it's important not to be complacent, we can't pretend there aren't people out there
with hateful views that feel emboldened to say them at the moment and it is important that
we robustly respond to it any time it rears its head," she said.

D- Listen to the Queen's speech about coronavirus and the British society. In what sense
may this virus contribute to "heal" the British society? What views about the future and
future generations does the Queen refer to?
The Queen's coronavirus broadcast:
https://youtu.be/2klmuggOElE