i know i'm a tad late blahing about this,
but all the same, here's my two penneth's worth on the citizenship test:
if i decided to spend the rest of my life in the UK, not only do i have to sit for some daft general knowledge [who's the head of the Anglican church? it depends on whom you believe in most - god, the archbishop or the Queen innit?] test; but i have to fork out 34 quid to become the Queen's subject. whereas those who don't speak a fuckin word of english may be excused?
At a London conference to launch the tests yesterday ministers heard complaints from some teachers of English for speakers of other languages [ESOL] who will prepare new migrants for the tests that they were surprised at how difficult some of the questions were.
what a load of utter tosh. perhaps the papers should be set in the immigrants' native tongues? to be a citizen of any country is a privilege that comes with a set of responsibilities. if the immigrant couldn't be arsed to brush up on the local language and make an effort to pass the test, they can very well fuck off.
which reminds me of this ex-boat refugee who fled south vietnam with his family, and then settled down in sydney for donkey's years YET couldn't string a decent sentence in english. here i was whilst interviewin him wonderin how the effin hell he passed his high school exam's.
oh wait, he rote learnt that's why he scored impressive results. study by regurgitation is a [recommended] chink characteristic anyways. and the fact that he grew up in chinatown confirmed my suspicion. this revelation came about after my tellin him pointedly that i didn't quite understand him. whatsoever.
so if those - or anyone of chink extraction - passed the test [nothin on english history?!] with flyin colours, are they willing to die for Queen and country? or will they end up criticisin the immoral and decadent western values whilst usin the NHS when ill?
no, most importantly, havin been a shameless anglophile for yonk's, can i be exempted?
as enscribed by the letter b @ November 3, 2005 09:27 AM | someone's pingedsoz didn't mention more on the traitor bit - the official reason given is that wee islanders' loyalty is certainly divided when the time comes to erm "defend" the islet in case of war. but the way they entice foreigners to take up citizenship is nothin short of disgusting. their favourite targets are ethnic chinks or indians of south east asian descent, and those who study in either two of the universities are offered automatic citizenship just months before graduation.
but they'd never fail to remind us that foreigners are hard-up over the internationally-respected red passport. they could have got themselves confused that it is the fake copies that desperately dirt-poor asians are after to go to the west.
as blahed by the letter b @ November 5, 2005 04:40 PMI can understand that. I don't want to ever give up my blue in order to get the red. Did you know that if I ever gave up my US citizenship, I couldn't even be buried there? Dual for me would just be for convenience not out of "turning my back".
as blahed by "Alice" @ November 4, 2005 10:16 AMtime flies, and i'm sure the day will come when you finally decide on your choice :)
the perplexin bit about the wee islet is that it doesn't allow dual citizenship in spite of calls and pleas over the years - they make those who quit the red passport feel like traitors. and their desperation shows a few years ago when record numbers emigrated.
as blahed by the letter b @ November 4, 2005 09:49 AMI go for my ILR (Indefinte Leave to Remain), another words, my residency in Feb '06. In a couple of years , I will be able to go for dual-citizenship. Trying to decide whether I want to do this or not. It would be more convenient not to have to stand in a separate line as Krip when coming back into the UK, but then on the other hand, I would need two passports kept updated all the time.
Hmmm, convenience vs cost of upkeep.
as blahed by "Alice" @ November 4, 2005 09:17 AM