A personal story of being an Immigrant

20 years ago I began my career in Catering In Buckinghamshire, England.
I'm from Northern Ireland and with the antics of the Terroists on both sides, there was little investment and huge unemployment.
I noticed a job for a trainee Chef in the local newspaper, it was for a Bar & Grill in Southern England, I applied and and at the age of 19 I struck out on my own.
The Job was hard but the owner gave me a house to live in with other young people from all over the UK and paid for me to study at college every Wednesday
[god bless you Mr & Mrs M ]

In addition to Cheffing I was tasked with "front of house" duties and that is when the adventure soured

When I was pulling pints in the bar or taking orders for the Grill, a few people, would treat me like a second class citizen either by outright hatred by saying that "I was taking a job that should be filled by someone from the local Town" or by Stern looks and hushed whispers of me being a possible Irish Terrorist!
this passed after a few months once they got to know that I WAS a friendly young idiot, but NOT a terrorist, lol



The Adventures of Airport Security PRE 9/11
When I was flying back home for a visit to friends & family, the people bound for the Irish Flights would be detained in a special area removed from the usual boarding area.
Instead of a flight announcer in the area, there was usually 2 plain clothes policemen double checking boarding cards and asking the reason for your flight.
They would check your carry-on luggage and observe the people in the area until the flight boarded, this all happened AFTER the usual check-in procedure, this level of high suspicion I agreed with since there was a terrorist threat from my home country, but after the freedom of living in England it reminded me of the problems of the home i was about to return to.

The reason for this thread is to express my admiration of other young people who come to the UK to make a better life for themselves, they are taking jobs that others do not want to do and helping the local and national economy and often working at below the minimal wage for long hours.
I do agree that there are some bad apples who are plain lazy & who want to milk the system or involved with crime, but please don't let the actions of a few idiots paint your view for the rest that are contributing to the country.

The Government needs to take action against the criminals and the greedy, but we, as a people, need to be alert to the media brainwashing everybody into thinking that foreign workers are in your country to either blow you up, steel your jobs or destroy your culture.

20 years ago I started my career in England, I loved the place simply because I was free from the turmoil of Northern Ireland, I would suspect that the people who look for work in another Country feel a similar relief to be away from the problems in their home-countries and are ready and willing to contribute to making their adopted country a better place.

Good post. Only thing I´d like to ad is that when you are living in a foreign land, you are always an Ambassador for your mother country. Your actions, how you present yourself, your knowledge and respect for your host nation, will always be scrutinized by the natives. As an American living and working in Germany (especially being a business owner employing some of the natives), I also have the additional task of learning the language. The locals will tolerate the accent, it proves your trying. You will also be tested by chumps....that just goes with the territory.

Taking jobs that the English people don't want and at less than minimum wage? That drives the wages down for everyone. I don't see how that is a positive thing. How many families do you know that can survive on less than minimum wage?

reply to post by fockewulf190


i totally agree, we are all ambassadors for our home country and KUDOS to setting up a business despite the language barrier my friend

Originally posted by Night Star
Taking jobs that the English people don't want and at less than minimum wage? That drives the wages down for everyone. I don't see how that is a positive thing. How many families do you know that can survive on less than minimum wage?

Immigration NOW needs to be addressed by Crown Prosecution Service to target the Thugs who exploit the young & eager by enforcing their own wages and lack of rights to the , there is no other word for it, SLAVES that they control.

reply to post by dalek


That is so true. It is the same here in the U.S.
Ps: My Great Grandmother is from Ireland.

reply to post by Night Star

welcome to my friends list