My family came to the UK as immigrants – the current debate is depressing

Asylum has become one of the most visible tests of whether people believe systems in Britain are working (Picture: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

I arrived in Britain in 1979 as a child refugee from Vietnam. My family had fled on a small boat. 

When we reached the UK, I didn’t speak English and knew nothing of British customs. But one thing that stands out is the generosity: a teacher who helped me learn to read, a local family in Kent who supported us (with whom we still exchange Christmas cards today). 

Britain was not an easy place then. The country was emerging from an economic crisis, and Vietnamese re...