our 'little paki' friend...

So we should just disregard it. After all, it's a 'harmless' comment; quoted completely out of context and so on. Prince Harry meant it as an affectionate term and has since apologised. It's all good, then...

Actually, I'm a 'paki' in the broader sense. I could also be a rag head; my national costume has a four-cornered hat made out of fabric. I wonder how prince Harry would describe that.

This is found much closer to home. I'm consistently called 'paki' when waiting for a bus in Bradford-on-avon. It usually happens after dark; always from a passing car and at high volume. Part-time, ineffective policing of the area and a lack of CCTV means this continues regardless.

So what do I make of it? After 30+ years in the UK, I feel it is an old-fashioned, colonial attitude. If I get a chance, I'd like to tell people who call me 'paki' that Pakistan is a result of the British playing empire games. Then I'd suggest they spend a day in London. There, us 'pakis' are a significant part of the community. We contribute to culture, the economy, infrastructure and life in general, just as we do elsewhere. Take away the 'paki factor' and London will be a sadder place - much like bradford-on-avon - where the only multicultural interaction seems to be one of hurling racial insults from a passing car....