The aims to understand the experiences of the young Polish couples before and after the Brexit referendum.
Another aim is to study the aspects of racism and xenophobia in the context of the Polish living in the UK under EU citizenship.
Methods
The approach used in collecting data to support the thesis of the research includes both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The Quantitative techniques utilized involve evaluation of data from national statistics such as the census data. On the other hand, the qualitative analysis in the study entails application techniques like interviewing, group discussions, and questionnaires.
Literature Review
Introduction
After several months of the rhetoric campaign on anti-immigrant as the UK approached the referendum in June 2016, it is evident that the number of racially aggravated crimes in the police records increased. The Polish people in Bedfordshire were also affected by the Brexit law given they are immigrants in the UK; for instance there were laminated cards dropped outside schools as well as through letterboxes of the Polish passing the message, "Leave EU no more Polish vermin" in Polish and English (Sime et al., 2017). According to young Polish couples in this region, the post-referendum effect was harsh on them being immigrants since their right to be in the UK and be treated relatively was compromised. The geographical concepts underlying this study include the fact that the Polish youth are the most affected given the proximity of Poland to UK. Due to this proximity most of the migrants from Eastern Europe are the Poles who are in search of better opportunities within the EU states. The primary themes of this research study include the aspects of racism and xenophobia in the context of Polish migrants living in Bedfordshire. It is evident from the available literature that there are gaps in the study of this topic since most focus on the effects of the vote on all migrants while others emphasis on the themes of racism without considering the impact of Brexit.
Figure 1: the chart of migrants residing in the UK. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj6lZiIt6jeAhUNVhoKHQD2AiEQjxx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Felection-2017-40015269&psig=AOvVaw0LJ8vvHD5i3sq8JAX3vGiq&ust=154079183495475
For young couples within the age of the age bracket focused on by the research, context is the most affected given they fall in the active phase of life in most economic and social aspects. The wave of the Brexit vote was full of hostility that revealed the degree of xenophobia and racism which had an impact not only on the Polish but also other British minority groups. Although the concept of racism has attracted overwhelming attention after the referendum, it is not an emerging issue since it has only intensified. The Brexit vote legitimized the vice with the support of other forms of discrimination rooted as national policy in the past decades (Lupo & Piccirilli, 2017) such as the continuous debate on media discourse and immigrant population. From the prior review, it is clear that the public and media attention has shifted to xenophobic and racist discourses, explicitly affecting the Polish after the EU referendum, with minimal regard to the past discrimination. Past studies indicate that this group of people experienced the aspect of radicalization, prejudice, and other perceptions after the accession period in the year 2004. Sime et al. (2017) argued that even though the migrants of East Europe and the British majority share the whiteness of skin colour, they have not been exempted from the racial abuse.
Polish couples living in the UK
The experience of the Polish migrants living in the UK is covered in past literature with the attempt to broaden the understanding of the discrimination and prejudice they undergo. The studies of these problems are best discussed through analysis of the difference created by the Brexit vote from their usual way of life. Literature exhaustively explores the experiences of the Polish Migrants in the context of the referendum as well as recognizes the importance of political and media discourses. The interactions go a long way in shaping their perceptions concerning the interplay between politics, media, and race. From past research by Lupo & Piccirilli (2017), the concept of migration in Europe resulted from the accession of new European Union member states.
The impact of the agreement was felt after the UK, Sweden and also Ireland, granted the nationals of the A8 countries free labour market access upon enlargement of the EU owing to the shortages in low-skill and low-wage occupations more so in hospitality, construction, public services, and transport sectors. According to Duda-Mikulin (2018), the acquired freedom of movement attracted several Polish nationals particularly the young people, who were affected by increased rates of low wages, unemployment, and diminished opportunities in their country. This group of migrants made up the largest population compared to those from the other A8 countries moving to Britain.
Statistics by Duda-Mikulin (2018) indicate that between the years 2003 to 2010, the population of the Polish-born persons in the UK increased up to 532000 from less than 100000. This study presents a quantitative analysis because it shows the numbers involved. It was approximated that by 2015 the most popular non-Britons would be the Polish with a ratio of 16.5 % of the entire non-British nationals (Duda-Mikulin, 2018). However, these studies fail to show the length of their stay in the country and the knowledge on the number of those that left Britain is also limited. Based on the census data of 2011, the Polish migrants recorded the highest rates of birth relative to the other migrant groups, and their language has also grown in popularity among the native words spoken in Wales and England.
In the post-accession era, Bedfordshire has experienced large arrivals of this group who have made a significant impact on the city's diversity (Lulle et al., 2018). The official data on their population and distribution in the city is limited, according to the 2011 census the Polish people constitute the imprecise classification referred to as the "White Other." According to Bulat et.al (2018), the city council estimates the population of the Polish dwellers to be more than 1% of the whole community based on personal descriptions and a majority is young people. The fact that it is the second most popular language used in the city after English implies that they form a majority and any policy change has a significant impact on their lives.
Racism and Xenophobia
The basic argument utilized in supporting the concept of anti-immigrant attitude having nothing to do with racial discrimination; is that the Polish and fellow East European people are "White." Contrary to this ideology is the shift in focus of the racism conversation to ethnicity and culture differences; the fixed categories are coming up with novel racism forms (Chick & Exworthy, 2018). The discourse posses an important biological definition of culture referring to whichever class that is socially regarded to be of different origin whether biologically, historically, or culturally. In short, a group that is located ethnically can be subjected to racial abuse as a way of being excluded; hence it could be black, Jewish, foreign, minority as well as a migrant. Eaglestone (2018) defined racism as a social construct by a group of people with superiority complex which often leads to prejudice towards others based on their differences social, political or economic.
Figure 2: Example of the racist attacks on the Polish migrants. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.spot.im%2Fv1%2Fproduction%2Ff9kzkjwhdjkx8d71jyax&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.express.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2F683448%2FBrexit-EU-Referendum-Vote-Racist-Polish-Muslim-Eastern-European-Flyer-Cambridgeshire&docid=ziU7xRPUJ53AqM&tbnid=KXSlxD1YknsikM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjt68bjuajeAhVBqxoKHaTlD78QMwhOKBAwEA..i&w=590&h=350&client=firefox-b-ab&bih=486&biw=1047&q=polish%20migrants%20into%20uk%20after%20Brexit&ved=0ahUKEwjt68bjuajeAhVBqxoKHaTlD78QMwhOKBAwEA&iact=mrc&uact=8
The analysis by Gońda (2017) is more qualitative in nature than that of Duda-Mikulin (2018), and also uses qualitative analysis to discuss racism and xenophobia such as that of Chick and Exworthy (2018). Gońda (2017) argued that the current racism can connect aspects of nationalism, xenophobia, patriotism, Brutishness, Englishness, militarism as well as gender equality into a complicated scenario that provides a contemporary meaning of race. Xenophobia, on the other hand, is defined from the parent Greek words which mean fear of the guest; and is typically regarded as hostility against strangers. It is the fear of the unknown depicted in prejudice or dislike of people from different countries and is associated with racism (Gońda, 2017). In the literature these two concepts have been overlapped and viewed s different phenomena; they explore the narratives of the Polish migrants effectively. McCrary (2016) states that the definition of these terminologies varies from one context to another to suit the form of discrimination in question; xeno-racism has been used about different situations like the Western Europe immigration and the Eastern European countries migrants.
Racism is considered not just as those referring to a person with dark skins originating from the past colonial countries but also as those directed at the dispossessed and displaced persons. In other words, it is substantially racism, but in the form of xenophobia in that, it is performed on impoverished foreigners regardless of their skin colour. The Polish migrants in the UK are also broadly discussed as victims of this form of racism mainly on the mistreatment stemming from compelling discriminatory economics and effectively desegregation of xenophobia (Gońda, 2017).
It is highly risky to use the term xenophobia only while addressing the experiences of the Polish migrants since it may suggest their whiteness and deny the elements of radicalization. As indicated in research the migrants in the UK were racialised a perceived through the class of race, which implies race is not necessarily a characteristic of the migrants (McCrary, 2016). Racism is a product of the practices and processes of exclusion hence does not need biological difference to be determined. In the discussions concerning Polish migrants racialisation emanating from a primarily white community, it is viewed essentially to consider the extent of whiteness in the specific context. There is a clear distinction between the white skin colour of the Anglo-Saxons, English, or the North Europeans and that of Eastern or Southern Europe people owing to the former's specificity in the previous centuries (Bulat et. al., 2018).
Even though racism has adverse effects on the victims, it is possible for them to utilize the opportunity to their advantage. For instance, the Irish migrants in the US and UK were regarded as less white in the 19th century, but they used the situation to boost their labour market situation. Upon passing of the Brexit vote, the presence of Polish migrants in the Bedfordshire has become increasingly audible and visible. They make up the potentially more challenged group and have been more common in the visual schema of racialisation. Sierz (2017) argue that perceptual processes regarding visuals are specifically essential in the reinforcement of the discourse and definition of the race since the physical differences become apprehended through the race categories. Apart from racialising their names and pronunciation, it is also revealed that even their clothes are considered unfashionable.
Impacts of the Brexit Referendum
Several studies conducted after the EU referendum reveal that most of the Polish migrants were anxious and uncertain of their future. With the passing of the Brexit vote, they were aware of the anti-migrant feeling that was breeding in the natives as seen in the run-up to the election. The young Polish couples live under fear of discrimination both socially and economically like was the case in the predominantly anti-polish profiles in the media and political discourse. According to Eaglestone (2018), the problems that the migrants feared were beyond physical violence but the restrictions of the new laws such as residency restriction. The uncertainty grew with increased aggression as depicted in specific media reports towards the Polish after the vote.
The local contexts also play a significant role in influencing the experiences of the migrants as well as their relationships with the native population. In essence, they felt that neighbourhoods majorly hosting the poor white British were considered dangerous and feared for racism while the more affluent and multi-ethnic places were perceived safe. This concept reinforces the notion that racism is an issue of working-class whites (Gońda, 2017). From the experience of Polish residents, their relations with the natives are constantly fluctuating, and the Brexit brought about instances of negative sentiments towards immigrants. Racism in the workplace is still under-researched but based on the available evidence it is a persistent characteristic of the migrants' work life in the UK and works to the disadvantage of the minorities.
Most of this discrimination issues originated from the biased media coverage that manipulated the Poles' image. Besides, the Brexit also created awareness among the migrants of the political and media dynamics in Britain as well as the current xenophobic attitudes. Brexit is a precise example indicating those populists are better compared to those people who present outcomes of decisions made reliably (Sierz, 2017). The young Polish couples are also at risk of high mental health effects due to the uncertainty of the future as well as school dropouts; since those with EU citizenship may feel more excluded because of the anti-migration rhetoric and status. Finally, it I evident that the Brexit referendum has left a more divided society owing to the polarization that make them pro or against the EU citizenship (Chick & Exworthy, 2018).
Figure 3: impact of the Brexit vote. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Finfographic.statista.com%2Fnormal%2Fchartoftheday_9941_effect_eu_and_uk_citizens_think_brexit_had_on_eu_n.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statista.com%2Fchart%2F9941%2Feffect-eu-and-uk-citizens-think-brexit-had-on-eu%2F&docid=VRTSzLcI0EDhkM&tbnid=J4cva98BTICabM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwj1xa3Qu6jeAhWR4YUKHbr3BYYQMwhAKAAwAA..i&w=960&h=684&client=firefox-b-ab&bih=486&biw=1047&q=impacts%20of%20brexit%20vote&ved=0ahUKEwj1xa3Qu6jeAhWR4YUKHbr3BYYQMwhAKAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8
Summary and Conclusion
The literature review comprehensively covers the concept of immigration across the EU countries before and after the Brexit vote. It further goes to discuss the experiences of the Polish immigrants in the UK and Bedfordshire in particular. The research content on the impacts of the Brexit vote on the young couples of Polish origin in Bedfordshire is of specific interest since limited studies have addressed this issue. Racism and xenophobia are at the core of the problem though it is not necessarily as a result of the vote it proved to have intensified. In conclusion, the referendum had far-reaching impact of the minorities in all aspects of life whether social, political or economic.
References
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