Another World Cup Final finished. Was it ‘Allez les bleus’ comme chez nous? Or were you championing the underdog, Croatia? It was impossible to miss the ethnic diversity of the teams which came 1st, 3rd and 4th: France, Belgium and England, countries with a colonial heritage and currently facing intolerance issues.
France’s approach is one of assimilation, like the Borg of Star Trek where your antecedents are of no consequence. Meanwhile, England having quelched but not quite quash the Celts and the Scots, have opted for multiculturalism: where being British is a convenient fudge while forbears from the former empire are celebrated. And Belgium doesn’t really exist; only Flanders and Wallonia as Dutch and French communities live apart.
What this football tournament helps illustrate is the complexity of nationality and the figurative shrinking of the world. As Mbappe was lifting the trophy in Moscow, people from his parents’ continent (Dad- Cameroon, Mum – Algeria) were risking their lives to make it to Europe with an uncertain welcome awaiting them.
When I first immigrated to the UK, my English proficiency was often remarked upon with surprise by the locals. I was astonished at having to explain that my not being able to converse in their native tongue would have been the more surprising of situations since my country of birth had been a British colony for over 150 years until its independence in 1962.
Lately, I have had been subtly but mainly overtly challenged by non-former-empire fellow Europeans about my Britishness.
We need constant reminders as we’re a short-memoried people, as can be attested to by the appalling treatment of the Windrush generation by the very country that invited them to help rebuild post WWII.
In the waning of the last term, my sons’ school emailed the planned activities for the next academic year. Those less inclined to fly by the seat of their pants were encouraged to procure costumes while on vacation and to link museum visits to the topics to be studied by their children.
My older son will soon start Year 6 and will be exploring the Egyptians – great opportunity to introduce the kids to two of my favourite museums in London – The British and The Horniman.
This made me wonder if they should be doing much more modern history such as 20th and 21st century. If, like me you’re in the 5th decade of your life, then you have some memories of the 80s maybe 70s, and definitely the 90s. But when Southgate missed the penalty in 1996, Kane was only 3 years old. To him, like us the 90s are history but we lived it, he’s been told about it.
We did the London Museum last year, tracing the city’s origins from prehistoric times through Roman occupation to the arrival of expats from the former colonies to the 2012 Olympics.
With the constant influx of people from different parts of the world it is clear that prejudices don’t just exist between the majority group and the minority groups but also minority groups have biases against other minority groups.
To paraphrase Chimamanda, we need to tell more stories and more frequently. Football tells an eloquent and dramatic story. Yet, there are other stories to tell like that of C.L. R. James, Afro-Trinidadian writer, for whom the library in Dalston in the London Borough of Hackney is named. He was renowned for his knowledge of literature and politics.
I wonder what he would make of recent events, would he feel that history was repeating itself or would he witness some progress since his passing in 1989 at the age of 88?
Should we be reflecting on recent history more often?
