Ethnicity in the North East an Overview
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EthnicityNORTH EAST Ethnicity in the North East an overview NORTH EAST ASSEMBLY THE VOICE FOR THE REGION Ethnicity in the Acknowledgements North East I would like to acknowledge the help and guidance received from everyone I have contacted while compiling this guidance. I am particularly indebted to the staff of the Home Office Drugs Prevention Advisory Service, particularly Robert Martin Government Office for the North East and Deborah Burns and Karen Kirkbride, for their continuous support, advice and encouragement. Veena Soni Diversity Advisor Drugs Prevention Advisory Service 1 Ethnicity in the Foreword by Angela Eagle North East The Home Office has committed itself to promoting race equality, particularly in the provision of public services such as education, health, law and order, housing and local government; and achieve representative workforces in its services areas. We are also working hard to promote cohesive communities and deal with the issues that cause segregation in communities. One of the Home OfficeÕs seven main aims is to support strong and active communities in which people of all races and backgrounds are valued and participate on equal terms by developing social policy to build a fair, prosperous and cohesive society in which everyone has a stake. To work with other departments and local government agencies and community groups to regenerate neighbourhoods, to support families; to develop the potential of every individual; to build the confidence and capacity of the whole community to be part of the solution; and to promote good race and community relations, combating prejudice and xenophobia. To promote equal opportunities both within the Home Office and more widely and to ensure that active citizenship contributes to the enhancement of democracy and the development of civil society. I believe that this publication will be an important tool in the work underway to promote good community relations. I hope it will be an invaluable resource for agencies working with the public in the North East in ensuring that they understand and represent the community and engage all parts of the community in their work. I welcome this publication, ÒEthnicity in the North East Ð an overviewÓ, a practical example of Government agencies based in the North East working in partnership to produce a document which will be of lasting benefit to local communities and the region. Angela Eagle MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Europe, Community and Race Equality 2 Ethnicity in the Introduction North East This guidance has been compiled by the Home Office Drugs Prevention Advisory Service and Government Office for the North East with the support of One North East and the North East Assembly as a response to a real need to appreciate the diversity and complexity of our growing black and minority ethnic communities in the North East. It will serve a number of valuable purposes: 1. As a general introduction to the rich cultural and religious diversity which ethnic communities bring to our region. 2. As a recognition that there are challenges and opportunities both now and in the future in terms of realising the economic and social potential of all our minority communities. 3. As recognition that the North East is an evolving region and that we need to understand and appreciate the nature of our changing environment. 4. As a regular updated contribution, which will contextualise and map the performance and demographic profiles of the Black and Minority Ethnic communities. To serve this purpose it has been divided into three parts: ¥ Religious/Cultural information ¥ Socio-economic information about the communities ¥ Community projects and leaders While every effort has been taken to ensure all information is correct we recognise the changing circumstances of projects. We shall therefore update and add to the database regularly. We shall also update the socio- demographic data on publication of information from the 2001 census. We hope this guidance will be of assistance to all those working towards meeting the needs of the whole community. 3 Ethnicity in the Important Issues for Minority Ethnic Communities North East Language Language affects the quality of our lives in many ways. For many black and minority ethnic communities there are several language issues which are important. Many of the original immigrants of different minority ethnic groups, work or worked in one particular occupation, such as within the restaurant trade, corner shops or buses etc. for much of their lives. Due to this pattern of working with others from the same background, many people, despite having been in Britain for a large number of years, experience problems with oral English. This also affects children when they first attend school as they may have had little exposure to the English language at home. Language facilitates communication. Therefore, when a personÕs interpretation or understanding of language is different, communication is affected. This can have adverse results in many areas of a personÕs life affecting their confidence, communication in health matters, education, work etc. It will also affect their ability to share their views or to ask for support. Language problems can create difficulties, for example: making an appointment, seeing a health professional, reading documents, letters, filling in forms and other such circumstances. Service providers need to be aware of the importance of translation in aiding full understanding and that unofficial translators are often not sufficient. It is important that a person can speak openly in the presence of a translator. Serious misunderstandings can occur when information is being passed through a third party who is untrained and not familiar with certain vocabulary. This may be potentially dangerous, embarrassing and may breach confidentiality between a doctor and patient, or may place the translator in a difficult or stressfull situation. In many cases language has created a divide between older and younger generations. Sometimes older people speak their Ômother tongueÕ more proficiently than English and the younger generation may speak English better than their Ômother tongueÕ. Racism and Isolation Racism and discrimination affect communities in many different ways. For many this results in feelings of insecurity, fear and discomfort, at worst it results in mental illness or deprivation. To avoid discrimination, many minority ethnic groups have found work by setting up a business, such as a restaurant, employing others of the same ethnic background or opening a shop employing family members. Socially they meet only members from within their community. This may cause problems of community isolation from the wider population. For example, within the catering trade, workers day to day routine is set to a different time scale than the wider community. Young people today however are trying to break away from tradition and enter into professional occupation. Religion Religion plays a very important part in the lives of many members of the black and minority ethnic communities. It is important therefore to realise that members from a number of countries can belong to and follow the practices of a particular faith. To avoid any misunderstanding and cause unnecessary embarrassment it is important to be aware of the religious beliefs of the members/communities before meeting them. 4 Ethnicity in the North East Current Language Clusters of Refugees/Asylum Seekers In the North East DARLINGTON Arabic; Kurdish; Romanian; Farsi; Punjabi; Servo-Croat & French GATESHEAD Albanian; Servo-Croat; Farsi; Slovak; Russian; Kurdish; Arabic; Czech & Romanian HARTLEPOOL Lithuanian; Polish; Russian and Servo-Croat MIDDLESBROUGH Ahmaric; Albanian; Tamil; Farsi; Urdu; Kurdish; Czech; Slovak; Afghani NEWCASTLE Major Farsi; Kurdish; Afghani; Albanian; French; Russian; Czech; Turkish; Somalian & Arabic Minor Yugoslavian; Spanish; Turkic; Gujerati; Sinhalese; Tamil & Servo-Croat NORTH TYNESIDE Albanian; Czech; Farsi; Persian & Russian REDCAR & CLEVELAND Albanian; Romanian; Tamil; Afghani; Kurdish; Arabic; Turkish; Urdu & Punjabi SOUTH TYNESIDE Turkish; Polish; Tamil; French & Kosovan STOCKTON-ON-TEES Punjabi; Urdu & Mandarin SUNDERLAND Albanian; Czech; Romanian; Russian; Farsi; Arabic; Somali & Kurdish (Information Source - NECASS September 2000) 5 Ethnicity in the North East An Overview of languages spoken and religions by Country COUNTRY LANGUAGES SPOKEN DOMINANT RELIGION Afganistan Dari, Farsi, Pashto Muslim Albania Albanian Muslim Algeria Arabic, French Muslim Angola Portugese Roman Catholic Armenia Armenian, Russian Armenian Orthodox Azerbejdan Azeri, Russian Muslim Bangladesh Bengali Muslim Belarus Russian Eastern Orthodox Bolivia Spanish Roman Catholic Bosnia Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Muslim Burkina Faso French Muslim Burundi French, Swahili Christian Cameroon French, English Christian Chad French, Arabic Muslim Colombia Spanish Roman Catholic Congo (Dem Rep) French, Lingala Christian Congo (Rep) French, Lingala Christian Croatia Croatian Roman Catholic Cuba Spanish Roman Catholic Czech Republic Czech, Romani Roman Catholic Ecuador Spanish Roman Catholic Eritrea Tigrinya Muslim Estonia Estonian, Russian Russian Orthodox Ethiopia Amharinya Muslim Gambia English Muslim Georgia Georgian, Russian Russian Orthodox Ghana English Muslim Guinea French Muslim India Hindi, Bengali, English Hindu Iran Farsi, Turkic, Kurdish Muslim Iraq Kurdish, Arabic Muslim Israel Hibru, Arabic Jewish 6 Ethnicity in the North East An Overview