Quickway 3 Listening for Second Year Classes

Unit Two

"I Thought my race was Invisible"

or click here to download the audio file:

Read this article about the indigenous europeans and the immigrants and watch this video :

This is a documentary film where I attempt to explore the limits of tolerance in present day Europe. It deals with the relationship between indigenous Europeans and the newcomers. The subject is vast and extremely controversial, therefore I have decided to present it as an example of French citizens of African, Arab and Afro-Caribbean origin who have recently migrated to London and settled down there. Among the people whom I interviewed in Paris are: an official of the townhall of the suburbs where the riots of November 2005 started, an actor of Algerian origin, a woman writer of Kabyle ancestry. I have tried to explore the differences between French and British models for integration of foreigners unfortunately both were proven faulty. The backgrounds of the interviews are scenes of contemporary Paris which are often interrupted by riots and demonstrations. I was a victim of the riots and it took me six painful months to recover. I’m an immigrant and a member of the ethnic and religious minority and I made a double effort not to offend anybody’s’ religious sensitivities and to make a work of art which is positive and acceptable to the general public. The issues this film deals with are enormously important for present day Europeans and new immigrants and will not go away for many years. It was a surprise for me to see how recent suburban riots in France have hardened the attitude towards people of foreign ethnic origin. The sentence I heard many times was ‘Who gives them the right to burn our cities?” I immigrated to Denmark in 1971 and it was the most tolerant country in the world. I have married a Dutch-Moroccan wife from Amsterdam in 1979 and we were greeted on streets with smiles and friendly words. In 2006 these two countries, which I know well and of which languages I speak, became most vocal on issues of immigration and relationship with people of foreign culture especially Muslims. I think that it is a healthy sign of courage to discuss a subject otherwise considered a taboo.

Janus Avivson