Brexit — the Pakistani Brits’ perspective

I found most Pakistani Brits to be anti-eastern Europeans and therefore anti-EU

The UK referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) that resulted in a victory for the Brexit camp was perhaps the only electoral exercise which caused unprecedented ripples outside of the country where it took place. President Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel, head of the IMF and five former commanders of Nato publicly supported the Remain camp as they feared the weakening of the imperialist alliance. Many scholars and writers who wanted to keep the hegemonic role of the West in world affairs intact could not hide their anxiety. "Britain’s departure would be like a first brick pulled from a flimsy wall," wrote a leading journalist. Some are now even envisioning the end of the Western alliance. That may prove to be true in the long run. The fault lines across the UK have been exposed as Scotland and Northern Ireland voted Remain while Wales and England voted Leave. As England constitutes nearly 85 per cent of Britain’s population, other UK states could not make much of an impact on the results, even with London’s massive vote for Remain.

There is a feeling that the English elite had lost their hegemony over decision-making ever since the UK had joined the EU. The Leave victory has paved the way to reverse this. Fear of immigrants was a factor that was overplayed by Brexiters. Asian and African communities also have concerns regarding eastern European immigrants coming into the UK. The campaign unleashed bigotry and fascistic tendencies. Consider this: Jo Cox, a Labour MP, was killed by an English extremist. It is worth stating that no British MP has been assassinated out of hate in recent history. Racism and white nationalism are on the rise.

From my interactions with Pakistani and Kashmiri Brits, I felt that many of them were least interested in the Brexit debate. I conducted individual interviews and a focus group discussion. A large majority hadn't discussed the issue with family members or friends. In a real estate office where I conducted a few interviews, I was amazed to find that no one had made up their mind on which way to vote prior to my probing. It led to immense amusement when, except for one individual, everyone was found to be anti-EU. I found most Pakistani Brits to be extremely anti-eastern Europeans. Despite living in Britain for decades and having deep economic interests in the country, a large majority of British-Pakistanis that I interacted with were least interested in British news and politics. In contrast, they watch Pakistani TV channels all day long. Their interest surges only when a Pakistani Brit takes part in an election. For instance, I was informed that when Sadiq Khan contested the London mayoral election, the community actively participated in his campaign and had heated discussions at homes and in offices. They mobilised voters on polling day too. But why were Pakistani Brits unconcerned about Brexit despite its huge implications on their future? Suffice to state that the British-Pakistani community appears to lack conscientiousness when it comes to matters of British politics. The media plays a crucial role in this regard through informed debate. Pakistan-based TV channels that are widely watched in the UK hardly ran any programme on Brexit. The British media, too, ignored ethnic minorities in its programmes. Politicians, too, failed to involve minorities in the debate. Perhaps this happened due to splits within political parties on the issue. Yet this can’t be used as an excuse. No wonder widespread anger prevails in black and ethnic minority communities because of this neglect. A race relations think tank, Runnymede, reported that many black and minority ethnic people are "ambivalent about the benefits of the EU".

A fear of eastern Europeans has overwhelmed Asians living in the UK. I talked to some self-employed Pakistani Brits. Many of them voted for Leave because of the influx of eastern Europeans in the country. Asians constituted only 4.4 per cent of the UK population in 2001. In 2011, this jumped to 6.9 per cent. This means Britain's EU membership did not affect Asian immigration. A British-Pakistani I interviewed just before the referendum said that eastern Europeans were more professional and better workers than their Asian counterparts. In his view, since Asians could not compete with them, they should vote Leave in order to get rid of them. The people I interviewed were likely to assert that eastern Europeans were involved in crime and had crowded the housing market and hospitals. That may be true but the way all this was articulated had a racist tone.

Another category (though a tiny one) that voted Leave thought the EU exit would ultimately destroy the hegemony of the West. Some British-Pakistanis also thought the exit would force Britain to strengthen the Commonwealth. Whatever factor(s) had affected voters’ choices, now everyone including British-Pakistanis must be prepared to face the consequences of the UK's exit from the EU. Fear-mongering that had engulfed the referendum campaign must end. The political leadership and local British-Pakistani leaders as well as the media must help build bridges, not walls. Like British-Pakistanis, eastern Europeans have come to the UK to stay. They must be accepted with open arms.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2016.

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