Ever since migrating to the UK from Poland, I have heard the phrase ‘Go back to your own country,’ I can date the first incident back to when I was just 8 and could bare speak English. This phrase is one that haunts the immigrant community within the UK and is often dished out unprovoked. In my 15 years living in the UK, I have been exposed to that phrase way too many times, from adults, children who don’t know any better, strangers and sometimes people who I thought were my friends.
‘Go back to your own country,’ is a phrase used by racists and bigots whenever they are faced with something they fear, hardworking and honest immigrants. It’s a phrase they spew like poison when their egos are hurt by their own ignorant insecurities.
Whenever someone has tried to use that phrase to hurt me, I thought to myself, ‘I would if I go!’ A thought that I’d like to think many of my fellow immigrants would share, if we could leave the UK without any complications then we would. However, there are many reasons why ‘going back to your own country’ is not as easy as it seems, here are just a few:
First and foremost let’s talk about Britain’s colonial past and the disruptive role it has played in many foreign wars. Many people who are met with this ignorant phrase, quite often aren’t even immigrants but rather just non-white British citizens. It doesn’t take a genius to make the correlation between former British colonies and the ethnic background of those who are often told to go back to their own country. During Britain’s imperial reign, it colonised around 411 million people, forcing many of them to move to a foreign land, leaving their lives behind to help provide for the British empire, to then be exposed to racism and have their children be told to go back to their own country.
A survey by YouGov found that 59% of British people were proud of the British empire, yet they have the consequences that came with it?
Not to mention Britain’s love to stick its nose where it doesn’t belong only to make matters worse. The UK is one of the largest arms supplies to Saudi Arabia, since Saudi Arabia’s bombing of Yemen began in 2015, the UK has supplied them with £7.1 billion worth of arms supplies. Yet the government loves to scream #YemenCantWait, when they’re directly responsible for what’s going on. Then there’s their pointless interference in the Afghanistan war which did little to help.
Now that immigrants from the Middle East are fleeing war-ridden countries, the government responds by introducing stricter immigration laws or simply turning a blind eye.
Talking of war-ridden countries, most people who choose to flee their home countries do so not because they want to but because they have to. Let’s be realistic who would really want to leave a country where they know the culture, language and social etiquette to a place completely unknown to them? No one. So when the statement, go back to your own country get’s thrown, sometimes the only right response is ‘I would if I could.’
Unfortunately, most simply can’t. They’re willing to face racism and ridicule, as it’s better than living in constant fear of losing their life. These are brave people who had enough courage to leave life as they know it to embrace a life-threatening journey, to then be told to go back rather than welcomed with open arms by a nation that plays a part in their displacement.
Lastly, let’s look at where the UK would be without immigrants. British people really on foreign food and culture in their everyday lives without even realising. Take tea, for example, considered a British treasure yet it was bought over here from China, and that’s just the trivial stuff. The more negative impact of immigrants going back to their own country would include mounting pressure on both the labour market and the economy.
In the UK, there are 456,073 migrant entrepreneurs, who have founded or co-founded 465,527 companies. Now imagine how our society would suffer should all of them choose to take their ventures back home.
Immigrants are people who are willing to take on the work that no one else does, just to be able to send some money back home. According to the government website, white British people make up the largest percentage (56%) of people receiving government benefits. Thus racist statements like, ‘immigrants only come over here to rinse our benefits’ are baseless.
‘Go back to your own country’ is a phrase that any foreigner, they don't even have to be an immigrant, in the UK will hear at least once in their life, which has stemmed from the ignorance and lack of accountability of the British public. Their nationalist tendencies lead them to spew racism whenever they feel threatened by a foreign culture. Yet they love to exploit it when it suits them.
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