It’s been two years since I moved to Wales, starting a new life for myself, and I remember the day I arrived distinctly. It was my first time flying to a new country let alone moving to one and start my life entirely from scratch. To say I was anxious would be an understatement. Just over 20 hours ago I had been with family and friends, loved, cared, and then quite literally I was very alone.
Immediately after landing at London Heathrow Airport I was made acutely aware of how alone I was. Lost in a humongous airport I needed to go to the bus station to get to Cardiff. I turned to what I knew – asking people around if they could help. But as I would soon learn it’s easy to get lost in the London rush. Thankfully, after a few wrong turns, a kind staff member directed me to the bus station.
Somehow, having made my way into the station, I finally booked a coach to Cardiff but not without a final hurdle. I was just boarding the bus as the driver told me I had not booked the proper ticket for my luggage which, at that point, housed my entire life.
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“I’m so sorry about that – I didn’t know. Let me pay for it now,” I told the driver. To my surprise he looked almost offended. He said: “Just get in – don’t worry mate. Take care next time.” It might seem trivial for most but for someone who had uprooted his entire life just 20 hours earlier and landed into a foreign country with no family this was my introduction to Wales and the Welsh. A nation of kindness and immense beauty.
In the two years I’ve been here I’ve fallen in love with nation and its people slowly but surely. Now I want to tell the world why. This does not mean I don’t see its flaws – Wales has a lot to overcome and I will get to them here – but let’s start with the things I love.
Wales’ natural beauty
I have never been much of an outdoors person. Never in my 22 years of existence before I moved to Wales did I wake up on a Sunday and think: “Right – let me get my bike out.” But after two years in Wales I cannot imagine my life without its greenery and breathtaking beauty.
I have spent the last two years exploring this beauty and what it means by walking, hiking, and cycling to explore this natural beauty. I will never forget the scenes atop Pen y Fan, or the charm of salmon leaps, as I walked through it nor the different views I grew accustomed to courtesy of the Taff Trail.
From beautiful riverside trails in Cardiff to the adventurous greens of Eryri and Brecon Beacon national parks and the world-famous beaches of Tenby – Wales has it all.
Multiculturalism in Wales
While coming to the UK I wasn’t too worried about finding my place as an immigrant but soon I was homesick. So I started looking for familiar cultural places. What I found was so much better than what I was seeking.
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I was absolutely blown away by the sheer diversity of people I could see at any time when I walked on the streets of Wales wherever it may be. But for me diversity doesn’t mean anything if it isn’t also punctuated with actual acknowledgement of the people from different backgrounds and I see that in Wales.
Just having differently-coloured faces on a brochure doesn’t make a place diverse – actually accepting them as they are makes it so. Just recently Wales elected its first ethnic minority MP. A little before that it got its first Black First Minister, even if only for a short while, and now the nation has its first female First Minister.
Mere politics isn’t where you see Wales’ multiculturalism though – I also see it in the way that I have been able to participate in the celebration of not just Indian culture but also of the different cultures from around the world with the same vigour as people celebrate Christmas, Guy Fawkes day, or St David’s Day. All of this is what a truly multicultural society looks like to me and Wales is exactly that.
Welsh music and art
As a small child studying English Literature in India I drew a lot of pleasure in reading Dylan Thomas and Roald Dahl. I loved the description of Wales in Wordsworth’s Daffodils and Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey. So when it first became clear I would be living in Wales I was ecstatic. However I soon learnt Welsh art and music meant a lot more.
In a nation of poets, authors, and artists I soon grew to admire Welsh folk music and choirs even though I wouldn’t necessarily understand it all of the time. It’s not music or art itself which attracted me but the sense of pride with which it was composed. It exudes national pride with strong roots in the realities of Welsh life, which I could appreciate greatly as someone coming from a country that had to fight for its own national identity.
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Not just music from choirs – I was blown away the first time I understood Yma O Hyd by Dafydd Iwan and its nationalism while being equally amazed by Welsh drill coming from the likes of Sage Todz and the way it talks about life in Wales today. Welsh art has been there for ages and has thrived despite different pressures on it and will continue to inspire more like me.
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The Welsh and Welshness
I keep mentioning “the Welsh and Welshness” not because I’m expert on the subject – far from it, I’ve only just started experiencing them – but to make a point that even I as an outsider know that this is what sets Wales apart. For me my journey into Wales began with the coach driver, who helped me when I had absolutely no idea of how the country works, and that is how I see Wales.
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A place where you are not alone and will find a warm welcome with ‘Croeso’ almost everywhere. I’m not stating it just for the sake of it. I’ve felt it when I was almost homeless and everyone from cab drivers to neighbours and nuns made sure me and my friends were fed and had a roof over our heads, I’ve felt it when random strangers stepped up to help me when I was stranded in the middle of nowhere twice, and I’ve felt it when locals at country pubs have welcomed me as if we had known each other for ages. I’ve been at the receiving end of the Welsh kindness and warmth at every step of my two-year journey and it has made me feel at home almost 4,900 miles from home!
It isn’t just the kindness that makes the Welsh and Welshness for me but it is also the Welsh pride which I see everywhere across Wales. I too come from a country which has fought to preserve its culture and pride. That is why I admire it when I see road signs in Welsh, I admire it when I see blue plaques honouring great Welshmen and women, I admire it when I see seniors singing in Welsh in a country pub, and I see it every time I see someone clad in Welsh flags just before a rugby match.
All of these reasons are why I admire the Welsh and Welshness and will continue to do so. As I’ve written at length on what I love about Wales I’m sure that as I spend more time here I’ll only continue to add to that list. However as I’m not from Wales I feel it crucial to also speak about things that need to change here because even I can see the Welsh deserve better.
The NHS in Wales
I have no shame in admitting that I come from a developing country that needs a lot of change to progress. Therefore when I came to Wales I expected a lot of things to be several times better than what I was used to, including the NHS – especially since it was set up by a Welshman.
Unfortunately I have been severely disappointed. I’ll admit that with my father being a physician quality medical advice was not too far for me. However even when I lived on my own in India medical advice was never so unapproachable. The helplines are responsive but just the amount of time I need to wait to be heard has often left me seeking medical advice from back home.
From my own experience of using the NHS it has not been easy. When I tried to book for consultation at a GP I had to wait more than 30 minutes to even get onto the call and was then told I would have to wait another two weeks for the appointment that I needed. But this doesn’t even scratch the surface. When a housemate had an emergency and had to rush to A&E it took us close to seven hours to get the proper treatment for them.
However the Welsh Government has announced tens of millions in funding in a bid to reduce the longest waiting times. Health secretary Jeremy Miles has said: “Reducing waiting times is a national priority – for people across Wales, for us, and the NHS. This new funding will be used by health boards to deliver a range of schemes that will start almost immediately. The NHS is working very hard to reduce the backlog which built up during the pandemic – this is additional funding, over and above the recovery money we make available every year, to support the NHS to cut the longest waits and improve access to planned care.”
And I agree with him. I understand the pressures on the NHS, especially after the pandemic, and do not blame the service or its employees. These experiences are just a part of a wider problem that everyone using the NHS would face. These need to be addressed and for that the Welsh Government will need to make good on its “priority” of reducing NHS wait times. With private healthcare increasingly expensive the NHS is the only other alternative most people have other than waiting for their ailment to go away on its own.
Public transport
The first thing I mentioned about Wales that I loved was its natural beauty. However it means little if access to that natural beauty is limited to those who have private modes of transport.
Wales’ beauty is unmatched and it pains me when I see that me, and several like me, cannot access a number of these spots because of not owning a car. When some public transport is available in terms of train services it is exorbitantly expensive and when it is available via coaches it is extremely long and requires multiple changes.
A Welsh Government spokesman has said: “Improving public transport is a key priority for us. By creating a modern, sustainable bus and rail network we open up a range of work and leisure opportunities and improve access to vital public services. We are investing over £1bn to upgrade the Core Valley Lines and deliver a turn-up-and-go service, which will transform rail travel for passengers with faster and more frequent services operated by brand new trains thanks to our £800m investment in new fleets.” They added: “We are also committed to bringing forward a Bus Bill this Senedd term to reform the delivery of bus services across Wales and we have awarded more than £100m to local authorities in 2024-25 to improve transport across Wales, including funding for new routes for walking, wheeling, and cycling and new bus infrastructure.”
People might not want to use private transport for a number of reasons, ranging from it being expensive to maintain cars to environmental reasons, and they should not be forced to. While it may not be intentional sometimes it feels that I am being punished for not owning a car and it feels extremely unfair. Wales is breathtakingly beautiful and its beauty should be accessible to all – not only to those who can afford it.
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Racism in the ‘Nation of Sanctuary’
I wrote at length about multiculturalism in Wales which is precisely why I have felt hurt whenever faced with overt, internalised, or systemic racism. Wales prides itself on being a Nation of Sanctuary and in most ways it is. However being an immigrant who is part of an ethnic minority I derive much displeasure in saying that I have faced racism in Wales. I will not share statistics here, just my experiences.
Don’t get me wrong – I do believe a lot of what I have faced is unintentional and based on ignorance. It might be a snide comment like the one from someone in a pub who drunkenly said upon hearing I am Indian: “Don’t work in a call centre!”. Or it might be someone who said: “Go back to your country” when I was just standing on a street talking to a friend. While it’s not pleasant I can chalk it up to ignorance or that they ‘don’t know any better’. But it can sometimes take an ugly turn. Earlier this year I found myself almost homeless with a few friends when a landlord said he didn’t want Indians living at his place.
I could, perhaps, ignore even that – but the feeling causes more hurt when it’s systemic. In November 2023 South Wales Police chief constable Jeremy Vaughan admitted in an address to the National Black Police Association Conference that “institutional racism applies to South Wales Police” and said the force was taking steps to mitigate it.
While covering another story I discovered that if I was father right now, as an immigrant, my child would not be automatically entitled to the Welsh Government’s free meal scheme. The decision on whether they can access it would rest with local authorities. This was called “discriminatory” by campaigners. The Bevan Foundation estimates that this Welsh Government policy effectively keeps approximately 1,500 children in secondary schools from the right to an essential meal at school and often blocks access to the School Essentials Grant.
At the time a Welsh Government spokesman told us: “Local authorities are able to provide meals without charging. Our No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) guidance encourages local authorities to provide free school meals to any child whose parents’ immigration status means that there is no automatic entitlement. We are aware of the reports and are considering their findings.”
I am ready to ignore personal snide remarks. I can ignore being asked to leave a house because of my race. Maybe I can ignore systemic discrimination by thinking merit is enough – but how much do I need to continue to ignore? A ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ needs to be better, to do better.
Wales has become an afterthought
In 1888 the Encyclopaedia Britannica read: “For Wales, see England” robbing Wales of its own national identity. That has now changed in the encyclopaedia – but has it really changed?
I will now share an anecdote which is a little hurtful. When I was preparing to come to the UK I went to a money exchanger to get some sterling for my travel. The man on the other side asked me where I was going in the UK and I said I was going to Wales. He did not believe I was telling the truth. “You’ve just made up a place,” he said.
I chalked it up to ignorance in my town and it was only when I came here that I realised why he thought so. It was clear to me even as an outsider that Wales is often treated as an afterthought – and it reflects in the nation’s visibility abroad. Even in recent times Wales’ name comes after England. For example a majority of official reports and statistics deliver joint statistics starting from the title ‘England and Wales’.
These things don’t exist in limbo – people feel them too. Just before the 2024 general election I spoke to more than a hundred people about their issues at the ballot box and one sentiment cropped up again and again: that Wales is left behind in national politics. Even I, as an outsider who has only been in Wales for two years, feel Wales is being pushed towards becoming afterthought.
It is with an immense respect and reverence for the nation of Wales that I highlight both the things I love and the things I think need changing. It’s only been two years since I moved to Wales. I don’t have a single doubt that there are many thing Wales will continue to show me and I am looking forward to every one of them. Diolch yn fawr.
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