ABSTRACT
Ethnic minorities in Britain are not of course encapsulated groups like the once colonised small-scale communities of the Third World. Although we can use some of the methods and insights of anthropology (and be on guard against repeating its mistakes), we are not able to look at any groups in Britain as isolated entities. Relations with the dominant white group are even more important than for the Tembu. Few migrants to Britain have come with the intention of totally assimilating. Many groups, particularly European Jews and Asians, while wishing to enter into full economic relations with the wider community, have tried to keep intact much of their traditional pattern of family and community life, language and religion. Paradoxically they are often seen as being the groups which have ‘integrated’ the most successfully. Psychological conflicts in these communities are frequently those of individuals moving from one well-established cultural tradition to another.
