The Guardian has a great interactive special on children born in every country in the world who now live in England.
It is incredibly well researched and it looks like a lot of time and energy has gone into this project.
Some of the comments from the kids are hilarious (gotta love the point of view of a 6 year old) but some are so insightful they are heartbreaking. Take this comment from a teenager from Liberia -
“In Africa you get kids everywhere and it’s not hard to make friends. In England, look outside: you can’t see no one.”
Or this 13 year old from Tunisia -
“Wearing the veil, I do get quite a lot of discrimination. I went on this ferry to the Isle of Wight. And when they say Isle of Wight, they don’t lie - all white people. I was wearing my scarf, and I asked the man on the ferry could I have a tissue and he said, ‘Why can’t you use your scarf?’”
…
Some people commit suicide because of [bullying]. I know some people, they bully this person because they’re from Pakistan and they’re Muslim. And they say, ‘Oh, you wash in curry instead of shampoo.’ When they’re born, I bet every parent wants their child to grow up polite, clever, nice and kind to everyone else. Racism isn’t nice. Discrimination isn’t nice. I don’t think anyone likes it. But some people do it for fun. Some people hurt other people because they’ve been hurt.
Or a 15 year old from the Ivory Coast -
“In Africa, if you see anyone walking around, you just say hello. But in England if you see anyone and say hello, they will not say hello back. They have to get to know you properly.”
If you have some time to spare, definitely go and check it out. From a technology and interaction design perspective, there is a lot more they could have done - it would be nice to browse by picture, or experience, or age, rather than just country - but the content is really solid and engaging and well worth your time, if only to read about Colombian chocolate and plastic surgery.
This post is tagged under: Cool websites, random thoughts
