{"id":499,"date":"2025-05-23T12:11:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T11:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theoptimistmagazine.co.uk\/?p=499"},"modified":"2025-06-06T16:22:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T15:22:36","slug":"migrants-share-stories-amdid-island-of-strangers-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/theoptimist\/2025\/05\/23\/migrants-share-stories-amdid-island-of-strangers-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Migrants stories amid Keir Starmer “island of strangers” debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When building a life more than a thousand miles away from your motherland, migrants often find it hard to balance the identity rooted in your history and the one you create for yourself on the go.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keir Starmer adressed net migration in a landmark speech <\/a>on May 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said<\/a>: “In a diverse nation like ours \u2026 we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Prime Minister of the UK is pushing anti-migratant rhetoric, how can these “strangers” feel welcomed enough to integrate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia is a country in Eastern Europe with many people outside its borders unaware of its existence. Between 2005 and 2025, its population decreased from 2.24 to 1.85 million people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving abroad to a country with different customs and a primary language from an entirely different language family is challenging – that much is obvious. But how hard is it to integrate into a different culture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samanta’s Story<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Roughly 1 in 30 people are migrants, and Samanta Ka\u0146epe is one of them. She is a 25-year-old scientist residing in Livingston, Scotland, who permanently emigrated when she was 12. Before emigration, she lived in a small town called Kandava with about 3,600 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: Samanta (far right) with her family and boyfriend<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI first came to Scotland when I was 11, but I moved back and forth between the UK and Latvia because there was a point when I became so depressed that my parents had no choice but to take me back for about a year. But I still ended up moving here permanently when I was 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that because this whole moving thing happened over a week, my whole world fell apart because it was traumatising to have my connection to what used to be home be severed so suddenly,\u201d Samanta tells The Optimist<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK had a net migration of 728,000 people by June 2024, with 281 million migrants across the globe in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy biggest culture shock was the way people greet each other here. It\u2019s always \u2018Hi, you alright?\u2019 which I now know is just a longer version of saying \u2018hello,\u2019 but when I first got here, I always thought it was an invitation for a chat, but they don\u2019t want to know how you are doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first, I did think that it was a bit jarring, but I\u2019ve gotten used to it given that I\u2019ve now lived in Scotland longer than where I was born,\u201d said Samanta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many countries in Eastern Europe, Latvian etiquette is characterised by reserved and quiet behaviour in public. With a lack of emotional expression amongst strangers, many Latvians are uncomfortable with small talk or loud conversations as it\u2019s against the customs of their culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samanta tells The Optimist that she doesn\u2019t regret staying abroad, and now considers Scotland more like home than where she was born. Despite feeling lonely and isolated – like many migrants do in their first year of living away from their hometown – she made friends quickly and easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re enjoying reading this article, why not check out this article about Parents for Peace – Worthing here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt seems to be a big thing in the UK that when you\u2019re a kid, you have your friends come knocking on your door and ask your parents if you want to come out and play. I’m very grateful for what happened to me in the first week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt frustrated more often rather than isolated, because it was annoying not being able to communicate with the people who wanted to be friends with me,\u201d Samanta said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Samanta started school, the staff tried to aid her learning of English in the only way they knew how, but it was not all that helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 23 Latvian weekend schools in the UK, but none offer a full education, and none are in Scotland. Schools in the UK do try to create a welcoming environment for migrant children, usually by providing language support, pastoral care or mentoring, but this isn\u2019t always the case, which leaves many migrant children to fend for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cMy English teacher was entirely Scottish – she only knew English. So she would use kindergarten picture books, next door to where the rest of my class would have their English lesson, and hoped that I knew what she meant. But that was only in my first school year; they didn\u2019t try to accommodate or help me in any way after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy younger brother, P\u0113teris, has more support in school than I ever had – he gets extra time and breaks during his exams, which is a good thing. However, I also think that it\u2019s not fair because I didn\u2019t get any of those privileges. Especially considering I had to learn English on the go, and my brother only speaks English – not a lick of Latvian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrations are a big part of every culture, and Latvia is no different. Every season looks forward to another celebration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, during Easter, many Eastern European countries take part in decorating eggs – the tradition of which began with Paganism, a structure of beliefs that many people in the region subscribed to before Christianity took over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another big celebration is midsummer – known in Latvia as \u201cJ\u0101\u0146i,\u201d or \u201cL\u012bgo.\u201d It\u2019s a holiday on June 23rd and 24th, celebrating the summer solstice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These traditions, amongst others, are heavily centred around spending time with family and friends. Migrants, however, may have trouble keeping in touch with said traditions due to distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have now lived with my long-term boyfriend for seven years. When we don’t spend Christmas with his side of the family, we do tend to celebrate it on the 24th, like I would back in Latvia. But other than that, there aren\u2019t any Latvian traditions that I tend to hold onto nowadays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very family-centred, and even though I have a huge family, all of them, including parents and brother, will live back in Latvia. I think because I\u2019m not surrounded by my culture much, especially since I live in a different part of Scotland from my brother and parents, I don\u2019t celebrate the stuff I used to when I was younger. I don\u2019t even celebrate name days anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name days are celebrated in European countries with Catholic or Eastern Orthodox religions. Each day is associated with several names, and people whose names are on that day are celebrated. This is to celebrate the saints, patrons, and martyrs related to those names. In Eastern Europe, name days are often viewed and celebrated similarly to birthdays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I could tell my past self one thing, it would be that everything will be okay. It\u2019s cliche, but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I first got here, my parents kept telling me I would have much better opportunities to excel here than I would there. Of course, back then, I didn\u2019t believe my mum when she would say that. I kept telling her that it\u2019ll be different, and that I hated it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree with her now. University would have been straight out of the window; I don\u2019t believe it would have been possible for me back then, because I wouldn\u2019t have been able to afford it. I\u2019m looking back on my past friend groups and all I think now is \u2018damn, I\u2019m glad I got out of there,\u2019 because that behaviour to me now seems insane,\u201d said Samanta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samanta\u2019s story is just one of many, and her migration experience doesn\u2019t reflect how others experience it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marta’s Story<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marta Orleane is a 15-year-old student living in Burnley, England, who emigrated to the United Kingdom when she was 6 months old. Marta\u2019s family, back in Latvia, live near the capital city of R\u012bga, with some members residing in a village called Ape, home to roughly 700 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: Marta and her parents, December 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Typically, children between 10 and 18 months old start talking. However, Marta began verbally communicating with her family when she was 3. Because she has only attended English-speaking schools, and her parents exclusively speak Latvian at home, it was difficult for her to gauge which words belonged to which language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get confused a lot because I think in Latvian and English. So, when I’m in school, all my writing gets jumbled up because I subconsciously end up writing in Latvian when it should be English, even though I can\u2019t spell in Latvian at all,\u201d said Marta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ing\u016bna, Marta\u2019s mum, said: \u201cIt\u2019s always useful to know more than one language, and I believe she did a great job of learning both. English isn\u2019t my first language, but it is her\u2019s, and I believe being bilingual has given her a great advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marta visits her extended family regularly. Usually, this happens around five times a year, with her brother and her parents driving across Europe to see them. After all, family matters most to Latvians. However, because of Marta\u2019s shy nature, she is sometimes reluctant to engage in conversation, fearing how people will perceive her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like I properly stand out, because I don\u2019t necessarily dress or act like people in Latvia, so it makes me think I’m too British when visiting family there, but too foreign when I\u2019m at home in Burnley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes I feel awkward speaking to my family members who don\u2019t live in England, because I feel like we are confusing each other – I\u2019ve got a thick Lancashire accent when I speak Latvian so they can\u2019t understand me well, and they in their distinct accent, often using words I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard because I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re trying to tell me, which sucks because I feel like they expect me to know more even if they don\u2019t say it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of the time, I avoid speaking to people because I feel like they won\u2019t understand what I\u2019m saying,\u201d Marta tells The Optimist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, Marta is confident in her identity and ability to get along with everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two migrant women share their stories of intergration amidst Keir Starmer’s anti migration debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[32,103,202,102,201,101,206,56,208,209,203],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-determination","tag-identity","tag-keir-starmer","tag-language-barriers","tag-migrant","tag-migration","tag-migration-policy","tag-optimistic","tag-pm-speech","tag-prime-minister","tag-uk"],"yoast_head":"\nMigrants stories amid Keir Starmer "island of strangers" debate - The Optimist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two migrants share their story of migration into UK culture amid Keir Starmer's controversial "Island of Strangers" speech\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/theoptimist\/2025\/05\/23\/migrants-share-stories-amdid-island-of-strangers-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Migrants stories amid Keir Starmer "island of strangers" debate - 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