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Tuesday 13 September 2016

Brexit: and East Europeans in the West Country

Sidmouth, like many seaside resorts and retirement destinations, has many non-Brits working in its hotels and care-homes:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and migrant workers in care homes and hotels >>> Who will take care of us "when the immigrants leave?"

A comment from the Trip Advisor site highlights the number of migrants working in the tourist industry:

“Excellent service and breakfasts”
4 of 5 starsReviewed 5 June 2011

The hotel has a good location above the town, with a great view onto the Esplanade and out to sea. The hotel itself is in good condition, with a smart lounge and bar, and a small but attractive pool, and a nice patio for seaview drinks. The staff are mostly east European, very friendly and helpful.

Sidmouth Harbour Hotel - The Westcliff Traveller Reviews - TripAdvisor

Unfortunately, there has been some unpleasantness following the Brexit vote:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and xenophobia in Devon

The Independent featured a comment from a Sidmouth resident soon after the referendum:

Stop the abuse of Polish people

I would like to take by the scruff of the neck anyone who has abused Polish people living and working here. I would drag them to the Battle of Britain Monument on Victoria Embankment in London, making them read the long list of Polish names of airmen who were killed in this decisive battle for our survival
When we lived in Lincolnshire, my husband served on Vulcan squadrons. On remembrance services in Lincoln Cathedral, large Polish contingents who had settled here marched proudly behind their banners and flags as they remembered their fallen comrades.  
Polish people are part of our history just like the French Huguenots, Irish navvies, Hungarian refugees, West Indians, Kenyan, Asians and others from foreign parts who have come to this country and who contribute to our society. They all add to the diversity and richness of our lives. The Poles who are here pay their taxes and add to the economy. We should rejoice that they are here.
Diane Hughes
Sidmouth

The Brexit campaign has given encouragment to the nastiest, most extreme racists | The Independent

Last night, we heard the second in a series of programmes on Radio 4 looking at things from the East European migrant's perspective:
BBC Radio 4 - Eastern Europeans in Brexitland, 12/09/2016

The first programme was from the West Country:


Eastern Europeans in Brexitland
The issue of immigration and immigrants dominated the EU referendum campaign with much of the focus on the increased numbers of Eastern Europeans in the UK following EU expansion in 2004. They are often talked about - but rarely spoken to.
Writer and journalist Gary Younge meets Eastern Europeans who live in the UK. He explores the impact of the Brexit vote on these communities and considers how the vote and their experiences fit into the history of race and migration in Britain.
In this first of two programmes, Gary talks to Poles and Romanians in Bristol, an area that voted Remain and which has longstanding Eastern European communities.
BBC Radio 4 - Eastern Europeans in Brexitland, 05/09/2016
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