Hamza Patel on BBCs The Big Questions

Hamza Patel graduated from Parlia Mentors in 2016 after running a mentoring scheme in a local school, this is his reflection on his appearance on the BBC’s The Big Questions

Being a regular avid viewer of BBC’s The Big Questions it was a great honour to have been given the opportunity to be part of the audience. For this very reason I took this opportunity to attend todays show with open hands. It was informing to say the least; I was able to engage in discussions regarding current faith, ethics and moral issues that are currently being discussed in the news. I really enjoyed the format of the show how panelists were posed questions and replied with their views and the audience was given the freedom to contribute their personal religious and ethical views towards the debate, which in turn formed a really informative discussion.

“I was able to engage in discussions regarding current faith, ethics and moral issues that are currently being discussed in the news.”

The first question being discussed was, are white working class boys now discriminated against? This question I thought was a very good topic however it was focused at only white boys but this could be related to other genders and other ethnicities as well. Other audience members shared this point of mine as well. Nonetheless the arguments that were generated from the debate of this topic made me apprehend the complexity of this topic and how much of a current issue it is and the need for it to be addressed.

The second question that was discussed was, should the UK’s foreign aid commitment be scrapped? This was a question, which was the most interest to me as I have personally had lively discussions on these issues in my seminars at University whilst studying one of my modules. At the start of the debate I had the mindset for the foreign aid not to be scrapped and was adamant my view was not to be changed. However after the topic was discussed I had come to an understanding of the views for the individuals that wanted foreign aid to be scrapped and I did sympathise with some of the points that were raised such as corruption and the need for more transparency at the receiving end. Unfortunately due to time constraints I was unable to contribute towards the debate.

Nonetheless I can say after hearing the views of the audience and panelist it made me realise the depth of these very two topics and how the views of individuals on these questions are so wide spread. Engaging in such debates only allow us to benefit and broaden our understanding.

Hamza Patel, ParliaMentor 2015 – 16