by Nando Sigona (@nandosigona) If 18 months of pandemic were not enough to push society to the verge of a nerve breakdown, then came the vaccine passports in all their shapes and forms to make lives even more miserable. And Brexit is adding its fair bit to the mix. This is especially the case if…
Category: Brexit diary
‘Congratulations on your achievement’: the day I became British
How does one mark the ceremony to become British? With mixed feelings, in many cases. By Nando Sigona (originally published in OpenDemocracy) ‘Congratulations on your achievement’, ‘I heard congratulations are in order’, ‘well done’. I look at my interlocutor undecided on what to reply. A smiling face looks at me, expecting a response. Eventually I…
Between rock and hard place: Diary on an EU citizen in the UK (36)
Originally posted on Postcards from …:
My Italian passport expires at the end of July. As an Italian formally resident abroad (AIRE), I depend for all bureaucratic matters on the Italian Consulate General in my country of residence, in my case is London. This includes the renewal of my passport. In order to do so, a…
Amber Rudd, the Windrush scandal and the reluctant Remainer
The Windrush scandal is undoubtedly the scene of a crime, multiple crimes. But which scene and what crime now needs maximum public exposure? Source: Amber Rudd, the Windrush scandal and the reluctant Remainer | openDemocracy There is something bittersweet and something definitely fishy in Amber Rudd’s resignation. Many have celebrated it as a victory against Theresa May’s ‘hostile…
You can’t have an integrated society in a hostile environment: Diary of an EU citizen in the UK (34)
The UK Government’s strategy is not for an integrated society, focusing on what government and society could and should do, but for integrated ‘communities’, code word for everyone else. After a bit of fanfare, a couple of catchy soundbites and a few top-line proposals leaked a day or two before the release, the Department of…
Is David Attenborough the solution to mass migration? Diary of an EU citizen in the UK (32)
Facts seem to have become a disposable commodity these days. We are going through a phase of evidence-free policy making and post-truth politics, known in Trump’s America as fake-newsism. “I will call an expert!” has replaced the bogeyman as parents’ favourite to frighten children into good behaviour. Tory ministers and MPs dismiss any evidence (from…
Hairy moments: Diary of an EU citizen in the UK (31)
Originally posted on Postcards from …:
It all finished with a laugh. “I already have a jacket and spectacles like yours, Nando. Need to work a bit more on the curly hair though”, H. said enabling everyone around the table to take a breath and move on from the conversation. But how did we get there?…
The Brexit reading list: Diary of an EU citizen in the UK (30)
The morning that the university vice-chancellors saw on their desks the letter of the Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris they could breathe a sigh of relief: for once it was not a FOI by the Guardian or UCU asking about their salaries. The MP for Daventry, a staunch Brexiteer, was not after their money. He only…
Who are the baddies? Diary of an EU citizen in the UK (29)
Originally posted on Postcards from …:
Not a good start to my day. I’m on the train reading one of the many stories of EU nationals packing and leaving Britain. This time is a French woman, a mother and grandmother of UK-born children, who lives in the Canterbury district and feels forced out of the country –…
EU families & Eurochildren in Brexiting Britain 