Britain viewed the skills, work habits, and capital of the Hong Kong Chinese as a menace rather than an opportunity of unparalleled proportions, the like of which will not soon present itself to any other nation. Indian immigrants now own practically every small street-corner grocery in the country, even in the smallest and remotest settlements. The customers could bloody well come back tomorrow if they really wanted anything. The triumph of the Indian shopkeepers was not altogether surprising in the circumstances, and as a result of it the quality of everyone's life improved slightly. Even the fiercest xenophobe would not willingly forgo Indian corner shops, any more than he would forgo the ubiquitous Indian restaurants that have transformed British eating habits.
Surveys show that young people in Britain now consider curry as their national dish.
Many a small business has been the launching pad of the next generation's career in the professions and elsewhere. In these unromantic establishments, romantic dreams are dreamed. Eventually, if with an ill will, Britain allowed them into the country, and within a handful of years they were thriving mightily. His story was by no means unique. It happened to the Irish, and to an even greater extent it happened to the Jews.