YES, THE ENGLISH AND THE Welsh have voted for the whole of Britain to leave the European Union (EU) whilst Scotland and Northern Ireland said stay.
Adding up all the votes, however, gave the Leave campaign the green light or in other words, ‘Brek fuh yuh ‘self’.
Wuh loss, dem negotiations gwine be bare C P and P.
Naturally, many questions are being asked about things which, I suppose, were fully explained or maybe glossed over. For instance, what about the European Health Insurance Card, which lets the holder get free or reduced health care costs in Europe?
What happens to the (British) “EU Passport”? Will a British driver’s licence be automatically valid in the rest of Europe? Will Bajans and other Caribbean people continue to have free movement to the Schengen area countries if our first stop is Britain/England?
Scotland’s chief minister has already signalled that another referendum is on the cards whether to remain tied to the “new” Britain or not; as indeed the Northern Irish may be looking at one country – Ireland – two states North and South.
Will British workers, at all levels, seeking work or contracts, be as welcome as before in Europe and vice versa? Will British experts be withdrawn from European projects? Indeed, will EU projects in the region and elsewhere suffer a reduction in funding?
It seems to me that this “divorce” will be one of the messiest in the history of country-to-country relationships. Perhaps it might give pause to those willing to break up CARICOM and the single market, although it would not be on the same scale as a Brexit.
So I want to suggest that Caribbean people and governments think carefully before they come to an individual and/or collective conclusion that it is better to ‘brek fuh yuh’self’.
– MICHAEL RUDDER
