Monday, January 09, 2006




Curry and Chop Suey under threat in UK: "The neighbourhood curry house and Chinese takeaway risk being replaced by kebab shops as an unexpected consequence of Britain's new immigration policy. Chinese and Indian restaurant and takeaway owners are campaigning to persuade the Government to continue letting thousands of Asian people into the country to help to make the curries. But ministers have refused, telling caterers to speak English in their kitchens so that vacancies can be filled by workers from Eastern Europe.... The first lobby of Parliament by representatives of Britain's 250,000-strong Chinese community has urged politicians to make a special case to save the locally stir-fried chop suey. Britain's many Chinatowns emerged from the migration of young workers from Hong Kong in the 1960s. Today those workers are retiring and their children have achieved such academic and professional success that few wish to remain in catering... Ashraf Uddin, the secretary-general of the Bangladesh Caterers' Association, said that at least 20,000 workers a year were needed to work in Britain's 10,000 Indian restaurants. He said that the Government had told them to take Eastern Europeans. "Unless they know our culture, our language, our way of working, it's a complete mess," he said."

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