As a white British kid, born and raised in Bradford, Elora Kirk has always had Muslim neighbors and friends.
Kirk, 23, said those Muslim neighbors were always friendly and generous and shared food with her family, especially during Ramadan and Eid.
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“I am born and raised in Bradford. The school I went to was in a ‘white’ area, but as long as I can remember, we have always had Muslim neighbors, and it has been great. You learn so much about different cultures and religions,” she told The Mirror.
“Our Muslim neighbors are very generous, always sending over food, especially on special occasions, like Eid and during Ramadan.
Elora Kirk
“Obviously they have certain rules about their faith, but that doesn’t stop them from being friendly.”
Elora said Bradford has the largest youth population in Europe, adding: “Maybe it’s easier for young people to mix. We don’t have prejudices, maybe.”
Her comments were a sharp contrast to those given by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has controversially claimed that multiculturalism has “failed” in Europe.
The eyebrow-raising comment was part of the home secretary’s speech on migration to a centre-right think tank in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Backlash
Prompted by Braverman’s speech, people started to reveal how their own lives suggest that multiculturalism works.
Speak to anyone visiting the UK & they’ll tell you that multiculturalism is one of its greatest features. Speak to anyone who knows history & they’ll tell you that multiculturalism is key to progress & innovation. Multiculturalism hasn’t failed in the UK. Politics has.
— Prof Nisreen Alwan 🌻 (@Dr2NisreenAlwan) September 26, 2023
Some of the services in this country will fall apart if not for ‘foreign born mothers’
— Prof. Pragya Agarwal (@DrPragyaAgarwal) September 27, 2023
‘Foreign-born mother’ here. I could say that I have never taken a single penny of benefits but then we are just imposing the model minority myth that we have to be exceptional to be accepted… https://t.co/jErdUF7iyN
I am UK born to ‘immigrant’ parents. They both worked all their lives. Both me & my sister a Professor of Law, Lecturers contribute to society. I’m offended by these xenophobic comments. I suggest you look to the failures of 13yrs of Tory Govt fellow daughter of immigrants. https://t.co/N9FnIL0LlO
— Dr Tahaney Alghrani (@AlghraniT) September 27, 2023