Comments and discussion

When working with the article “Every race, colour, nation and religion on earth” by Leo Benedictus you can also consider commenting further on the statements that are most interesting or controversial.

One controversial statement is found in the introduction of the article. A Polish immigrant woman states that:

‘People here don't know their own neighbours, and they're like that their whole life. When I meet English people, which is not very often round here, my experience is that they are lost, really miserable people, sometimes with emotional problems. They don't know how to speak to you. They are surprised you are open and nice to them.’ (ll. 5-8)

British people are generally known to have a reserved behaviour, but this does not necessarily suggest emotional issues like the woman claims but can reflect the cultural norms in Britain. What do you think is the role of cultural differences when it comes to a statement like this?

You can analyse this point of view by comparing it with that of the Turkish immigrant woman:

‘When you're on the underground, people don't talk,’ she explained with horror. ‘They don't even m...