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| Despised, but voiceless – what it’s like to be an EU migrant in the UK | Despised, but voiceless – what it’s like to be an EU migrant in the UK |
| (4 months later) | |
| On the night of the EU referendum, millions of British voters will be waiting for the result that could define the country’s future. Another group of people will be following the vote count closely as well: the voiceless group of EU migrants for whom Brexit would change everything. They will watch the results coming in, their fate decided by other people’s rather uninformed vision of who they are and what they do. | On the night of the EU referendum, millions of British voters will be waiting for the result that could define the country’s future. Another group of people will be following the vote count closely as well: the voiceless group of EU migrants for whom Brexit would change everything. They will watch the results coming in, their fate decided by other people’s rather uninformed vision of who they are and what they do. |
| Named and shamed throughout the campaign, the 3 million minority from all over Europe have reason to be worried. Although seen as the most important issue of the referendum campaign, they have been completely excluded from the debate – becoming the subject of the conversation, not participants. | Named and shamed throughout the campaign, the 3 million minority from all over Europe have reason to be worried. Although seen as the most important issue of the referendum campaign, they have been completely excluded from the debate – becoming the subject of the conversation, not participants. |
| Despite being part of British society, they will now face massive uncertainty: will they be able to stay and work in the UK? Will they need to report their moves to local authorities regularly, as if they were convicts that needed to be monitored for their suspicious activities? What about their families coming over for a few days? Will they need visas? | Despite being part of British society, they will now face massive uncertainty: will they be able to stay and work in the UK? Will they need to report their moves to local authorities regularly, as if they were convicts that needed to be monitored for their suspicious activities? What about their families coming over for a few days? Will they need visas? |
| Yes, some of them are unemployed, poor, homeless, or even have a criminal past – just like some British | Yes, some of them are unemployed, poor, homeless, or even have a criminal past – just like some British |
| These are not hypothetical worries. The Polish-language press in the United Kingdom have been asking these questions for months, speculating on what the future may bring for the largest non-British national group living in this country. They are not just worried – they are absolutely terrified. | These are not hypothetical worries. The Polish-language press in the United Kingdom have been asking these questions for months, speculating on what the future may bring for the largest non-British national group living in this country. They are not just worried – they are absolutely terrified. |
| There is good reason for such fear. Front pages of most newspapers are constantly alerting readers to the continuous threat of another “swarm” of migrants “flooding” this country causing “overwhelming pressure” on “our” public services and jobs. Claiming undeserved benefits, defrauding public money, bringing crime, eating swans – you know, the things them migrants do. The nation’s only hope is that, to quote a xenophobic politician across the pond, “some I assume are good people”. | There is good reason for such fear. Front pages of most newspapers are constantly alerting readers to the continuous threat of another “swarm” of migrants “flooding” this country causing “overwhelming pressure” on “our” public services and jobs. Claiming undeserved benefits, defrauding public money, bringing crime, eating swans – you know, the things them migrants do. The nation’s only hope is that, to quote a xenophobic politician across the pond, “some I assume are good people”. |
| The Sun brings another shocking example of the migrant takeover of Britain, describing how a local porn studio in Bristol is going to be turned into short-let flats that could potentially be rented by migrants. “This will drive people out,” warns a local resident as if the new arrivals were some extremely dangerous creatures bringing public health risk to the area. | The Sun brings another shocking example of the migrant takeover of Britain, describing how a local porn studio in Bristol is going to be turned into short-let flats that could potentially be rented by migrants. “This will drive people out,” warns a local resident as if the new arrivals were some extremely dangerous creatures bringing public health risk to the area. |
| What is more disturbing is that the debate is conducted in a way that assumes EU migrants are not only socially destructive, but also plain stupid and illiterate. The assumption is “they” do not read newspapers nor watch television, so “we” can say, write, argue everything we want. It is not true. The migrants see, hear and understand more of the public debate than you would suspect. And it hurts. | What is more disturbing is that the debate is conducted in a way that assumes EU migrants are not only socially destructive, but also plain stupid and illiterate. The assumption is “they” do not read newspapers nor watch television, so “we” can say, write, argue everything we want. It is not true. The migrants see, hear and understand more of the public debate than you would suspect. And it hurts. |
| The migrant community I know best, Poles living in the UK, are no federalist Europhiles. Many share the British calls for EU reform, and support the demand to restrict access to benefits for new arrivals. They recognise some negative sides of immigration, and have no delusions about the problems that come with it – but they also see the upsides, both for themselves, and the welcoming communities. | The migrant community I know best, Poles living in the UK, are no federalist Europhiles. Many share the British calls for EU reform, and support the demand to restrict access to benefits for new arrivals. They recognise some negative sides of immigration, and have no delusions about the problems that come with it – but they also see the upsides, both for themselves, and the welcoming communities. |
| For now, many have decided – in a truly British way – to “keep calm and carry on”, hoping for a strong remain vote that would end some of these discussions. Others hope that the government – and given their tax residence, it is also their government in a way – will finally speak up, acknowledging their importance to society. | For now, many have decided – in a truly British way – to “keep calm and carry on”, hoping for a strong remain vote that would end some of these discussions. Others hope that the government – and given their tax residence, it is also their government in a way – will finally speak up, acknowledging their importance to society. |
| During the EU renegotiation talks, David Cameron and his team jetted all over Europe, visiting some countries in the “here be dragons” area of central and eastern Europe for the first time ever (like Slovenia, which has been independent since 1991). In some, like Poland, they were there even more than once. Back then, reassurances of bilateral cooperation and respect for both sides of the EU argument were all over the place. Today, months after the talks concluded, there is nothing of the sort. | During the EU renegotiation talks, David Cameron and his team jetted all over Europe, visiting some countries in the “here be dragons” area of central and eastern Europe for the first time ever (like Slovenia, which has been independent since 1991). In some, like Poland, they were there even more than once. Back then, reassurances of bilateral cooperation and respect for both sides of the EU argument were all over the place. Today, months after the talks concluded, there is nothing of the sort. |
| Not a single government nor opposition figure made an effort to reassure the EU migrants about their future in this country or acknowledge them directly, even as the government’s own Office for Budget Responsibility stresses the importance of migration in driving Britain’s economic recovery. | Not a single government nor opposition figure made an effort to reassure the EU migrants about their future in this country or acknowledge them directly, even as the government’s own Office for Budget Responsibility stresses the importance of migration in driving Britain’s economic recovery. |
| Yes, some of them are unemployed, poor, homeless, or even have a criminal past, just like some British. In the worst-case scenario, if they are too much of a long-term burden, in line with already existing EU regulations, you can send them back to their country. But at the moment that vast majority of them, the hard-working, tax-paying, English-speaking, economy-contributing EU migrants are being treated as second-class residents, facing hate speech aimed at them for no particular reason on an almost everyday basis. | Yes, some of them are unemployed, poor, homeless, or even have a criminal past, just like some British. In the worst-case scenario, if they are too much of a long-term burden, in line with already existing EU regulations, you can send them back to their country. But at the moment that vast majority of them, the hard-working, tax-paying, English-speaking, economy-contributing EU migrants are being treated as second-class residents, facing hate speech aimed at them for no particular reason on an almost everyday basis. |
| There are many perfectly valid reasons to be Eurosceptic or willing to leave the European Union. However, if Britain pulls out primarily because of a xenophobic and economically simplified assessment of immigration, do not expect the “highly-skilled professionals” to want to stay either. | There are many perfectly valid reasons to be Eurosceptic or willing to leave the European Union. However, if Britain pulls out primarily because of a xenophobic and economically simplified assessment of immigration, do not expect the “highly-skilled professionals” to want to stay either. |
| Many of the problems the Brexiters are complaining about seem to be connected to tax havens such as Cayman Islands than to a “polski sklep” in Bognor Regis. We would do better to focus on that, together. | Many of the problems the Brexiters are complaining about seem to be connected to tax havens such as Cayman Islands than to a “polski sklep” in Bognor Regis. We would do better to focus on that, together. |
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