One City... Many Cultures
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One city... many cultures A rudimentary guide to minority cultures and religions in Portsmouth Originally Compiled by the Equalities service - September 2004 Contents Revised by the Equality and diversity team - July 2009 Foreword 4 Special thanks go to those community and faith organisations which Comments slip 6 gave their time to ensure regional accuracy: Monitoring form 7 African Women’s Forum Group User’s guide 10 Community Information 14 Anglo-Arab Society Communities Bangladeshi Welfare Association African 17 Arab 23 Caribbean Islands Association Bangladeshi 29 Cheburashka-Russian support group Caribbean 35 Chinese 43 Church of England Council for Social Responsibility Irish Community 57 Ethnic Minority Achievement Service Kurdish 61 Polish 67 Family Learning Service Russian 77 Iraqi Kurdish Community Vietnamese 85 Polish Community Group Faiths 91 Baha’i 93 Portsmouth African Group Buddhism 95 Portsmouth Chinese Association Christianity 99 Confucianism 107 Portsmouth College Hinduism 111 Portsmouth Vietnamese Association Islam 125 Judaism 139 Portsmouth and Southsea Hebrew Congregation Rastafarianism 155 South Hampshire Reform Jewish Community Sikhism 161 Taoism 177 Zanzibar Organisation Useful Contacts 179 2 3 Foreword “One City, Many Cultures” provides practical advice and guidance for Portsmouth City Council and all other public authorities have staff to help them avoid causing unwitting offence. responsibilities under a range of equality and diversity legislation Local communities have been consulted to make sure the information which is soon to be brought together and further strengthened as the given reflects the cultures in Portsmouth. Equality Bill passes through government processes. We are updating this guide as we accept the importance of having a Currently there is a clear duty under the Race Relations (Amendment) working strategy to equip our workforce with greater knowledge of Act 2000 to: our society’s cultures. As a result we can ensure that service provision is sensitive to diverse needs within the city, thereby working towards • Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination fulfilling our commitment to all our residents. • Promote race equality • Promote good race relations between people of different It is necessary to recognise the importance of our role in encouraging racial groups community cohesion. Residents of Portsmouth may have different backgrounds and different cultures, but they share common goals - Public authorities must make sure that they approach race equality in a being able to access relevant services when necessary, living in peace proactive way. One aspect of this is making sure they equip their staff with their neighbours and being part of a thriving community based with awareness of the cultural differences in the communities they on trust and mutual regard. serve. These cannot happen if we do not try to understand each other’s basic cultural differences. Portsmouth comprises many different minority ethnic communities – the main being: “Treating everyone the same will not provide equality of opportunity • Bangladeshi for people who are substantively disadvantaged and discriminated • Chinese against and whose culture may not be understood. By consistently • Kurdish delivering services, which fail to take account of issues specific to certain cultures, barriers to people accessing those services persist.” • Irish Macpherson, 1999 • Indian • African • Caribbean • Polish (Signed by) • Russian • Filipino Louise Wilders It is very difficult to give numbers at the moment as the 2001 census Head of Customer Services figures are well out of date. Like other public bodies we are eagerly awaiting the results of the 2011 census. 4 5 Comments slip Monitoring information We need your help to ensure that we are giving our staff accurate We collect the following information in order to provide us with information. If there is anything in this book which you feel is valuable feedback on what you think of our service. This data incorrect, for any reason, then please let us know. helps us to identify gaps in the service we provide and is always treated confidentially. Furthermore, if this book did not provide you with the information you needed then fill in the slip below with your What age group do you fit into? comments and send it to: 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 Customer services 75+ Civic Offices Portsmouth How would you describe yourself? Male Female PO1 2AL Is your gender identity the same as the gender you were Telephone: 023 9283 4069 assigned at birth? Email: [email protected] Yes No Do you consider that you have a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act definition? Yes No Vision Mobility Hearing Other If other, please specify Which of the following ethnic groups do you belong to? Asian or Black or Black Mixed Asian British British Indian African White and Asian Pakistani Caribbean White and Black African Bangladeshi Other White and Black Caribbean Other Other 6 7 White Other British Chinese Irish Other Other If other, please specify What is your religion or belief? Agnostic Buddhist Humanist Muslim Other Atheist Christian Jain Sikh Baha’i Hindu Jewish No religion If other, please specify How would you describe your sexuality? Bisexual Gay man Gay woman / lesbian Heterosexual / straight If you prefer to define your sexuality in terms other than those used above, please let us know 8 9 User guide • This manual is designed to offer a basic introduction to Portsmouth’s diverse communities. If you are involved in customer care, family liaison or organising consultation, conferences, meetings or home visits, this publication will be invaluable • Sections cover faiths and other aspects of individual cultures adhered to in Portsmouth. This booklet aims to give basic and rudimentary information but does not propose to be an in-depth study, or be able to represent every aspect of cultural variation • Although statistical and demographic information can provide you with introductory knowledge, it is vital to discuss specific requirements with the individuals concerned • This guidebook focuses on the principal minority ethnic groups in Portsmouth. Contact details for established and emerging community groups, as well as relevant service providers, are included in the directory section • Individual religious festival dates have not been issued in this booklet because many alter according to the lunar calendar. For up to date information consult the internet or contact the Equality and diversity team • If you require further guidance, please contact the Equality and diversity team on (023) 9283 4069 10 11 Community Information 12 13 Community Information • There are many different reasons for Portsmouth’s community • The University of Portsmouth attracts large numbers of overseas coming from such diverse backgrounds students who contribute to the life of the city • As a port, it has attracted traders from different countries for many • More recently, Portsmouth has become a dispersal centre for centuries Asylum Seekers, creating new, emerging communities • Commonwealth countries were invited to support the war effort • Currently, there is a recruitment drive to fill vacancies in a range in the 1940’s in return for their families being able to settle in this skills in certain areas, for example education and nursing. This is country. Rebuilding the country following the war meant more bringing into the country a diversity of qualified people, fulfilling a jobs, more housing and a better standard of living for everyone, real need in our society which encouraged immigration • In recent years there has been economic migration from the • In 1948, the arrival of HMV Empire Windrush was a major event in european accession states for example Poland and Romania bringing the first economic migrants from the Caribbean Islands to settle here, in answer to this promise Language • Portsmouth’s Chinese population increased in the 1960’s when • Because of the diversity of its population, there are many different British passports were issued to residents in Hong Kong - many had languages spoken in Portsmouth. In 2008 79 languages had been links with people who had already migrated and were working in identified throughout the city the catering industry • It is important to remember not everyone may be literate in their • The majority of Vietnamese people arrived during the early 1970s. first language. It is equally important to understand that someone Vietnamese refugees were named “Boat People” because of their with good spoken English may not understand the written form mode of transport to neighbouring countries • Portsmouth City Council has a duty to make all public information • Ethnic Chinese people represent a minority community in Vietnam, available in a format that residents will understand but constitute the majority of Britain’s Vietnamese people. Many will consider themselves Vietnamese while still maintaining some • A strapline should be attached to all written council literature, Chinese traditions stating that it can be produced in different formats, and in translations upon request • Instability in African and South East Asian countries during the 1960’s and 1970’s resulted in higher immigration to Britain from For more specific information about language see the relevant those countries Britain from those countries community section 14 15 African communities African • Africa is not a single country. It is a vast continent made up of many nation states, each with their