Critical Reflection on the Plight of Immigrants in Relation to My Experience as an E.U. Citizen Living in the U.K.

Introduction

Cases of outright contempt for immigrants are rampant around the world. While some countries like the United States are fearlessly vocal about the issue, others, like the U.K. keep it civil. The one standard acknowledgment by immigrants from all over the world is that one never feels wholly welcome and one never fits in. This is regardless of the circumstances under which one became an immigrant; whether a student, a war refugee, a humanitarian worker, for family, or for economic empowerment. Whether moving to a first world nation or a developing nation, a myriad of problems comprised of lack of recognition, social, economic, and professional inequality, and racial discrimination always await.

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This critical reflection will focus on two issues: Establishing the universality of the problems facing immigrants through review of relevant literature, and supporting the view that individuals should remain in their home countries as opposed to becoming immigrants through the actual reflection.

Literature Overview

United Nations DESA (2017) placed the number of people residing in countries where they were not born (immigrants) at an estimated 258 million. This translates into 3.4 percent of the total world population. While these millions of people move to foreign nations seeking better prospects regarding employment, education, healthcare, family, and basic human rights, they are, most of the time, faced with more significant problems in their destination countries than those they were initially fleeing. In this reflection, these problems will be addressed from a personal point of view using my own observations as an immigrant in the Brexit era.

Many debates regarding immigrants today revolve around the awaiting living conditions in their destination countries in comparison with the state of affairs in their home countries. While modern-day immigrants may not be subjected to pre-20th-century abuse like slavery, the present times have come with their share of problems as demonstrated and supported by the following literature.

According to Shah (2008), the most prominent problem facing immigrants is that they are used as a scapegoat whenever issues arise, primarily economic, and social related issues. For example, U.S. President Donald Trump has openly condemned foreign-born Americans, blaming them for rising unemployment among U.S. citizens. His focus has mainly been on Mexican immigrants, going as far as pledging to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico to keep away the foreigners who 'steal' American jobs and money, thus killing off the U.S. economy. This finger pointing is, however, not limited to the United States. In the U.K. Brexit is mostly believed to have been inspired by hostility towards immigrants in the country. These immigrants, comprising a significant number of the European Union citizens, have taken the blame for a weakening economy and supposedly reduced opportunities for U.K citizens. The 2015 South Africa xenophobia attacks had many triggers, one of them being that the locals felt undermined economically because foreigners were running their businesses on unfair practices that gave them a profit and sustainability advantage over the locals whose businesses had stagnated (Mafukata, 2015, p. 42).

Migration to Asia is mostly labor related with low skilled workers seeking employment in countries like Malaysia and Thailand. Like other migrants around the world, Asia immigrants move seeking better lives but end up living in deplorable situations. Asia immigrants who also include a large number of trafficked individuals, asylum seekers, and war refugees are openly treated as non-citizens, and their human rights are rarely acknowledged (Kaur, 2007, p. 154). For example, the amendment of the Malaysia Immigration Act in 1997 and 2002 allowed caning of immigrant workers, whether documented or undocumented (Kaur, 2010, p. 151). In Argentina, especially during the 1976-1983 authoritarianism, immigrants to the country faced numerous challenges, especially state perpetrated murders and human rights violation. This prompted immigrants into joining other citizens in the Mass Letters Movements where they would pen letters to the then president Carlos Menem, imploring for his intervention (Filer, 2017, p. 317).

Segal and Mayagas (2005), front culture shock as a significant challenge faced by immigrants. Language barriers, new social norms, different life outlooks, and new expectations all culminate into culture shock for immigrants who often lack the psychological ability to handle this transition. As a result, some of these overwhelmed immigrants may turn towards dysfunctional behavior and resentment, which in turn makes them a good target for anti-foreigner campaigners who use them as reference points for negative immigration messages.

Barsky (2016, p. 8) reinforces this viewpoint by demonstrating the psychological torment that immigrants undergo from targeted conversations which may force them to flee particular areas that seem hostile towards them. Barsky further brings out the issue of policies as a challenge for immigrants. He elaborates how immigration officers manipulate immigration laws to corner immigrants. In this regard, he pinpoints explicitly undocumented immigrants, describing how they are often intercepted, arrested and deported at the very suspicion of the legality of their residence. While there is nothing wrong with keeping the immigration status of a country in check, authorities often over exaggerate this exercise, targeting anyone who looks foreign before first establishing if these people are documented or not.

This literature overview supports my earlier statement on the universality of the plight of immigrants by demonstrating that hardships are experienced all over the world: From the United States, Asia, Africa, and South America, to the U.K.

Planning of the Reflection

Before embarking on the critical reflection, I had to carry out in-depth research into the problems facing immigrants to establish if it is a universal issue, or if it is centered on particular regions. After collecting facts from my research, I embarked on brainstorming the information to establish which facts were relevant to my experience and how I would incorporate them into my reflective essay. I also counter checked this information against published works (presented as the literature overview) to validate the fact that irrespective of the country one lives in, immigrants are always either discriminated against or are unwelcomed.

To distinguish this reflection from social networks and blogging content, I had to apply an ethical approach concerning long-form journalism. Apart from establishing trust by focusing on my personal experience, I ensured that all information presented is from verified sources and that these sources are appropriately accredited. Because my topic of reflection is highly sensitive, I applied a passive tone, advising immigrants to take retreat moves as opposed to confrontational steps with authorities in their host countries to avoid instigating violence and hatred.

Critical Reflection on the Plight of Immigrants in Relation to My Experience as an E.U. Citizen Living in the U.K.

I always felt lucky that I chose to move to the U.K. for my studies because unlike countries like the United States, the U.K. previously welcomed immigrants whether for educational or settling down purposes. I had planned to settle down in the country eventually, but after the passing of Brexit, I developed second thoughts on whether to stay or return to Bulgaria, my home country. This is because although I have not experienced any discrimination as a U.K. immigrant, the principles behind Brexit made me feel like I did not belong to the country that I had planned to call home for the rest of my life. As Ford and Goodwin (2017, p. 21) state, Brexit was highly inspired by a growing hostility towards immigrants. This was especially among the working class and elderly voters who felt that their values were being polluted by the increasingly liberal multicultural and multinational population in the U.K. When Tony Blair's government decided not to impose restrictions on immigration from the A8 nations in 2003, the fuse blew, pushing immigration to the top of the UK agenda and since then, Brexit had been a slowly building up war against immigrants.

To me, Brexit came off as a send away message because it seemed like the country wanted nothing to do with fellow European nations, my home country included. Owing to this, I developed a strong inclination towards the opinion that even in countries where an immigrant is not discriminated against, one is never entirely welcome: The state just lacks a proper way of putting this message across. Knowing that it is only a matter of time before Brexit happens in 2019, I now have to think about what the future holds for me as an E.U. citizen living in the U.K., and whether I should save myself the awaiting trouble and head back home.

My biggest worry is that once Brexit is implemented, my hosts will not only harbor an unwelcoming attitude towards me, they might act towards their opinion. So far I have had a smooth run, and I have not experienced any discrimination, but once the U.K. sets herself apart, I fear that that will be the beginning of a different experience for me. The entitlements that I have been enjoying may be taken away, or I may have to come in second to U.K. citizens regarding services, and amenities access. While it may seem like I am paranoid with my fear of discrimination, an audit by KPMG (2017, p. 13) reveals that 50 percent of E.U. immigrants living in the U.K. felt less welcome and valued following the successful leave vote.

Also of concern to me are my employment prospects. The ultimate goal of undergoing an education program is to improve one's employability, but I now fear that once Brexit happens, jobs in the U.K. may be reserved only for citizens. Even though research has shown that U.K. immigrants do not pose any significant threat to U.K. citizens' employment opportunities, it all comes down to attitudes and eradicating this lump of labor fallacy is difficult with the immigration population bearing the brunt. (Wadsworth et al., 2017, p. 8).

Initially, I had planned to settle down in the U.K., but with the uncertainty surrounding the issue of restricted E.U. immigration in relation to Brexit, I am now hesitant because should the U.K. decide to restrict visas (Wadsworth et.al., p. 14), then my family back in Bulgaria would have a difficult time joining me in the U.K. After Brexit, the immigration process will become more complicated with those of us who already have living rights being forced to make fresh applications. Additionally, the terms of applying for settled and temporary residence are yet to be set out. According to KPMG (2017, p. 11), this unaddressed uncertainty has pushed 18 percent of E.U. nationals living in the U.K. feeling that the residency program is too complicated.

As a resident of the UK I feel obliged to partake in decision-making processes that affect my day-to-day life, especially voting. However, the onset of Brexit means that I will not be allowed to be part of the British electoral process (European Parliament, 2017, p. 13). In my view, living in a country where I have no say in the policies governing my life and who administers these policies sounds like a modern form of slavery. I am further concerned that like in the United States, the U.K. leadership may discharge their authority unfairly on immigrants leading to unfair confrontations for immigrants, especially with the police.

Reflecting on these challenges staring me in the face as a U.K. immigrant, I f...