Banned from play group for being British!

[blahblahblah]

I saw this today, and thought it might be worth a discussion.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...nned-council-funded-playgroup-immigrants.html

 

[Laura2919]

What an insult. Being british and being turned away because your not foreign.

I used to take my girls to playgroup but it was full with foreign ladies and none of them spoke a word of english. One girl slapped my friends child with a paintbrush with paint on and when we tried to tell her she looked at us like we had gone mad . Her look was actually quite rude. I didnt bother going again. I admit I dont feel comfortable. When my dad came to this country he knew basic english and I believe thats how it should be.
Im just shocked that a british person was turned away. How awful.

 

[Lightworker]

I don't agree with the policy because it ultimately constitutes discrimination. I know people personally that are foreign but are intimidated by British people (perhaps due to bad experiences) and maybe this playgroup is aimed at helping them overcome their fears and learn the British way of life, but to me it stands to reason that if you are trying to integrate people, such a playgroup would be counter-productive.

 

[Lightworker]

I gotta say though in response to previous post, I think its abit unfair to say that admission into the UK should be contingent on you speaking basic English. Sure enough Brits travel the globe not speaking any other language but English, so why should you expect any different?

 

[Sarah10]

I'm sure alot would be said if there were playgroups available only to British people

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

yeah BUT this is printed in the daily mail.. PINCH OF SALT ladies ... x

 

[Lightworker]

yeah BUT this is printed in the daily mail.. PINCH OF SALT ladies ... x

Absolutely

 

[Nibblenic]

I dont see how a group can be for people in intergrate into a comunity if you are refussing said comunity at the door!

Also did you ee the bit about the mix-raced birtish women who ncouraged them to go in the first place. Shes british aswell. This was obviously soley about skin colour.

We have a group at a local surestart that is only for Polish people and its clearly avertised as such. I wonder if you get turned away for not being Polish? Mind saying that IVe never tried to go either as there are plenty of general groups at surestart as well.

 

[Laura2919]

I gotta say though in response to previous post, I think its abit unfair to say that admission into the UK should be contingent on you speaking basic English. Sure enough Brits travel the globe not speaking any other language but English, so why should you expect any different?

Im not talking about any other country I am talking about this one. It helps to get involved with your community and it helps make friends and meet new people with being able to speak the basics.

 

[Lightworker]

To be fair, where I live theres a huge number of foreigners and they are for the most part engaged in English classes. It may not be immediately evident but alot of them do go to classes, just takes a while to see results.

 

[Laura2919]

We have lots of foreign people here. I think that english classes are a good idea but we dont have them advertised here. Nowhere that I have seen. Maybe they should do that.

 

[midori1999]

Well it seems like one of the comments is from a poster who says he is British and attended this group with their child and also saw lots of other British families there.

It's ludicrous if they weren't allowed to attend purely on the basis of being British as I agree with those who have said it is counter productive to not allow British people to attend but also be aiming to integrate 'foreign' people into local society. surely one of the best ways to do this is to make British or local friends?

As for 'foreigners' not speaking English or learning to speak English, Brits are the absoliute worst offenders for emigrating and not learning the local language. All those ex pats in Spain etc. (MIL has lived there for years and barely speaks a words of Spanish, same for ex pats in Thailand, most have no more than the tiniest knowledge of the local language, same applies everywhere else too) If we as a nation can't be bothered to learn the language of countries we are moving too, how can we expect those who emigrate here to do the same?

 

[Serene123]

That playgroup is quite clearly not about being foreign. It's about not being white. If you're not white you're welcome.

 

[CRWx]

isn't it lovely how you feel at home in BRITAIN and are turned away for being BRITISH

 

[AppleBlossom]

I think that's terrible tbh. How can people preach equality for all races then do things like this? And how exactly are they intergrating them into society by turning the rest of society away? I hate how PC this country is. If a foreign person was turned away from a creche for being foreign there would be uproar, and rightly so. This is just as bad and I can't believe they can get away with it

 

[annawrigley]

I think that's terrible tbh. How can people preach equality for all races then do things like this? And how exactly are they intergrating them into society by turning the rest of society away? I hate how PC this country is. If a foreign person was turned away from a creche for being foreign there would be uproar, and rightly so. This is just as bad and I can't believe they can get away with it

Agreed. Complete racism!

 

[indy and lara]

Firstly, this is in the Daily Mail. Their journalism is not known for being balanced!!! If it happened as is reported then I do not support it. However, I am not convinced that it will have!!!

There are many groups for babies and toddlers which have set criteria for entry and which are funded by local councils. Among these, there are quite a lot of them which I would not be able to attend, as would be the case for many of us. There are groups for young mums, single parents, grandparent carers, etc. I don't complain about this but accept that I am not their target audience.

There are groups which run solely for migrant mums, many of whom do not speak English. These are not particularly designed to encourage mixing in the local communities but to support the women and to inform them about local services.

 

[Dragonfly]

. You wouldn’t get away with a British-only mum and children’s group.


Indeed we wouldnt! the screams of racism if there was that.

 

[Dragonfly]

yeah BUT this is printed in the daily fail.. PINCH OF SALT ladies ... x

corrected that for you.

 

[mlyn26]

I don't believe what i read in the daily mail. Could be one group in the week for ethnic minorities, sometimes we have groups in my local area for asian women as they are not permitted to be around any men etc. However white women are also allowed.

If this was literally for 'foreign' people only then it is appalling but as i said, Daily Mail if full of shit! Most racist anti-immigration paper ever!!