Dr Noureddine Miladi
On 24 June 2016 The United Kingdom voted with a slight majority to opt out of the European Union. This is the toughest decision the UK has taken for the 43 years since the formation of the Union.
It is not easy yet to speculate about the full repercussions of this decision, as the dust needs to settle for a while, but there have been global reactions to this decision. In the UK the referendum results have triggered endless debates about the future, economic problems, disputes with the major political parties, in addition to the obvious discontent of large sections of the youth, and even a call for a second referendum as the decision was rushed.
Also scores of debates have taken place analysing the triggering of article 50 of the Lisbon treaty which kick starts the UK’s termination of its membership the European Union.
The referendum has revealed a divided country. More importantly the breakdown of voting across generations is very revealing. 75% of those between 18-24 years voted to remain in the union; whereas a high percentage of the older generations voted for a sovereign UK.
Is Britain becoming an isolationist nation? Scores of experts have been speculating the impact of this decision both immediately and strategically, but some speak about distrust of the establishment, tight control from Brussels, and increasing numbers of immigrants coming from Europe into the UK. What is sure is that the Brexit legacy of this referendum is likely to be felt for a long time to come, if it is acted upon.
The Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced on Saturday that Scotland is ready for another referendum to exit from the United Kingdom. She has also announced her government’s communication with Brussels to secure a place in the European Union. Scotland sees its future within the Union, and that is why the Thursday referendum showed that Scottish people voted with a high majority (62%) to remain. This decision may kick start other referenda in Europe and then there is the possibility of the disintegration of the 28-member bloc. The impact has been reverberating across Europe, and a snow ball effect of increasing responses. The German newspaper der Spiegel has already counted 32 applications from 45 parties and groups from various European countries to have a referendum. One of the reasons mentioned are the waves of refugees coming into the European Union.
The repercussions of what’s going on are yet to be understood. But for now over 1.3 million Brits working in the European Union will soon become foreigners who require visas like all other non-Europeans. The pound has already plummeted to its lowest for decades. As a consequence prices are expected to rise because of the wavering exchange rate.
The main motivation to exit the EU, as reported by Channel 4 TV, is to stop immigration. An old Englishman declared ‘We’ve had enough of the influx of immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Africa etc. I dislike the idea of foreign officials telling this country what to do’.
An old English lady added: ‘My parents fought for England to be free and it is about time for us to again become free. It feels lovely. I feel patriotic… I think it’s put England back on the globe again, I am very proud’. A few argue that this is a rejection of globalization which began with the Berlin Wall falling down in 1989.
A few UK media outlets say that a ‘wave of racial abuse and hate crimes have been reported after EU referendum’. The Independent newspaper has recently run a series of reports on assaults against Eastern Europeans and Asians. Ms Brzezniak reported “[Like] many Polish people in the country I feared the EU referendum result would cause an increase in intolerance, discrimination and racism, but I didn’t think it would become so aggressive and be so immediate.”
A few hours after the announcement of the referendum, she says she was approached by a woman who asked her if she was Polish. When she said she was, she said the woman told her to be “scared” and that she must get a visa if she wanted to stay in “her” country.”The vicious smile and the way she looked at me brought me to tears,” said Ms Brzezniak. The Independent newspaper in UK further reported that ‘ In Huntington, Cambridge shire, there have been reports of signs saying “Leave the EU, no more Polish vermin” posted through the letter boxes of Polish families on the day of the referendum result’.
Unfortunately Islamophobic sentiments have also became rife during the last few days. Social media circulated worrying messages containing hate speech. Stories emerge online of a divided Britain. The following is a taster of comments Muslims have received from triumphant Brexiters: “Just arrived at a 75% Muslim school, a white man stood making victory sign at families walking past. This is the racism we have legitimized”. (KB) “Girls wearing hijab were cackled by tattooed EDL-type fella on bus yesterday”. (T) “We were accused of bringing sharia law while distributing remain leaflets yesterday”. (R B) “This evening my daughter left work in Birmingham and saw a group of lads corner a Muslim girl shouting: get out we voted leave”. (H C)
This atmosphere has a lot to do with the right-wing racist bigotry which finds its way sometimes through a few tabloid newspapers. Donald Trump who has a lot in common with the Brexit campaigners has already welcomed the historical move and finds it in tune with his hysteric claims about Muslims and immigrants in general.
The triumphant Brexiters seem to put the blame on EU for all the problems the UK has been facing. This is simply erroneous. In the words of L. Elliott “not all Britain’s problems are the result of its EU membership. It is not the European commission’s fault that productivity is so weak or that the trains don’t run on time”.
In sum, the decision to exit from Europe is extraordinary, and as the talk soon after has become about disintegration not integration, will this mark the beginning of the end of large economic blocs? Will this decision reinforce nation states’ desires to become more protective and isolationist rather than seeking regional economic and political unions? Only time will tell.
The writer is Associate Professor of Media and Communication. He can be reached via e-mail: nmiladi@hotmail.com
