Equanicity: Emma Raducanu shines a light on the importance of citizenship
I was delighted to watch Emma Raducanu reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon. The hope of success for the nation at the grand slam rested on the migrant teenager after Sir Andy Murray crashed out.
At the age of 18 and waiting for her A-level results, Emma Raducanu became the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon in the Open era. The sheer frenzy Raducanu sent to the nation was ecstatic to behold.
As a migrant in the UK, I was quick to note that Raducanu was born in Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother. Her family moved to London when she was two years old. Crucially, Raducanu was able to represent the nation at Wimbledon because of her British nationality. The UK would not have been such a great nation without the huge contributions of the migrant community.
Raducanu has become a huge inspiration for our sport mad three boys. The eldest is an aspiring footballer for Manchester United and the England national team! However, unlike the tennis ace, our boys who were born in the UK are not British nationals. And they are completely unaware of their predicament. Their precarious immigration status is a consequence of the barriers created by immigration rules.
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