You sailed far beyond your coasts uninvited, planted flags where none were welcome, and declared dominion over peoples you neither understood nor respected. India, Nigeria, Jamaica, Kenya, Egypt, the Caribbean, and so many more—strangers to you once, made subjects by force. Your empire didn’t politely knock; it barged in, guns in hand, Bible in one, profit in the other.
But now, centuries later, when immigrants arrive through your airports—not battleships—they are called "strangers"? When students pay international fees, when carers and nurses fill your hospitals, when delivery riders bring your takeaways and taxi drivers take you home safely, they are still strangers?
How curious. How forgetful.
Let us speak plainly. Britain did not become “Great” in isolation. Your empire was built with the labour, sweat, and resources of others. You extracted wealth, rewrote laws, dismantled cultures, and left behind fractured nations—economically dependent and psychologically shaken. You didn’t just colonise land; you colonised minds. And now, when those same colonised peoples arrive on your shores, you clutch your pearls at their presence?
Strangers, you say. Yet many of these immigrants speak your language, hold your degrees, follow your laws, and work your least desirable jobs—jobs many Britons refuse. They don’t invade. They navigate your visa systems, pass your interviews, pay your taxes. They come not to conquer, but to contribute.
So let us not pretend this is about strangers. This is about memory. Or rather, your selective amnesia.
And Prime Minister, if I may, let us look forward too. I recently published One Earth One Humanity: A Blueprint of a United, Compassionate Future—a vision built not on fear, but on unity. A vision in which humanity learns from the dark chapters of its past to write brighter ones for all. A future where we are not divided into "hosts" and "strangers" but united as fellow human beings, sharing one planet with shared responsibility.
The rhetoric of fear only serves those who profit from division. But history, and indeed decency, demand better.
If you fear strangers, perhaps it is time to ask why they feel like strangers in a country they’ve served, loved, and lived in for decades. Perhaps the real strangers are not the ones arriving, but the ones forgetting what it means to be human.
Respectfully,
Zakir Hossain
Author of 'One Earth One Humanity: A Blueprint for a United, Compassionate Future'
(Now available worldwide: https://amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F83T9HS7)