Dining Over the Gap: An Meeting Between Different Viewpoints
Meeting the Participants
First Participant: Peter, 34, London
Profession Former government employee, now a student focusing on community health
Political history Supported the Green Party recently (also a member of the political group); formerly Labour. Describes himself as “progressive, and internationalist instead of nationalist”
Amuse bouche A sketch of a teacup he created as a kid was once displayed in the Irish National Gallery
Second Participant: A., 43, from Harrow
Profession Risk manager in the infrastructure industry
Voting record Originally from India, he has lived in the UK for five years, and voted Conservative. Identifies as “somewhat moderate right”
Amuse bouche He taught himself to understand the Urdu language. “I have no use for it, I was just fascinated”
For starters
Akshat Over the last two decades, I’ve lived and worked in the Middle East, South Korea, the United States. The issues we discussed are UK-centric, but they are also universal, because human life largely evolve similarly across the world. I anticipated someone very liberal, but Peter wasn’t all gung ho – we engaged in a productive, logical conversation. I had a couple of beers, he opted for mojitos.
Peter We split appetizers – seafood rolls, dumplings, radish cakes with sprouts, which were excellent. I was a little nervous, as I believe Akshat was. Would he criticize me for being a snowflake? We each have immigrant backgrounds. I grew up in Dublin; I have resided in the United States and the Iberian Peninsula. We bonded over our affection for London.
Key disagreements
Akshat I view migration similar to sprinkling salt to a dish. When you add a little bit, the food is delicious. Use too little or too much and the dish is insipid or overly seasoned.
The second participant He used an analogy regarding salt. It would be a funny place to be if the state was choosing some preferred demographic of the country.
Akshat There are, unfortunately, individuals fleeing persecution, but a lot of migrants arriving in the UK are economic migrants who do not necessarily add significant value and can weigh on the welfare system. Nobody forces you to move to a different nation for opportunity, so you should only go if you are able to support yourself and your relatives.
Peter We became confused with certain details. In my view it is the case that you come over and work and then following a half-decade you obtain permanent citizenship. No process is guaranteed. The climate has been unwelcoming for some time, visa fees are quite expensive, you pay an NHS surcharge, access to benefits is restricted. The red carpet isn’t rolled out for anybody. And regarding 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 have to have a certain level of compassion.
Common ground
The first participant Peter’s sceptical of unregulated markets. So am I, but at the same time, economic growth helps communities and ought to be promoted.
Peter We’re both internationalist. And we agreed that some parts of society – government, the press – benefit from stoking division. We did find common ground in basic principles and ethics.
For afters
The first participant Peter is of the opinion that since the UK benefitted from the colonial era, it should pay reparations to affected nations. My view is simply: you cannot judge history with contemporary ethics; eras vary, current society had no control of what happened decades or a century ago. Suppose the UK was obliged to repay the Indian nation, it would be a huge amount of funds. Is the UK in a position to do that? Certainly not.
The second participant Until recently, I don’t think there was much reckoning with colonial history. For example, when I first moved to the UK, the public weren’t aware of the Great Famine and the part that colonialism contributed to it. My view is decolonisation isn’t just about issuing payments, it should be about looking at what went wrong and where we should be now.
Final thoughts
Akshat It may not alter the my perspective, but I understand his worries. I talk to people every day whose views are opposite to mine. The goal is bringing everyone to the same page, so that all of us can strive for the improvement of the community.
Peter We were there 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 open to engaging in dialogues with others in future.
