On September 18, 2014, the Scottish referendum will decide whether the country in which I was born will continue to exist. I will have no vote. But this does not mean it does not matter to me. On the contrary, it matters a great deal. My parents came as refugees to Britain. When they took citizenship, they were proud to think of themselves as British. To me, “English” is an ethnic identity and “British” a civic one. I am a citizen of the world’s most successful multinational state. If Scotland were to depart, I would lose an important part of myself.
2014年9月18日的蘇格蘭公投,將決定我的出生國是否將繼續存在。我沒有投票權,但這不代表公投對我不重要。相反,它對我非常重要。我父母是以難民身份來到英國的。當他們取得英國國籍時,他們以身爲英國人而自豪。在我看來,「英格蘭人」是種族身份,「英國人」是公民身份。我是世界上最成功的多民族國家的公民。如果蘇格蘭脫離英國,我將喪失一部分重要的自我。