Tower and Town, September 2016 (view the full edition)What It Has Meant To Me To Be A Migrant From GhanaMy professional life began when I started work in 1953 as a Civil Engineer for Halcrow in Ghana on the construction of the port of Tema. A senior engineer from Halcrow recommended me to work at their head office in London. This meant saying farewell to sights and sounds and everything familiar in my native land then romantically called the Gold Coast. I arrived in London on 7th June 1954. Two of my happiest memories on arrival in London were being introduced to Sir William Halcrow, the Senior Partner, on the day I first reported for work, and watching the Trooping of the Colour Ceremony. Sir William enquired whether I would like to see it and to my delight said "well, this is your first day in London. Why not go off and see it!?" Witnessing the grandeur of the Trooping the Colour Ceremony at Horse Guards Parade was a special occasion for me as a new arrival from Africa. Her Majesty the Queen in her magnificent uniform appeared very majestic on her horse during the parade as she presented the colours to the regiment. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer pageantry of the occasion and said to myself that I must be lucky to be in the right place at the right time! The memory will always stay with me. In fact, during my first 3 days in this country I was already experiencing seismic waves of culture shock. After my civil engineering training, I was promoted to Principal Engineer in 1975. I became a Director in 1982 and a Committee member of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Africa. In the early 1960s I was concerned with irrigation and reclamation work in Guyana, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Antigua, the Sultanate of Oman and the Trucial States. In 1984 I was a member of the LCCI trade mission to Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast. In 1983 I moved to Marlborough to be close to Halcrow's headquarters at Burderop Park. In 1997 the Marlborough Brandt Group funded an engineering study to provide a piped water supply for Gunjur in The Gambia. As a member of MBG I assisted with the design of two deep tube wells to augment the existing shallow wells for the supply of clean water to the community. Settling in this country has not only taught me the benefits of cultural diversity but also profound personal development, integrity and modesty. I am also proud to state that my late lovely English wife made a huge contribution to the success and enrichment of our mixed marriage of 46 years. We were blessed with two beautiful children, three grandchildren and one great grandchild. Put simply "Mixed Marriage and Cultural Diversity in Action!" Throughout my travels to different countries I have learnt more about myself from other people's cultures. In order to achieve this cultural diversity we must not shut our borders as this will alienate us from the community of nations we seek to trade with. Our attitude to their citizens will determine their attitude to us. People travel to different countries for a variety of reasons, trade, education, work, tourism, cultural exchange. We must therefore think carefully about our attitudes and decisions regarding immigration and consider the positive aspects of embracing immigrants as this will surely enrich our cultural diversity as a nation. The result of the referendum on 23 June has sent a shock wave through the nation and the world at large but has created a volcanic eruption, spewing its emotional ash and lava into the atmosphere. But no man-made problem is beyond a man made solution. We must try to convert the liability into a positive asset. Joe Anderson |