Who am I? Who are you?

The BBC World Service broadcast an interesting documentary contrasting the multicultural nature of Marseille with the default assimilation of other French cities, including Paris.

Marseille sounds like a great place, with communities originating from north Africa, the Indian Ocean, southern Europe and more. France doesn't measure ethnicities in its censuses apparently, but the unofficial figures indicate Marseille is 25% Muslim. Until recently, they were forbidden a Mosque, but this is now changing. Support for this seems to come from many places, including Marseille's Jewish community. A contrast was provided with other French cities, which saw disenfranchised communities rising-up, in 2005 and 2007, whereas Marseille remained calm.

I loved hearing all the different Marseille voices, explaining that Marseille is more connected to the Atlantic than to the rest of France; that being a port keeps it open-minded; and that while they have no problems with the rest of France, Paris doesn't understand them. Most of the interviewees also expressed their identity as, for example, Marseille-Moroccan, rather than French-Moroccan.

This reminded me of my own situation - my family background is Scottish-Jewish, but I was born in, and mainly lived in London. I've only briefly lived in Scotland and while I am ethnically half-Jewish, I'm also an atheist...so I'm never quite sure where to place myself. I feel uncomfortable thinking of myself as British, which seems to conjure-up nationalism and imperialism. I don't subscribe to the values of middle England (or middle Wales/Scotland/northern Ireland - there must be similar phenomena there). I'm not English, despite many years of living in England. Although I have a very Scottish name, I don't have a Scottish accent, nor a Scottish town to call home.

It was while studying the Open University course Open to Change that I had the space to reflect on my identity - and decided on Scottish-Jewish-Londoner. It's a mouthful, but it probably reflects my life.

How do you describe your identity - is it national, regional, to do with family history? What other ways are there, perhaps to create your own identity? Can either multiculturalism or assimilation ever be the answer?