The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Migrants celebrate life in adopted city
Croatian Aleta says: ‘I like it here, Peterborough is so multi-cultural’
Migrants living in Peterborough toasted their new life at a community event highlighting the positive contribution they bring to society. The ‘One Day With Us’ event was held at St John the Baptist church on Monday, and one attendee was Aleta Doyle who was joined by sons Sean (15) and Leo (10).
Aleta (44), of Fletton, said: “I want to show the people of Peterborough that the foreigners are okay actually. There’s nothing to be scared of.
“I found that the local people don’t know anything about European culture, history and geography. I would like to mingle with people and show them we are just like you.
“I came here for love. I met a British man in Germany and he persuaded me to come here. I like Peterborough because it’s so multicultural.”
Aleta wants Peterborough to celebrate migrants more than they do now.
She said: “I do not want to be tolerated, I want to be appreciated. We are contributing to this country and I think we can all learn from each other.”
However, Aleta said she was recently told by one irate driver that she should ‘go back’ to where she came from, and she is very concerned that attitude she reare becoming more like those she experienced as a Croatian living in Bosnia during the conflict in the 1990s.
The conflict was so bad that a19-year-old Aleta travelled as a refugee to Koblenz in Germany to live with her dad.
She added: “This brings back bad memories from just before the war - the rise of nationalism and how people turned from loving.
“Trump and Nigel Farage, they are repeating the same things that we heard just before the war. It’s the same slo- gans.”
Liliana Cardoso, of Hempsted, was at the event with 18-month-old son Killian.
She said: “About five years ago I came with my partner to start a new life. We found jobs and got married. We like it here, it’s been good.
“We are contributing and paying taxes and we are just living our lives.”
One of the event organisers was Alice Barros (35) who moved from Portugal 13 years ago because she had family here, and because of the language. Alice began working at a Moulton Bulb factory in Spalding before becoming a dental nurse.
The mum-of-four stated that the event was not about Brexit, saying: “This is just the start of something to bring migrants together. We want Peterborough to say no to racism and hope. ”
Alice, who has permanent residency but not full citizenship, is worried about her future here. She added: “I struggle to sleep at night.”
Mum-of-two Maryke Dijkstra moved from the Netherlands in 1983 to become an NHS physiotherapist. She said: “I feel unsure about my position and potentially even whether I want to stay.”
‘We like it here, it’s been good’ Liliana Cardoso