Not a great title, this: Keeping Up With the Khans (Channel 4). It’s made by the production company behind Benefits Street and Immigration Street(as well as the equally controversial Great British Bake Off). It is Immigration Street, basically, but after the problems with that (it lasted just one episode, after the Southampton residents scuppered it), and the furore over Benefits Street before that, I can see how they wanted to move away from the street thing. Keeping Up With the Khans, though? Because apparently, for new arrivals, it’s all about catching up with the last big influx of migrants from Pakistan (though there’s nothing about that here)? And it sounds a bit like Keeping Up With the Kardashians and maybe Citizen Khan? Hmmm.
Anyway, we’re in Page Hall, Sheffield, where asylum seekers Haider and Omar share accommodation. Haider doesn’t really seem to know where he is, or else geography is not his strong point. Where is the UK, the voice from behind the camera asks, after he has successfully pinpointed his home country of Lebanon on the world map on the wall: “UK, UK, is it here [South America], here [Africa], here [Russia]? No here it is, United States of … oh, no, here it is! [points at Ukraine].”
Yeah, make fun of the asylum seeker, why not? Though to be fair, it is a little shocking that Haider has no idea where he is after nearly two years here, and if it ever comes to a citizenship test, he is going to have to put in some revision. It doesn’t look like it will though: Haider’s not much better at claiming asylum; the Home Office isn’t impressed with his threatening letter from Hezbollah (apparently threatening letters aren’t its style), and his appeal is turned down.
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