What does integration mean in Birmingham?

Local TV

After a government minister’s remarks about Handsworth, we asked people in Birmingham what integration means to them — and whether the city’s diversity still brings people together.

Transcript

00:00Birmingham's diversity has long been its identity.

00:05More than 40% of residents were born outside of the UK

00:08and most neighbourhoods reflect a mix of cultures, languages and faiths.

00:13But the word integration means different things to different people.

00:16For some, it's about community spirit and shared values.

00:19For others, it's whether people actually mix beyond their own circles.

00:23The question isn't just who lives where,

00:26but whether people feel they belong in the same city together.

00:31Birmingham is a multiracial city. It always has been.

00:35It's the second largest city in all of Britain.

00:38So we should have mixed cultures.

00:40It's not about them and us, because we are all us at the end of the day.

00:46I went to a school where there's a bunch of different communities

00:49and I feel like the communities were good at mixing with each other.

00:52I respected people's religions and their values and morals

00:56and they respected mine.

00:57So I feel like even in the area I live in,

00:59I live in an area where there's not much people from my community,

01:05but everyone still affects each other.

01:07Everyone talks about integration, but the integration is by areas.

01:12I don't see a lot of integration other than what's in the particular areas.

01:19They all keep themselves to themselves in different areas.

01:22The 2021 census shows wide contrasts across the region.

01:26Some areas majority Asian or black, others largely white.

01:30That's natural in any big city, but when those lines harden,

01:34it can feed mistrust or misunderstanding.

01:37Politicians argue over whether segregation is about choice,

01:40culture or economics.

01:42But here on the ground, it's people's everyday experience

01:45that tells the real story.

01:47I think people live separate lives, 100%.

01:51Because there's different areas in Birmingham.

01:52I'm already from Birmingham, I'm already from London,

01:54but obviously I came to Birmingham,

01:56but I've noticed that there's loads of Asian people, Arabs,

01:59different mixes of communities and it'd be.

02:02I think it depends on the people really.

02:04It's because I know a lot of people around my age,

02:07I don't mind mixing with lots of different communities

02:08because I think the one thing I stick by is respect for other people

02:12and respecting other people's values and morals.

02:15So I'm Muslim, for example, and I got many friends that are Christian

02:19that respect my beliefs and I respect their beliefs.

02:21And as a community as a whole, in my culture, I respect their culture.

02:26When I came to Birmingham years and years and years ago,

02:29there was a large area of Asians next to a large area of National Front

02:35on the walls everywhere, right next to each other, right next to each other.

02:42And I agree that streets shouldn't be all one people.

02:48Areas shouldn't be all one people.

02:51We should mix.

02:53Because even if you don't like or trust those people

02:56after living around them for so long, you build up trust.

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