Becoming British by Thom Brooks

Author:Thom Brooks
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781785900150
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Published: 2016-09-15T04:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

LOVE AND MARRIAGE

It started with a kiss. Jasmine met Martin and they fell for each other from the start. Marriage followed soon after, and the birth of the first of their two children a short time later. Things could not be better between them, and their future together looked bright.

That is exactly as it should be. A couple so dedicated to each other and to their young family is a life that many people can only dream about. Some do not know how truly lucky they are that they have it.

Jasmine and Martin’s problems began when they decided to move to the United Kingdom. This is not a story I asked or wanted to hear, but one they asked me to tell. Their names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Jasmine was Indonesian and they lived in Jakarta. Martin was British. They wanted to make a change because of the better schools in the south-east of England, where Martin was from. Jasmine told me that they thought ‘it would be good for the children to be in the UK for their education’. This was no slow boat to Kent but, in her words, ‘the start of a very long nightmare’.

Things went wrong as soon as they arrived at the UK border. They had taken advice from the British consulate that Martin could give up his job in Jakarta and they could part with their possessions and uproot with easy entry to Britain as a married couple. But the advice they had was wrong.

When they landed in London Heathrow airport and made their way to passport control, Jasmine and Martin faced some unexpectedly hostile questions. Martin was asked about how he might financially support his young family. But the truth was they had sold up and had just landed. Martin explained he was a British citizen returning with his wife and children to his native country. He did not have a job as he had only just arrived home. But he would find one and had never been on benefits, so he had every reason to think a swift job offer was around the corner.

But Martin did not have a job on arrival. So their new life in Britain could only be temporary. He was allowed to stay and so could his children, but his wife could only be on a visitor’s visa for a few months and then she would have to leave. British immigration rules meant a happy, young, self-sufficient family without any history of financial or legal troubles had to be split up – and this bombshell hit them only a few minutes after disembarking from a near round-the-world flight, having been assured by the British consulate that all would be well. They felt badly let down, but nothing would break their spirits.

Jasmine soon took the lonely, painful journey back to Jakarta, leaving her family behind in England. It was heart-wrenching. Martin found work quickly, as expected, but only on zero-hours contracts. This did not allow him

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