From a modern land of opportunities to an inhospitable place: the transformation of the UK in the eyes of a young Sicilian

I don’t know how many times I have uttered the word ʻanxietyʼ over the last year. I woke up at night still half asleep to look at my phone, looking for the latest on ʻBrexitʼ. Since I moved here, London has represented a small beacon on work and opportunities. The idea that this dream ended like this depressed me; I just couldn’t understand the reason.

“I don’t know why I voted Brexit ‒ 83-year-old Pauline told me ‒ I was deceived by false promises. If I could go back, I would vote for ʻRemainʼ. Food prices, as well as petrol, are rising”

I started to get a grasp of it during a trip to Driffield, an uncontaminated country in northern England, where at the end of summer people pick raspberries, turn on the stove and stay at home contemplating the time that does not pass from the window. I was the only passenger under 60 on the bus to my destination. Older people represent the majority of those who chose ‘Lea­ve’, a vote of rebellion to return to a glorious past that will never come back. “I don’t know why I voted Brexit ‒ 83-year-old Pauline told me ‒ I was deceived by false promises. If I could go back, I would vote for ʻRemainʼ. Food prices, as well as petrol, are rising”. For the people of Driffield, or any other English village, time has stopped and the energy-saving light bulls, imposed by European legislation, are an offense. “Many people ‒ continued Pauline ‒ voted Brexit to curb the high rate of immigration. But now that we are leaving, the whole country will suffer from the lack of workers. An example? Making an appointment with my GP takes three weeks”.

As a European, I’m not thrilled by the idea of contributing to the development of a nation which has decided to leave the Union. It’s a sad state of affairs. I’d rather not to think if it was really worth it to give up on my dream to own a house in Sicily to pay an exorbitant rent in a country that I’m not sure deserves me.

The newspapers say that Brexit will be followed by a Brexodus: the great escape of professionals and companies. Probably for doctors and teachers the problem will be limited, but what tomorrow lies ahead for those, like me, who had placed the hopes of a less precarious future in the United Kingdom, since this country is becoming more and more so? For now, the situation seems to be unchanged. However, as a European, I’m not thrilled by the idea of contributing to the development of a nation which has decided to leave the Union. It’s a sad state of affairs. I’d rather not to think if it was really worth it to give up on my dream to own a house in Sicily to pay an exorbitant rent in a country that I’m not sure deserves me.

Translated by Daniela Marsala