SIR – I read with increasing confusion the letter by Dr Singh on “Segregation of races” in the City, quoting data from a recent T&A article (Letters, October 7).
Bradford has been a magnet for immigrants for the last 200 years. The Irish, after the Potato Famine for one. Many of these immigrants arrive in the city with little wealth and therefore settle in the poorer areas. After WW2 there was a large influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe. They formed loose communities, because of language, culture and to be close to their families. There was no segregation!
With, from the 1950s onwards the influx of immigrants from the Indian Sub Continent, the story changes. Religion has played a significant part in the segregation of these immigrants from the indigenous population.
This segregation by the immigrants themselves, has resulted in what we now see today. Many families, still, even second and third generation, do not speak English at home as a first language. School results in certain areas of the city give proof of this.
If there is any segregation in Bradford then I feel it originates with the present immigrant population and that that is where Dr Singh should first direct his efforts.
Captain D.A.S Turner ( Retrd), Lindisfarne Road, Shipley
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