A comment
This is my last letter written in a United Kingdom being part of the European Union. Tonight at 11 pm (GMT), in just under an hour, the UK will leave the EU and set sail into new waters which will be, without a doubt, troubled ones. Ahead lies a time of uncertainty and change and as a student of English Literature and Culture, this day is a rather sad one for me professionally as well as personally.
Back in 2015, I started my studies in Communication Sciences and British Studies because I’d hoped to work in the UK as a journalist. I was determined to leave Germany and had already made plans to study in Britain, either as an exchange student or for my master’s degree. And back then, I’d never thought that the dreams and ambitions that filled me at that time would be put to the test so only a year later, leaving me in clueless darkness and wishing for a guiding light. When the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, I was forced to confront questions I’d never even contemplated before. Am I prepared to pay a lot of money for a university degree that won’t be fully recognised elsewhere in Europe if I were to study in the UK? Would my fascination with British history and literature really be worth risking it all? What if I ended up regretting my decision, disillusioned and disappointed in a country completely estranged from the one I’ve fallen in love with?
Fast-forward four years to 31 January 2020 and even now, these questions still keep me up at night because I’m still looking for answers, for my guiding light. By now, I’ve been living and studying in the UK, Scotland to be precise, for five months and I’ve grown to love this country more than the one I grew up in. In contrast to my foolish post-school fantasies, I’m now in the middle of a stark reality and the lens of blind adoration created by London’s sparkling tourist sights and pretty town houses has vanished. What remains is an unfiltered view of a country haunted by its empirical past, clinging onto outdated values, and trapped in the illusion that the greatness of the Victorian age and pre-war Britain is still present in the kingdom of today if only it was freed from the bonds of the EU.
Many journalists, historians, and researchers have tried to make sense of why Brexit happened and why people voted in favour of it as have I on my first blog and it boils down to an answer that is just as simple as it is complex: ignorance. An ignorance that comes in many different shapes and derives from diverse backgrounds. There is, for example, the elderly generation which has never come to terms with the end of the British Empire (even though they’ve never lived to experience it for themselves). The young ambitious man or woman from Jamaica who hopes to have a better chance at finding work in an independent UK without the highly educated competition from Europe. The taxi driver who confuses European with British politics in his anger about a failing government, falling victim to lies printed on a red bus. Brexit is not a matter of education or lack thereof for its supporters come from all social classes, all social backgrounds, poor and rich alike. It is rather a matter of deliberate deception, of letting the public vote for or against an outcome that depended on the subsequent negotiation process. An outcome no voter could have foreseen in 2016. However, there is no use in mourning what is already lost because a public vote cannot be reversed, no matter how many lies and false promises it was build upon.
So, what will change after Brexit?
Nothing, at least for now. That’s the short answer. Since the UK and the EU agreed on a transitional phase until December 31 of this year, no changes are expected so far. I won’t need a visa for the rest of my stay in Edinburgh, there will be no additional study fees, and business will continue as usual. But behind the scenes everything could change, especially for Scotland. On Wednesday, the Scottish Parliament voted to back a second independence referendum which could happen as early as this summer if Westminster agrees to it. They also voted to keep flying the EU flag outside the Scottish Parliament after a heated and emotional debate. In 2014, the Scottish public voted to stay in the UK in order to remain in the EU. In 2016, the majority of voters rejected Brexit for the very same reason. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the tone at Holyrood is getting more and more nationalist as Brexit nears. In a speech earlier today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that „should the UK Government continue to deny Scotland’s right to choose, we may reach the point where this issue does have to be tested.“
What started out as a marriage of convenience could end in a painful divorce, estranging England and Scotland even more from each other and fuelling hostility on both sides of the border. As Brexiteers are celebrating at Parliament Square in London and protesters wrapped in EU flags are singing songs outside of the Scottish Parliament tonight, a second independence referendum may seem like a faraway dream but it’s not out of reach. And maybe, just maybe, tonight some Scots will go to bed with the same questions I’ve been asking myself ever since June 2016, wondering how much risk is worth the fight, finding themselves facing a terribly dark night. In the end, we might find our answers in tomorrow’s sunrise when we wake up to an independent United Kingdom or the troubled waters of the foggy future ahead of us – either way, please leave a light on.