The Brexit vote in Britain to cut ties with the European Union is part of an emerging trend that has also gained ground in the United Stated via “Trumpism”. The results of the referendum in the UK came as a surprise to many and there is already some buyers’ remorse as the consequences for Britain in its future relations with Europe sink in.
Whereas those who supported the UK remaining in the EU campaigned strongly on the negative economic impact an exit vote would mean, the leavers pushed home the point that the country would regain its authority over its borders and on immigration issues if it leaves the EU. This was the issue that won the referendum.
The idea of prosperity and progress on continued favourable trade deals with their European neighbours meant less to the majority of voters than their ability to decide on immigration, ie, who is allowed to live and work in Britain. Following the success of the Brexit vote, there was an immediate rise in racist attacks on British Asians and on the large Polish immigrant population in Britain.
The presumptive Republican nominee for the US presidency, Donald Trump, is enjoying a similar success in America based on a similar trend. There, too, it is less about the economy and more about building a wall to keep out Mexicans, and banning all Muslims from entering the US that have made Trump a populist leader.
In both instances, statistics show that the followers of Brexit and Trump are less college educated than those who voted to stay in the EU and who are not backing Trump, respectively.
Britain and the US are divided nations and the division is spurred by a rise in anti-immigrant prejudices and nativism. This translates into intolerance and race hate as the national conversation becomes less about jobs and the economy and becomes more existential with the primary concern being a move to consolidate nationalist sentiments and what is perceived as the “native” status quo.
It does appear to be a rejection of diversity and of the social cohesion that is championed by European nations even though some view Brexit as a refusal by the British to transform their country into a homogeny as dictated by the EU.
Guyana too is a divided nation where Indians are still trying to gain an equal footing in cultural and political spaces within the context of the majority African Caribbean population.
Oddly enough, it is the struggle for human and cultural rights by Indian Guyanese that is condemned as racist rather than the dominance of Euro/Afrocentrism which pushes for a physical and cultural assimilation that would translate into ethnic and cultural loss for Indians. It’s a loss that no human rights convention encourages or supports.
The Brexit trend is not an unknown in the wider Caribbean where Jamaicans, Guyanese and many small islanders face immigration issues in places like Trinidad and Barbados despite Caribbean single market agreements which are intended to foster trade and allow the free movement of people within the region. It is a rejection of “others” just as in Britain and the US and, just as in those countries, immigrants are seen as threats to job security and nationalist interests.
Whereas respect for diversity is trumpeted as a good thing, it goes against the grain of globalisation which does not only involve globalised trade but fosters the idea of a one-world culture. Hollywood movie franchises, Starbucks and McDonalds are all part and parcel of a globalised culture and the internet and social media are vital links in helping to shape that one-world.
Whether diversity will triumph over this new trend is yet to be seen but human cultures have been built up over centuries and not many are willing to forgo their uniqueness for a globalised identity when there is still a primal human need for cultural rituals and values, and for a unique identity among most of the world’s peoples.
In Europe, for instance, despite being suppressed for decades, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Dagestan all reappeared almost overnight. They are all differentiated by culture, ethnicity, and language.
While the success of such diversity depends on respect for differences, taken to its extreme, securing one’s identity over others can become xenophobic and can fuel race hate, violence and extremism.
As Great Britain grapples with the fallout of Brexit and the US with the rise of “Trumpism”, Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean should take note and reject any trend that fosters intolerance and hate.
