My Britain 2

I'm in a mixed-race relationsnip with a white man and it has been really hard. I think people have resisted me because they think l'm not worthy for their sons.

Dr Avtar Lit, 51

Chairman of Sunrise Radio. London. British-lndian

Life in Britain is very different now compared to the Sixties and Seventies when a lot of the Asian community arrived. I think the country has learnt a lot. When I tell my children about how socially excluded we were at the time, they can't comprehend it. At school we had to get used to being called 'chocolate', 'darky', 'Paki' orworse.

Today, you don't come across such blatant abuse. A huge progression has been that the inferiority complex our parents had has disappeared from the Asian children who were born here. If anything, they now have a superiority complex - they rightly see themselves as morę in tune with world culture, able to speak European and Asian languages, and with an understanding of two cultures. The world is their oyster.

Judy Ling Wong, 51

Director of the Black Environment NetWork. North Wales. British Chinese-born

I think that we Chinese tend to attract less racism than people who are morę obviousiy from an ethnic minority. Before coming to Wales I lived in London and I have found the viilage experience much morę positive. I have become 'part of the village'. While the city is constantly interesting and stimulating, it can also be very anonymous.

In London I have seen some horrific and scary racial incidents, and once that happens, people feel a lot morę isolated and scared. So while there is often a negative portrayal of ethnic minorities in rural communities, and there are certainly hidden problems, the human contact is often morę direct, morę straightforward. People can get to know you.

Devolution has brought a massive change for the better in terms of government interest in local communities, inciuding ethnic minorities. I have travelled wideiy in Scotland and have found a similar situation. I think that the Scots and Welsh are morę understanding of the 'ethnic minority experience’,

Houri Alavi, 32

Teacher. Brighton. British-lranian

I feel lucky because I can take from both cultures and heritages. I used to find the question of my identity morę difficult and felt morę alienated - not fully integrated. Now I feel happy and balanced. I’ve experienced very few cases of cvert racism -1 don’t come up against colour discrimination because I look white. It's morę prejudice or ignorance, based on a lack of understanding. It's stuff like stereotyping, for examp!e 'So you're Muslim - how come you're wearing makeup?' Or 'So how long are you going to stay here for?' I think we can all be guilty of doing that though - everyone is trying to reduce people into slots or categories. If I was talking about a Scotsman, there would be certain things that come into your mind. That's why it’s always there.

I work in six schools providing support to kids who don't speak English as their first language, and acting as a liaison between school and family. I feel very positive about what's going on in schools -they are a lot morę integrated and a lot morę aware than in the past.