Expat or Immigrant?
As someone who left home to work abroad as soon as I turned 18, I've always thought this an interesting question. Having been brought up in a very white, 'slightly' racist suburb of Manchester, I heard the word immigrant regularly throughout my childhood and it most often held negative connotations. And now, I myself am an immigrant, a person who has come to live in a foreign country. But, wait... am I not an expat? Does it even matter?
A recent article published by the Guardian certainly provides some food for thought: there is a significant difference between an expat and an immigrant - a difference based on race and skill level, but mainly race. The discussion hits home for me. Especially while living in Denmark, a country known for its open intolerance of immigrants, yet its constant search for skilled foreign workers.
Countless candid headlines appear in the Copenhagen post and are a reminder that Danes remain famously outspoken on the subject of their non-native citizens: headlines such as 'Danish men shying away from immigrant women', 'Politicians and royals steering clear of grand mosque opening', 'Prisons packed with foreigners' and 'Immigrant women on near-permanent welfare' are easy to find and remind us how a lot of Danes feel on the subject of immigration. On the other hand, there is the recognition that 'Denmark [is] far from being a preferred destination for highly-skilled workers' and now, special tax breaks are being offered to highly skilled foreigners working in Denmark to encourage more Johnny-foreigners to move here (temporarily, at least, and before they become part of the aging population and thus too much of a drain on the system).
It would be going too far to generalise all Danish people as being racist, but a couple of days ago, I read about how Hornsleth bar, a nightclub in the centre of Copenhagen, has been refusing entry to people who don't look European or Danish enough. Such an abundance of blatant racism in everyday society may be enough for some people to warrant the Danes with such a label. Another recent article focussed on how Brian Mikkelsen, the current justice minister, wants to sort immigrants into the 'good' and the 'bad' to distinguish between those who “come from specific countries and fill up the prisons” and those who “earn money, pay taxes and contribute to innovation”. It all sounds pretty harsh and incredibly racist yet despite this, there's definitely evidence out there to support such strong views. Nevertheless, such issues are reserved for open discussion only by the more right wing parties and media outlets in the UK.
Whether I'm an immigrant or an expat or both, I know that I will continue to be for a while. As a white, British, skilled-worker from a privileged background, I'm certainly grateful that I could be given either label.