Before dismissing this plea for assistance, consider the following. So effective is the propaganda on the fairness of the English justice system that no matter how many times a person appears in an English court, they nearly always believe that this will be the time when the reputation of the system will be seen to be just, and that the judge will be fair and throw out the obvious false evidence and lies. We must never allow ourselves to be seduced to this level by state propaganda. We must accept that our only hope is to extricate ourselves from this place. The Cornish must seek justice where royal deference, and in particular the Duchy contagion, has not reached the level of infection seen here.
The Cornish are not engaged in making excessive demands. We ask only that accepted principles of equality and justice be applied in a consistent manner to all the communities of these islands. We seek an end to the discriminatory practices described herein and call for fairness to extend across all spheres of public authority activity, including the educational environment, where to be Cornish is to be deeply discriminated against.
We have a responsibility to send our children to school, and in turn the state has a duty of care towards our children – a care that should not be abused for ulterior purposes nor taken advantage of when our gaze is averted. Therefore, that most sensitive area of our children’s education is one in which we call for significant and rapid improvement.
Historically, the cultural components of the Cornish identity have suffered greater discrimination and marginalisation than any other indigenous UK community. Yet at the dawn of the 21st century, when government should be considering measures to protect and promote minority cultures; manifestations of contempt for our continued existence, intolerance to our ways and indifference to our fate not only prevalent, but officially sanctioned. This is no longer tenable or acceptable.
We therefore seek a change in institutional attitudes, the termination of hostility towards us and the end to forced assimilation of our children. We want all children in Cornwall to be imbued with a sense of belonging to Cornwall, to be able to value a pluralistic heritage and to celebrate their respective identities on an equal footing with others. We require a curriculum that reflects this purpose and educational resources to facilitate the necessary changes.
It might be suggested that our proposed action is directed only at those who consider themselves Cornish. This is not the case. At the moment, the education system in Cornwall provides a mono-cultured education and schoolchildren are prevented from learning about the fascinating history of Cornwall and have no possibility of absorbing themselves in its unique culture. As such, they are given no insight into the land of their upbringing, and no choice when it comes to developing an identity.
A Cornish curriculum along the lines of that adopted in Wales, or proposed for the likes of the Ulster-Scots, would reflect both principal identities in Cornwall. Only this approach can present children and young adults with the opportunity to decide of their own volition who they want to be. This is the level of expectation that arises from living in a self-proclaimed tolerant and pluralistic society.
Given time, some children will adopt a Cornish identity, and others will adopt an English identity. In both cases, the length of parental ties with Cornwall will make no difference. The following example reflects the non-exclusive nature of our aim.
After cyclist Nicole Cooke took Gold at the recent Olympics, the BBC said, "Nicole Cooke wins Wales' first Olympic gold medal for 36 years". Shortly after, Nicole’s mother was seen on television waving the Welsh flag, yet her parents are English immigrants to Wales. However, Nicole had a Welsh education, feels Welsh, and her mother respects that. In time, people like Nicole will have children, and they too will be Welsh.
An August 2006 article in Cycling News went as follows: "Speaking of competing for her country. Both of Cooke's parents are English, and this desperate English interviewer wondered if there had been any chance of her choosing to be an English - rather than Welsh - athlete. But it was to no avail, "Being born in Wales and having always lived there I could not really imagine riding for England. There was never any question. The first race I won was the Welsh U-12 Cyclo-Cross champs so given the history, the best flag out there and a beautiful national anthem it would be strange for me not to be competing for wales”.
This acts as a reminder that people don’t need to be called Jones to be Welsh, nor Angove to be Cornish. In essence, this issue centres on freedom of choice. It involves important legal principles relating to the unlawful suppression of an historic identity, the right to be free from forced assimilation and the ability to chose an identity without interference from government. It focuses on the unwillingness of the UK state authorities to give schoolchildren access to instructional programmes and educational materials that would allow them to make their own choice as to which identity to adopt. It also aims to secure some degree of legal recognition for the Cornish identity, and thus move closer to obtaining equality before the law and parity of esteem for those who possess that identity.
The Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; the 1990 CSCE Copenhagen Document; the Oslo recommendations regarding the rights of national minorities and the Hague recommendations on national minorities set out the standards of treatment to which our community aspires. We ask only that government adhere to the international commitments it has made and give appropriate recognition, and pay due deference, to the unique constitutional status of the Duchy of Cornwall as well as the traditional identity, culture and aspirations of its people. |
