Abstract:This article examines the impact of Brexit on young people aged 12–18 who had moved to Scotland from Central and Eastern Europe. It draws on empirical data collected with over 250 young people who contributed to an online survey and focus groups between 2016–2018, immediately after the Brexit Referendum took place. The paper examines young people's feelings of national identity and how their sense of belonging has been impacted by Brexit. The key findings reveal that factors such as their everyday experiences … Show more
“…This relational continuity extends to the future. The future, as we explain elsewhere (Sime at al., 2020), does not only refer to "plans" or "expectations" of what will happen. It involves an act of imagination, whereby one envisages what is possible in the future, looking back at identity-defining events.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 71%
“…In the accounts of our young people, the enactment of the self and the bodily experiences of being present in one country, but equally connected with another through birth and memory of childhood routines, were also shaped by their consciousness of being from a migrant background. Their migrant identity became more prominent in everyday encounters, especially since the Brexit referendum, and while some did not feel British, they started to develop a more local or regional identity, saying they felt English or Scottish (see also Sime, 2020). As Krista (Latvian‐born, 16) admitted: I am proud to be Latvian; I find the language, culture, and history so beautiful and unique.…”
Section: Ethnicized and Transnational Identities: Being A Young Migrantmentioning
Since the 2016 European Union referendum, young European migrants living in Britain have faced growing exposure to social exclusion and insecurities over their future. The Brexit process has not only changed their rights, but has also increased their experiences of xenophobia and discrimination. In this context, we consider it timely to focus on young EU nationals’ processes of identification and (re)constructions of their identities while they negotiate the multiple challenges posed by geopolitical transformations. The social constructionist research with young migrants shows that they increasingly experience their identities as fluid, with relationships that move between proximity and distance. Our findings from focus groups with 108 young people aged 12–18 years born in Central and Eastern European countries and case studies of 20 families support this perspective. The analysis documents young people's agency and efforts to negotiate identity as a process of becoming in the context of change and uncertainty. To understand how young people from a migrant background navigate individual and collective identities, the article offers an explanatory framework that highlights their need for familiarity, continuity, and control over their lives, necessary to maintain a sense of home and belonging.
“…This relational continuity extends to the future. The future, as we explain elsewhere (Sime at al., 2020), does not only refer to "plans" or "expectations" of what will happen. It involves an act of imagination, whereby one envisages what is possible in the future, looking back at identity-defining events.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 71%
“…In the accounts of our young people, the enactment of the self and the bodily experiences of being present in one country, but equally connected with another through birth and memory of childhood routines, were also shaped by their consciousness of being from a migrant background. Their migrant identity became more prominent in everyday encounters, especially since the Brexit referendum, and while some did not feel British, they started to develop a more local or regional identity, saying they felt English or Scottish (see also Sime, 2020). As Krista (Latvian‐born, 16) admitted: I am proud to be Latvian; I find the language, culture, and history so beautiful and unique.…”
Section: Ethnicized and Transnational Identities: Being A Young Migrantmentioning
Since the 2016 European Union referendum, young European migrants living in Britain have faced growing exposure to social exclusion and insecurities over their future. The Brexit process has not only changed their rights, but has also increased their experiences of xenophobia and discrimination. In this context, we consider it timely to focus on young EU nationals’ processes of identification and (re)constructions of their identities while they negotiate the multiple challenges posed by geopolitical transformations. The social constructionist research with young migrants shows that they increasingly experience their identities as fluid, with relationships that move between proximity and distance. Our findings from focus groups with 108 young people aged 12–18 years born in Central and Eastern European countries and case studies of 20 families support this perspective. The analysis documents young people's agency and efforts to negotiate identity as a process of becoming in the context of change and uncertainty. To understand how young people from a migrant background navigate individual and collective identities, the article offers an explanatory framework that highlights their need for familiarity, continuity, and control over their lives, necessary to maintain a sense of home and belonging.
“…Firstly, EU citizens reported extensive uncertainty regarding their future rights and lives in the United Kingdom (Guma & Dafydd Jones, 2019), which were not always assuaged by the meeting of bureaucratic requirements (Botterill et al, 2020). Many questioned whether to remain in the United Kingdom (Sime, 2020), and some felt betrayed by the UK government for failing to protect and reassure EU citizens about their future (Duda‐Mikulin, 2019). This uncertainty appears to be partly a result of the protracted negotiating period following the referendum (Sredanovic, 2020), and of the unchartered territory in which EU citizens' new ‘settled status’ unfolds (Botterill et al, 2020).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Secondly, there was a rise in discrimination and abuse (Home Office, 2016; Rzepnikowska, 2019), although EU citizens did not always report incidents (Sime, 2020). Some sensed that previously covert racism became more open, legitimised by the referendum result (Benedi Lahuerta & Iusmen, 2020; Guma & Dafydd Jones, 2019; Sime, 2020).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Secondly, there was a rise in discrimination and abuse (Home Office, 2016; Rzepnikowska, 2019), although EU citizens did not always report incidents (Sime, 2020). Some sensed that previously covert racism became more open, legitimised by the referendum result (Benedi Lahuerta & Iusmen, 2020; Guma & Dafydd Jones, 2019; Sime, 2020). Thirdly, some EU citizens reported feelings of rejection, a reduced sense of belonging (Ranta & Nancheva, 2019; Tyrrell et al, 2019), and increased self‐consciousness about speaking in their native tongue in public (Benedi Lahuerta & Iusmen, 2020).…”
The ‘Brexit’ referendum represents a hostile shift in the United Kingdom's acculturative context. With its remain majority and pro‐migration political discourse, Scotland appears less hostile than the rest of the United Kingdom. We explored whether and how Brexit affected the mental health of European Union citizens living in Scotland. Thirty EU citizens took part in seven focus groups. Participants reported three main sources of acculturative stress: uncertainty, feelings of rejection and experiences of loss. These were associated with a range of negative emotional and mental states including anxiety, anger, shock and sadness. A minority reported severe difficulties including trauma, panic attacks and deterioration of existing physical and mental health conditions. Participants mobilised contrasts between Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom to partially mitigate feelings of rejection. These findings indicate that the United Kingdom's hostile acculturative context has had important, enduring effects on the mental health of EU citizens in Scotland.
Migrants' opportunities for civic and political participation are often restricted by their legal rights. This paper reports on a study which included a survey with 1,120 young people aged 12-18 originally from Central and Eastern Europe, living in the UK, and follow-up focus groups with 122 participants. We examine young people's views on political and non-political participation and their engagement in everyday performative citizenship. We found connections between civic participation and political participation, and both are conditioned by one's sense of belonging to place and recognition of individual agency. Young people were interested and wanted to be involved in politics, yet they did not feel they could shape political decisions, unlike other forms of participation, such as volunteering and social activism. The study progresses existing knowledge on young people's exclusions from everyday performative citizenship, in the context of current public debates on youth engagement and young migrants' integration.
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