European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

210 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYMy positioning in life is not necessarily only a product of that(Portuguese heritage). I mean, all those years I’ve been travellingwhile living in Portugal and after that, after leaving, the lack ofeveryday contact with the Portuguese. I believe the product I am, Iam a cultural product, and it is not English too. Proportionally I’vespent little time here compared with the time I’ve been abroad.England is just one more country that marked me. I have as strongmemories or as alive of the time I lived in Paris… (My translation).To sum up, the accounts from Lina, Maria and Madalena showedthat:—Their self-identification as European enabled them to accommodateand transcend their identifications with specific cultures,countries and places.—The European identity was a product of particular life trajectories.They have travelled, lived or studied in Europe and theseexperiences have, on one hand, reduced the everyday contactwith the Portuguese, and on the other hand exposed them toother European people, their culture and languages.In the process of interviewing these women, we also learned thatthey have the (intellectual) resources to move between, at least, thePortuguese and the English cultural context. Though living in Englandthey showed in-depth knowledge of the Portuguese language andculture. This enables acceptance in both communities, a key factor inthe process of identity development. Cultural identities are not justprivate and personal feelings of belonging to a community. They alsoinvolve public recognition, the process of being identified by the otheras member of a particular community.To conclude these women have the life experiences and theresources that enabled them to construct a European identity. What isnot clear is why the other participants in our projects did not refer at allto European identity. However, it was apparent their struggle with thenew cultural identities they have to develop in order to adjust to life(and schooling) in England. Thus, in the next part of the chapter I willsummarise (i) the problem that originated research with Portuguesestudents in English schools, their teachers and their parents, (ii) theirconstruction of new identities, and (iii) reflect on why theseconstructions do not include a European dimension and what are theimplications for teaching.