“The fact that I’m living here should not be used against me”

- An interview with an EU citizen living in the UK

When I started this campaign I wasn’t sure how widespread these feelings of rejection were. But during my research I’ve spoken to many EU citizens living in the UK. Some don’t feel any different after the vote, whilst others have shocked me further with their feelings about the result and how it has caused some people it hide their nationalities to avoid awkward interactions, or worse, out of fear or shame.

One such person I spoke to was Jenni, a work colleague who moved to Colchester just a week before the vote. Here’s her take on Brexit:

How did you feel when you woke up on the 24th and found out that Britain had voted to leave?
The night of the referendum I didn’t sleep, neither did my husband. We were checking the result every hour and once we heard the news we were very upset. Both my husband and I are very upset with the current state of the world. We have been reading The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig, which talks about how Europe fell into populisms and extremisms at the beginning of the 20th century, leading the two world wars and it has made us very sensitive – it’s happening again, Europe is destroying itself again.

Righting some wrongs

When I woke up on the morning of 24th June 2016, I imagine I felt the same as a lot of people (particularly other "millennials", although I hate that term!). Stunned and worried, unsure of what this really meant for my country.

It felt as though the older generation had voted for us to go back to a time unknown to my generation. Alone, a true island, cut off from all around it. For someone brought up in a society which embraces all cultures, I felt sad that so many of my fellow countrymen could not see the benefits of being part of something bigger, of uniting with others to make a greater impact.

One of the main reasons many people voted to Leave was because of the immigration propaganda that had been shoved down their throats by the media. But it wasn't just British nationals who read these newspapers and saw the news, it was immigrants themselves, people from the EU living and working in the UK.

Soon after Brexit I spoke to a good friend, she is a German national who has lived, studied and worked in the UK for the majority of her adult life. She works for the media and, interested in her views of Brexit, I asked her what she thought about it.

I expected her to tell me how she thought our economy would be affected, or whether she thought it was a good move for Britain. But instead she simply said, "I don't feel welcome anymore". Her boyfriend, an Italian also living and working in the UK nodded his head in agreement. I was too shocked to probe any further at the time. I stuttered out, "But you are welcome!", but it sounded so feeble, and coming from the losing team, did it really mean that much? A larger percentage seemed to imply maybe they weren't welcome - if you read the newspapers anyway.

Some Britons behaved appallingly after Brexit, telling people to go home and threatening innocent people who have every right to call the UK their home. It wasn't the majority, but the media coverage yet again perpetuated the view that Brexit meant that Europeans, or in fact anyone from another country were no longer wanted.

I know most British people don't feel like that. Some people voted for Brexit because they felt it would be right for the country, improve our economy and give us more say. Others perhaps didn't take it too seriously, using their vote as a protest against the establishment, never for one moment thinking that so many others would do the same too. But it has caused damage, both between Britons themselves and our relationship with other countries.

With the recent US election result once again shocking people, seemingly showing another Western country voting to limit those who enter, and becoming a nation looking inwards rather than out, I want to show people that this closed off way of thinking is not the way forward. And more than that - that Britain isn't like that at all.

I don't want Britain to be seen as a scared little country, closing her gates to others.
I don't want people from any other country, visiting or living here, to feel unsafe, or unwelcome.
I don't want Britain to lose her diversity because people feel this country is no longer relevant.

I want Britain to show itself as the open, caring nation it is. A place where differences are embraced and celebrated. A huge melting pot of skills, ideas and cultures. And an active part of the world.

And as a first step I want to show EU citizens living in the UK that you are welcome,  You are valued. You are needed. You bring your knowledge and skills to our shores and you contribute to making this country good.

I have started a page on facebook and a twitter account in the hope that you, reader, will feel the same way and want to right these wrongs too. If you do please like my facebook page or follow my twitter account and feel free to post a comment throwing your thoughts into the mix, and any ideas for helping us to reassure non-nationals living here.

I am also using the hashtag #WeWelcomeEU on Twitter - and I would love you to join me, hopefully the message will get through, even if it's just one European, it will be worth it.

John Lennon asked us all those years ago to "imagine all the people sharing all the world". It is still a long way off, but it is a wonderful vision, and one I believe in.

You may say that I'm a dreamer...please show me I'm not the only one.