Ugandan Asians
Sir: Mr N. A. Smith's letter (Spectator, September 9) on Ugandan Asians makes miserably unwholesome reading, to say the least. I would have dismissed it as completely unworthy of note, but it is couched in such lubtle language, albeit totally illogical, that it is perhaps necessary to point out the errors of this thinking.
Segregation is not the only answer, as Mr Smith would have it. Harmony is. Segregation is a curse. Live and let live is a blessing. Go back to the history of the human race. Before the Tower of Babel there was one language, one culture. Man lived in unity and peace. And it is the duty of everyone to undo the Tower of Babel and live happily together again. What do you think we are striving for world parliament, one government, one language for?
Mr Smith's reference to segregation in the United States is most unfortunate. The solution to the problem is surely not the division of society into black and white but the creation of an atmosphere and environment that makes for a useful, happy life together. The US government is taking great pains to do just that and it would be downright insanity to suggest anything to the contrary. As for the working classes in Ulster, Mr Smith had better keep out of it. He may not be aware, but he is playing with fire by making such untimely remarks. Better brains than his are getting together to end the conflict on a fair and practical basis. If Ulster proves anything, it is that bigotry and pig-headedness must go.
There are more reasons than one for the Asians in Britain setting up their own communities and integrating as little as possible with the indigenous population. And Mr Smith cannot be that naive not to see that the accidents of birth and culture are not the only reason for the Asian segregation. If housing is such a nightmare for the nonwhites, more so than for others, who does Mr Smith think is to blame? Is it because the Asians want to buy out the whites and buy up whole blocks so that they can live in their own communities? Come on, Mr Smith, you cannot be that simple-minded to suggest even remotely that Asian segregation is a one-sided affair.
Now to get to the point that gave rise to the outpourings of Mr Smith — the Ugandan Asians. They are 'coming here by sheer force of circumstances, and surely everyone, including Mr Smith, knows that. And who are we to go for the Government for rising so magnificently to the occasion? Mr Smith, I presume, is British (his name suggests it). If he is one, then he strikes me as being most un-British, for he certainly does not have the foggiest idea of what British fair play and determination mean. The British Government is right in doing what it is doing by going to the help of Ugandan Asians. In this it has the support of the Opposition, the Third Party and what is more, the whole world. This is evidenced by the number of countries, both within the Commonwealth and without, which are offering homes and jobs to the expelled Asians. In the face of such overwhelming support, surely Mr Smith does not want to go out of his way to earn the distinction of being the champion of the purity of the English race, even if it means being blind to intolerable hardships and prison and even torture and death to the thousands of his fellow humans?
And finally, Mr Smith, I hope you are no more than a voice in the wilderness. And thank the Lord that you are not a racist!
Chas A. Bachoe 98 Station Road, Crayford, Kent
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