Immigration London

As a bilingual myself, I understand the importance of communication in our mother language. Languages are the primary means of keeping our culture alive. Often, the direct translation of one language into another cannot convey the same essence as in the source language. Therefore, the best way to know a culture thoroughly is to understand the language. The mother tongue helps us stay connected to our traditional, cultural values, and our roots. Speaking our mother language is a matter of self-esteem. It enriches one’s confidence and creates awareness in one’s mind while also connecting with our cultural identity.
Studies have shown that cognitive development and intellectual development are comparatively faster in fluent in their mother tongue. The educational success in their mother tongue is higher than someone taught in a language other than their mother tongue.
Leaving the immigrant stories in their native language on the postcards was a decision I made based on the meaning of the project to me and the importance of respecting linguistic and cultural differences in others. Tolerance for accents, empathizing with spelling errors, and having a little patience when we speak to people who come from countries where English is not their official language.
It is not about accepting grammatical errors and damaging the English language, it is about understanding that each person is in a learning process and has a different level of English.

I felt that my postcards have a space for grammatical errors and a safe space for learning. No one should be ashamed of making mistakes. No one should feel unsafe to speak a different language in public spaces.  Many of us have experienced jokes, negative comments, and bullying because of the way we sound in English.  Through my project I want to say it's ok, it's ok to be you, it's ok to have an accent and it's ok to celebrate your identity.
I believe in a world where differences are celebrated. My first memory as an immigrant in London was precisely that, how culturally rich London is. I never thought to experience that in my life. I feel very lucky to be able to celebrate these differences through my illustrations and my life in the amazing city.
I hope each person that sees my postcards can relate to the person who wrote the story or at least could take them as a learning experience. I wanted to create spaces for acceptance, tolerance, respect, and learning.  I am very excited to be able to further develop this research in my next project.