A key bone of contention in the British referendum over continued EU membership is migration. In many people, there is a latent xenophobia not far under the skin, a distrust of anybody “not we”. However, the Anglo Saxons would not exist if it wasn’t for migration (and invasion) in the past and Britain was once at the heart of one of the greatest empires ever known and, of course, trading was its key feature.
Courtesy of the media, many ordinary people fear that their jobs will be taken by vast hordes of (mainly) Eastern European nationals who will not only steal British jobs, but simultaneously sponge off the National Health Service, welfare state, education and housing services – and the even have the temerity not to support the home nation football teams! Of course, this picture is skewed from reality whilst, naturally, there are some grains of truth in it. It is not an easy thing to leave friends and family and make your way in a new land where the language spoken is not your own. Whilst the UK social security system provides support, it does not allow one to live the life of Reilley and the UK is an expensive country to live in both in terms of accommodation and the general cost of living.
Many of the migrants arriving on British shores to take up work are highly educated and skilled professionals – we give them a classier name: “expats” and there are many enclaves around the world where British professionals ply their trades for better returns than they could make at home. British industry and business, we are told, is crying out for these people. They earn well and are net contributors to the economy, often sending children to private schools and enjoying the benefits of private health insurance.
With deadly conflicts in hot spots such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, to name but a few, there are now new waves of refugees seeking protection within the EU. These people have a humanitarian right to protection under charters drawn up by the UN and ratified by most nation states. Amongst these refugees are simple “economic migrants” often coming from disadvantaged regions in Africa and looking for better quality of life and prospects in the EU. This last class have no rights to live and work in the EU and, increasingly, attitudes are hardening against them and the people that profit from their misery. Under existing EU laws, these people should be stopped from entering EU territory at its external borders since, after the Shengen agreement, the internal EU is largely borderless these days. This is easier said than done.