I cannot stop you from interpreting my statements as a tirade, on this, all I can say is I find it illuminating that you use the word ‘tirade’. You use inflammatory language, and I am supposed to take it on the chin, like a good ole chum.

You perceive my responding to your comments on there being too many non-British people as hating Britain. I was trying to point out the ways Britain has benefited from migrants and exploiting others.

First, your observation of me using ‘your’ language, do you realise that English originates from Friesland? Also, the English language, as is, has been influenced by other ‘foreign’ languages, such as the Normans (French), Anglo-Saxon, Latin, etc.

One of the arguments of those who are against migrant use is that they don’t bother to learn to speak the native language. You are here maligning me for speaking English. For your information, I did not have a choice in the matter. I grew up in a British colony where the British enforced the English grammar system. The island was French-speaking before being handed over to the British. The Island changed hands between the French and English eleven times.

One can argue that English, as an international language, is a legacy of colonialism. Secondly, from my in-depth analysis of the Atlantic slave trade, the enslaved people were forced to adopt the European languages. The European colonial powers, to prevent rebellions, mixed enslaved people from different regions of Africa; they did this to restrict the enslaved people from communicating with each other, thus reducing their ability to organise rebellions.

I don’t support colonialism of any sort, Chinese, American, French or British? Chinese colonialism does not excuse (English) British colonialism. I am not in the game of ‘my colonialism is better than your colonialism.’

Yes, the British contributed vast amounts to scientific ‘progress’, and so did the Germans, French, Americans, Japanese, etc.

You blame other countries for commercially exploiting British scientific discoveries; that is called innovation. If the English educational establishments were less elitist, they might have exploited their discoveries. There is still a bias in the educational establishments against (manufacturing industries).

I was involved in the last Labour Government project for British companies’ commercial exploitation of military-developed technologies. Also, who is stopping British companies from exploiting British scientific discoveries? Maybe you should look at the short-term investment policies of The City of London and subsequent. UK governments.

Geographical accidents enabled the nations of Arabia to accumulate vast riches, so what about the North Sea? The Norwegians used the money they acquired from North Sea Oil to create the Norwegian Wealth Fund, the world’s most significant investment fund worth over 1.6 trillion dollars. What did the English do with the money they earned from the North Sea Oil? The Scottish would have loved to have sole access to those assets.

Shell is an Anglo-Dutch company, and BP is a British company; they both acquire revenue from exploiting oil reserves worldwide.

My parents originate from St Lucia, which has two Nobel prize winners, so per head of population, the percentage is higher than in the UK.

My heritage spans both Africa and Europe. My great-grandfather was Irish on my mother’s side. On my father’s side, my grandmother was of French descent. I have lived in the Netherlands, Belgium and St Lucia.

No country is perfect. I wrote a thesis and did research that critically examined the legacy of colourism in the Caribbean. So again, you are assuming I am not critical of others, including myself.

Why the mention of Jewish contributions? What is the relevance? One of the most moving documentaries I have seen is on the American response to the Plight of European Jews during the 1930s-40s. It is the first article on my profile on X, formerly Twitter. I put forward the argument that we should learn from this. I am not responsible for thousands of years of European persecution of the Jews.

As a gay man, I have had two lovers who were Jewish. Their Jewish heritage was never an issue. I take people as they come. I enjoyed their warmth, skin scent, creativity, and humanity.

I wrote the text below after attending the holocust memorial day in Amsterdam in 2023:

We walked silently through Amsterdam’s streets; this was an unexpected last-minute invitation.

Recreation was my original intention.

Arriving at Weesperplein, my initial impression was how sparse the numbers in the square were,

I immediately inferred that the majority did not care.

Surely, the numbers should be significantly larger with all that is currently happening in the world, indifference we should no longer harbour or consider.

I initially thought that the match was a general match for peace,

Alas, I was unaware of this recent cultural ritual,

My friend arrived and informed me that at least fifty such events were happening nationwide.

We listened to dignitaries; the former mayor recited a moving poem.

Soon after, a line of four drummers started playing a slow lament,

All others were silent,

The march proceeded through the city,

my friend informed me that the route of the march went through significant former Jewish locations.

I looked around and saw many Jews in the crowd,

The march started at the former Jewish quarters,

The marchers walked past the Dutch Holocaust Memorial,

Inscribed in each brick in the sculpture was the name of a victim of the Holocaust who originated from the Netherlands.

At intersections, the march had to traverse the road,

The police proceeded to stop the traffic, and one could see that some of the drivers became agitated; some opened their doors to protest.

Silently the march crawled through the city,

The possession grew bigger, picking up more participants along the way.

Along the main streets were pieces of white paper with black writing,

they displayed the names of the victims of the Holocaust who used to live at these locations,

I thought to myself so many,

I have walked down these streets on so many occasions.

I suddenly started to see these locations in a different light.

How we forget or are unaware, we need to keep history alive,

Not in the sense of nostalgia but with respect for the past, lest we forget and repeat the mistakes.

My mind was awakened,

Never again will I see these streets in the same light.

Earlier that day, I walked through this site,

I saw the structure at Weesperplein, but its significance escaped me,

All I saw was its form and surface,

Reflecting the sunlight,

I thought to myself that this must be another one of those abstract Dutch sculptures,

They had, after all, recently completed the new metro line that traverses the city.

And so I collated various tenuous pieces of knowledge to composite a story.

I lived in this location for many years and never knew it was the former Jewish Quarters. In the Netherlands, Anne Frank appears to dominate the historical narrative of the suffering of the Jews, but hers was a story of millions.

Durum, durum, was the rolling sound of the drums.

They walked in silence, past significant sights,

Here written in the bricks, are names we should remember.

They whom the nazis had plucked off these streets,

And taken to Hell, for example, the carers from the orphanage who unwittingly accompanied the orphans to the gas chambers.

I have walked these streets many times, not knowing that the ghosts of these people haunt these streets, the ones we should never forget.