This is my England

                This story about identity of Andrea Levy, a writer is English born and bred. But her parents are Jamaica, and the colour of her skin not white. She never made to feel at home in the country.  She wrote article from The Guardian weekend, February 19,2000, she examines the question of identity, and its significance in a multi-cultural society like the United Stated.

                She was recently in New Zealand to literary visit and supported by the British council. At a book reading, there is young man asked me, “Where are you from?” England, she answered. “You didn’t look English, he said”. “This is my English looks like sometimes”,she answered. He didn’t believe what her spoke and he also laughed her.  After that, she asked him about how did you knew English people?”. He looked in white person, a woman who fairs hair and himself. Both of them were born and bred New Zealanders, but somehow they were more English than me.

                This was in a country where, if we speaking to a Maori man in his seventies, must told that anyone with even the smallest fingerful of Maori blood is a Maori. And they are considered to be part of that culture, if they have Maori blood.

                 Sometimes,she makes head and heart hurt. She also confused with herself, she said that where do I fit into Britain, 2000 and beyond?. Her dad came to this country in 1948, on the empire Windrush ship. He was one of the pioneers and one of the 492 people who looked around the old British Empire colony of Jamaica. He looks like disappointment and there is no expectation in his live. Her dad accompanied him, leaving behind in Jamaica his new bride, my mum, who waited impatient. She doesn’t know what her dad’s inspiration when arrived in Britain, and also her dad was making history. So her dad travelled on British country and around it.

                When her mother had worried about emigration, so hearing stories of treatment the first travelers had received. She wanted her dad return, but it was too late because her dad have love with england. Eventually her mother joined her dad and stay in west london six months. They wants like original England people, such manners, politeness or vowel from well spoken people but it’s not easy. They also get bad condition because have black skin. her dad had a job the place office. Her mother a teacher in jamaica, she sew to make living here and also worked in sweet-shop with others foreigners, Czechs, Poles, Greeks, all of fall-out from the war.

                When her brother, sisters and she was born that began to make a litle more complex. They were good citizens of thi country. We stayed in a council flat in Highbury, north london. She went to the local school and spoke like a cockney. At scholl, the teacher tought to read, write and do arithmetic. When she felt boring, she learned shakespare and the methapysical poets. She was learning what english people education.

                When still in Jamaica, every christmas they got a parcel. They family the olny got parcels from Jamaica, and the cake from someone who called “my mother’s mother”. A bow tie for my brother and sew with hand so dresses for us girls. They have a tin og sweetcorn in cupboard that come from Jamaica parcel. She still remember when her mother opening it and us running around spirit, because like weird. She tasted a niblet and spat it out, saying it was disgusting. Her dad liked guava and got sentimental if he thought of it. She didn’t know what it was, but she know the lyrics of song like “ rub it on my belly like guava jelly”, her dad got sensitivelly when heared it .  Both of her parents danced about like lunatics when miss Jamaica won miss world.

                Her mother had gone back after 40 years away. I missed with my home town of Jamaica, the condition is hot, violent and poor, that place not I missed, mother said. Her mother still had families at there, but most of them have now imigrated to America or Canada.Her dad didn’t want to go back at Jamaica because he had made his home at England. He just want to remember or visit at there but not going back at there.

                Jamaica is an Island where, apart from the aboriginal population. Many of people at there become as slaver labour. The white people there owned plantations and their workers and looks as overseers. Jamaica place of hard labour people, Jamaica place of a brochure and beautiful island but this place is where the colonist had left. They have taken the wealth and leaving with an economy debt, she said. However, this is she and her family Island. In Kingston, they welcomed her like a prodigal child. They told her about what Jamaica looks like, even she interested them with the English ways.

                For everyone who research their term, its look harder for someone with in she’s background. Most of she’s document is complete, she identify her family tree and that make long time to get a god job from the best until the bad one it needs a battle. Then she did next best thing and talk with her mother. She asked her mother to explain everything that she knew about everyone she could remember. So her mother explain about when she was little she wasn’t interested in her family background but her mother not tell all the time. But I have thankfully for the story above.

                She learned about her mother grandfather, her great grandfather. A man from Scotland who had flame-red hair. A fisherman who could change his hand to anything who liked to wash his money every Sunday. She asked her mother about, what was he doing so far from home in Jamaica? Where was his family? She’s mother didn’t know, she only know of him. So she look at the history of books to answer her question, like a different with her dad’s story, many man left the hardship of the highland life to chance their arm in the Caribbean.

                Her father’s father fought in the First World War with the British West Indies regiment. He was born Jewish. His family had been in Jamaica for generations but originated from North Africa. My grandfather had married out with a woman of Indian/Spanish/African. His Jewish family didn’t want him and all his issues.

These stories she learned from her mother, about the tree of her family and the history of nations.  Sometimes she happy become English people, but sometimes made she didn’t like if she hear what happened to Stephen Lawrence. When every day like a battle against racism, hatred and the quiet, polite  hostility that hold many black and Asian people back from fulfilling their potential. She wants if this place can change her own self made.

There are many of white people shocked that someone likes her called English and black people with similar backgrounds to her who do not like with her called English. The nation is not an individual issues, it is political. The majority of English people are white but sometimes isn’t because England had emigrated from many countries.

                When she at Edinburgh Festival, she was telling the public about her great-grandfather with the flame-red hair. So there is woman come to her, hold my arm and whispered, “You know”, she just tell about the Scottish. She has published three novels, Fruits Of the Lemon, Every light in the House Burmin, and Never far from nowhere.