Citizens or bargaining chips? Scotland's Europeans on their Brexit fears

“And, of course, we live in Scotland, where people are more pro-European and the campaign had been very different. It was shocking.”

Moulisova, who lives in the west end of Glasgow with her Czech husband and 11-month-old daughter Anastasie, who was born in the city, is among the 173,000-strong population of European Union nationals living and working in Scotland.

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It’s an uncertain time for these adopted Scots, who make up a population bigger than that of Dundee. They come from all across the continent – from France in the west to the Baltic nations of the east. Seven weeks since the UK as a whole voted to leave the EU in a referendum, while Scotland voted strongly to remain, the new UK government led by Theresa May has chosen not to clarify their status. Whether they will be allowed to stay in the UK permanently and, if so, under what terms, remains unresolved.

The prime minister and the new chancellor, Philip Hammond, have said they won’t give firm assurances until they have received similar guarantees on the future of the 1.2 million UK nationals living in the EU. The government may also wish to wait until the EU signals how it intends to answer UK calls for generous trade deals and curbs on immigration before appearing to be too magnanimous; there is, after all, the English pro-Brexit electorate to consider. And since formal negotiations with the EU look to be some time away, the fate of EU nationals here will likely hang in the balance for many months, even years, to come.

All this has prompted critics, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, to accuse May of using the UK’s 2.9 million EU nationals as bargaining chips.

The manoeuvring and strategising of governments and politicians is one thing, then. But the consequences of the referendum result for ordinary people, particularly those who came here under free movement rules, is quite another. Behind each “bargaining chip” is an individual or family, each with friends and community ties, a work and social life, hopes, dreams and fears for the future.

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But how has the Brexit vote changed their plans for the future? How do they feel about the victorious campaign run by Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, which focused on immigrants from eastern Europe and was accused by many of being nasty and divisive? And do they still feel welcome in Scotland?

Moulisova, who works as a research biologist at the University of Glasgow, and her husband Michal Masin have spent much of the last few weeks going over these questions in their minds. She believes Westminster politicians are playing games with the lives of EU nationals, something she says was made worse by the fact they weren’t allowed to vote in June’s referendum, so had no way to influence the debate.

“We are not thinking about leaving at the moment,” she says in fluent English. “We are very happy in Scotland. We have always felt very welcome here and have lots of friends.

“This is our home and we believe we make a good contribution. But if Brexit changes the conditions under which we are here – for example, if our access to healthcare changed – we might have to reconsider, especially as we have our daughter to think about too. We have already been granted right to remain [permanent residency] but our daughter hasn’t yet.

“We don’t want to be discriminated against. Better to be a stranger in another country than a second-class citizen.”

The couple, from a small town in western Bohemia, have lived in Scotland for almost 10 years, and were particularly upset by what they saw as the “disrespectful” and “factually incorrect” way eastern Europeans were portrayed by both sides of the campaign in the referendum.

“The campaign focused upon immigration, and was concentrated against us,” says Masin, who is also a biologist. “It was manipulative – people were not given accurate information. Many people, especially in England, choose to blame eastern Europeans for their problems. They see us as some sort of threat.

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“This is very unfair because most people who come to the UK from eastern European countries are very qualified, often to masters level and above, and speak very good English. Many of them are doing jobs they are over-qualified for. And eastern Europeans are setting up businesses and creating jobs – that was never mentioned.

“There may be problems in the UK, and with the European Union, but these issues are not caused by migrants.”

The couple say what they love most about Scotland is the beauty of the country. They spend much of their time walking in the hills with their daughter, dog and the many friends they have made, who come from Scotland, the UK and beyond.

Whether they stay on long term will also depend on work opportunities. Moulisova, who has a PhD, says she is already sensing a change in attitude towards British projects within the European scientific community.

“Scientists get a lot of their funding from the EU,” she explains. “Nobody knows what is going to happen now. I’m very concerned that important research projects will be put at risk and opportunities will shrink.

“I’m already hearing from colleagues in Europe that they are being discouraged from applying for projects that rely on UK collaboration because the future is so uncertain. It is very worrying.”

Professor Stephen Hawking was among hundreds of scientists and academic leaders who signed a letter before the vote saying Brexit would be a disaster for UK science. And a number of independent economic bodies, including the respected Fraser of Allander Institute, have said Brexit would have a negative impact on the Scottish economy. It is widely agreed by economists that, due to its ageing population, Scotland will need many more immigrants, now and in the future, to keep its economy productive. Clearly, post-Brexit it is unclear how this will happen.

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LUIS LOUREIRO HARRISON is also concerned about the future. Following medical rotations in Edinburgh, the 25-year-old junior doctor from Portugal has recently started a job at Wishaw General, in North Lanarkshire. He loves his work but is worried that the NHS could suffer as a result of Brexit.

Loureiro Harrison moved here at 17 to study medicine in Aberdeen. He says that because he has spent all his adult life in Scotland he considers it home. Asked what he likes most about the country, straight away he talks of the “fair-minded people in favour of equality and social justice”.

“Scots believe in free education and a free NHS – that’s a vision of society I like,” he adds.

Following the EU referendum, Loureiro Harrison, who grew up in Porto, thinks the NHS he believes in so strongly could struggle to retain the staff it needs. “Between five and 10 per cent of NHS doctors qualify abroad,” he explains, “and that doesn’t include people like me, who trained in the UK but come from somewhere else. That’s a lot of doctors and they’re vital to the NHS.

“Many units are already running short-staffed. Putting up to 10 per cent of your staff at risk, even gradually because they are facing uncertainty about their status, is a really bad idea, and a serious risk.

“I already know lots of junior doctors who have gone to Australia and New Zealand after a couple of years. I think EU nationals will be more tempted to go there because they are uncertain about the future.

“That would be terrible because the NHS needs all the junior doctors it can get – they are the front line.”

Loureiro Harrison, who lives in Edinburgh with his English husband, says he “felt sick” when he found out the result of the referendum. And he’s become increasingly concerned about what he views as an unpleasant change of atmosphere in the weeks leading up to and since the vote.

“There was a gap between Scotland and England – in Scotland there was a consensus that leaving was a bad idea,” he says. “But in England the campaign was toxic and created a really horrible environment.

“That has been in the back of my mind. You go on Twitter and see posts from Europeans in England who have been bullied, abused and harassed on the street. You start to wonder whether it will happen to you.

“I’ve never worried about this before, it seemed to come out of nowhere. But it is very destabilising to see how quickly things can turn nasty.”

Loureiro Harrison, whose sister lives in Glasgow, says he has no plans to leave Scotland, but admits Brexit has forced him to consider alternatives. “I’m the sort of person who likes to have a plan B and a plan C,” he adds. “I look at what’s going on in Scotland and think at least there is hope of a different outcome. But depending on what happens, I may have to think again about the future.”

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ONE EU national who says she hasn’t contemplated plan B is Niki Barra, a 34-year-old from Hungary who has been in Glasgow for eight years.

“I’m going nowhere,” she smiles. “Glasgow is such an amazing place. I adore it here.”

She moved to the city on a whim with £600 in her pocket after being inspired by the sight of a kilted bagpiper in her native Budapest. She did a bit research about Glasgow and got on a plane – and it was love at first sight.

Indeed Barra, who works as an administrator for an engineering company in Stirling and is also a visual artist, is so integrated that when you meet her, it’s not immediately obvious she’s from eastern Europe – her accent and use of Scottish dialect is impeccable. She admits people often think she’s from Orkney – which she finds funny considering her surname is the same as another Scottish island.

“I feel a part of Scotland, and I consider myself a Glaswegian – or maybe a Hungraweegie,” she says, laughing. “I love the humour, the way people stick together. People really do make Glasgow. They are so friendly and understanding. Complete strangers talk to you all the time – I love that. And I love the language, though I admit I struggled with it at first.” To show how well she knows the lingo she does a hilariously accurate impression of a local giving directions to a tourist in broad Glaswegian.

But there’s more to Scotland than just the humour and language for Barra.

“This is a beautiful country with such an amazing history and folklore. You have a great quality of life here. I’ve made amazing friends, I have a job I love. And I’ve worked hard. I have a degree and a diploma and at first I worked in a factory. There are more opportunities here – you can reach your potential.”

She scoffs at the idea that eastern Europeans are “stealing” jobs from working-class Scots – “How can I steal your job if I have a degree and a diploma and you don’t have any qualifications?" – and believes those who voted for Brexit did so because of scaremongering. She was “sad and disbelieving” when she heard the result.

“Then in the end all the Brexit leaders just walked away,” she adds. “It really is disgraceful. They didn’t believe they were going to win. It’s all about power – now they are using people like me as political pawns.”

She believes Brexit has encouraged people to think in a more divisive way. “A Polish friend told me one of his little boy’s classmates told him to go back to where he comes from. When he said he was born here, the classmate said his parents should have chosen another country.

“So, if someone’s parents aren’t Scottish, they aren’t Scottish either? That’s ridiculous. I’ve heard people in Scotland talk about ‘bloody eastern Europeans’ then say ‘but I don’t mean you, dear’.

“But none of this has made me consider leaving Scotland. This is my home and I love it.”

KONRAD BORKOWSKI, a 40-year-old from Poland, has been living on the Inner Hebridean island of Jura for 11 years. He says until a few weeks before the referendum he never really noticed how the media treated eastern Europeans.

“I came here for a better life, but for me it was never about economics,” he explains in fluent English. “I’m from a big city, Lodz, but I never enjoyed city life. I wanted the seclusion and wilderness that only a Scottish island could offer. And since arriving on Jura I’ve never looked back.

“This is one of the world’s rare wild places. You have to make an effort to get there and the people who live here appreciate that.”

Borkowski makes his living as a photographer. His latest big project was a labour of love – a glossy book about the whisky industry on the neighbouring island of Islay produced in collaboration with Scottish writer Fiona Rintoul that has impressed the critics. His partner Dorota, who is also from Poland, works as a nursery teacher on Jura, and they feel very much part of their island home.

“I definitely feel like an islander – I am an islander,” he explains. “I know I will never be a local, but it’s the same for all incomers, whether they are from Glasgow or another country. Because I’m from Poland I can bring something different to the community. That’s what being an islander is really all about, contributing to the community.

“Brexit doesn’t change any of this. Unless they kick me out, of course.”

Borkowski, like all of the EU nationals interviewed here, says the EU needs significant reform but he believes that being a part of Europe is a philosophical as well as a political decision.

“People who travel and are interested in other places, who want to share life with people from other countries, will always want to be part of something bigger.

"The question is whether Scotland also wants to be part of it.”

The first minister has made it clear that in her mind, the answer to this question is an emphatic yes.

Besides demanding clarity from the prime minister on the status of EU citizens in the UK, Sturgeon has moved to assure those living in Scotland that they are not only welcome, but an important part of Scotland’s economic future too.

However, as things stand currently, this is entirely out of her hands.

Sturgeon has also, of course, been doing what she can to garner support in Europe for Scotland’s case that since it voted strongly to remain in the EU, it should be allowed to retain its membership. But it is hard to see how this can happen without a second independence referendum; that prospect is, of course, very much back on the table.

Interestingly, all four of those interviewed in this piece said they wanted Scotland to remain a member of the European Union in its own right, and would vote for independence, if necessary, to ensure this happened.

Whether and when they will get the chance to do so remains to be seen.