photo: Neil H / CC.
When I travel to foreign continents and get asked where I am from, my answer is often: “I am from Europe”. I never really thought about what this means until the Brexit vote. It’s not that I don’t want to say that I am from Germany (because whoever asks is probably going to demand a more precise answer anyway and I will give it). It’s not a lack of national pride; it’s more a sense of international unity within my own continent. I am happy to be German, but I am proud to be from Europe. Being born and raised in an isolated country like the GDR, the sense of freedom after the reunification was amazing.
I grew into an adult benefiting from the bond that the European countries had formed with one another after being in conflict for centuries. For me this became the status quo. I could travel, study, live and work in all of the other countries without problems, which many of my class mates actually did, going to France or the UK after school. When many of the countries even started to share one currency it became even more united. Going to Madrid or to Rome over the weekend to visit friends or just have a good time, this no longer felt like taking a vacation in a foreign country. It felt like something else…
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by Frank | Stories, Travel
photos: Andrea Lavezzaro.
One thing we can easily agree on: Brexit fucking sucks. The idea to separate from a union like the EU in times of global uncertainty is just… well: a bad one! Especially considering the way it went. Of all the things that have gone wrong in the EU, this is certainly the most tragic one to date.
We are still not sure if anything is going to happen. With all the delays it feels like a bit of an irony that Brits can vote for European Parlament this week, not even sure if they will be part of it much longer. But what is also uncertain, and this is the biggest sting for us as such a multicultural platform, is the future of all these non-British people living in Britain and all the British ones living in other EU countries. When Brexit goes through, it seems like the days of free movement within Europe are over when it comes to Britain. It feels like a massive set-back.
Andrea Lavezzaro is a Brasilian photographer specialized in street and documentary photography who lives and works in Berlin, but often also in London. For her Brexit means traveling and working in London will become more complicated. This circumstance prompted the idea to talk with other people who will be affected by Britain leaving the European Union. For her new portrait series “Brexit in Berlin” she talked to Brits living in Berlin who voted to remain in the EU about how the change will affect their lives. To bring the whole political debacle into a more personal perspective we want to share their stories with you here.
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by Frank | People, Stories
Brexit checklist: a valid passport, Anmeldung, a print-out of your online registration form for the Ausländerbehörde, a paying job, German health insurance, a German bank account, a German driving license, and a year’s supply of decent cider.
The 29th of March is nearly upon us, and after more than two years of “robust” negotiations, it’s looking more and more like we’re headed for a no-deal Brexit. So what does that mean for those of us from the UK who have decided to make Berlin our home? As we get closer to the big day, I’ve accepted that I can’t keep sticking my fingers in my ears and hoping that this whole thing will go away. I decided to finally do a bare minimum of research, pump a couple of clued-up friends for information, and see if there were any shreds of certainty in the sea of Brexit doubt.
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by Guest Author | Stories
