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UK xenophobia turns against Eastern

Europeans
Lana Pasic

Story highlights
Increasing fears of migration in the UK materialised a few months
ago, when a "No Eastern Europeans" sign was placed at the
entrance of a fishery in Warwickshire. The owner of a fishing lake,
who set up a sign, claims that the people from Eastern Europe are
responsible for the fish depletion, as instead of releasing the fish
they catch, the Eastern European fishermen apparently ate it.
Although the sign has been removed by the local police, the
Englishman has not been charged. On the contrary, he and his
neighbours claim that the sign and their attitude towards their fellow
EU citizens are not racist.
A story of a Warwickshire fishery is just an example of a broader
social and political climate in the UK, in
Increasing fears surrounding migration in the UK are rarely far
from society's surface, and re-materialised in the public debate a few
months ago, after a "No Eastern Europeans" sign was placed at the
entrance of a fishery in Warwickshire.
The owner of the fishing lake claimed that people from Eastern
Europe were responsible for fish stock depletion in the lake, as

instead of releasing the fish they caught, the Eastern European

fishermen would apparently eat them. Although the sign has since
been removed by the local police, the lake owner has not been
charged. On the contrary, he and his neighbours claim that the sign
and their attitudes towards their fellow EU citizens were not racist.
The story of one Warwickshire fishery is just an example of a
broader social and political climate in the UK, in which prejudices
and stereotypes about immigrants are ripe. As the work restriction
on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will be lifted from January 1,
2014, the potential "threat" of new migrants - who happen to be
fellow EU citizens - has been overplayed by the politicians and the
media. Polls indicate that the number of those who see immigration
as "very bad" has increased from 11 percent to 21 percent in the
past 10 years, possibly as a result of the frequent targeting of
immigration policies by political groups across the spectrum.
British officials commissioned a report from the National Institute of
Economic and Social Research, which was entitled "Potential
impacts on the UK of future migration from Bulgaria and Romania".
According to the report, it is not possible to predict the number of
those expected to arrive to the UK over the next year. Facing a
potential increase in the migrant population, UK government has
revealed its plans to cut health and housing benefits, in an attempt
to prevent the "abuse of the system" by foreigners and to remove the
supposed incentives for migrants.
At the opening of parliament, the Queen spoke of a desire to curb
migration and impose NHS contributions and additional checks on
migrants in the UK. Prime Minister David Cameron added that
immigrants could "no longer come here and expect something for

nothing".
Fiscal woes take Europeans to the Philippines

But, in spite of the negative political and media portrayal of Eastern

Europeans, the report indicates that these migrants claim benefits
less than other migrant groups, and even less than those born in
Britain. It is rarely mentioned that majority of the immigrants who
come to the UK, and the other EU states, move in order to work, not
to claim benefits. In fact, the National Institute for Economic and
Social Research estimates that some 700,000 people have moved
to the UK since 2004 and have contributed about 5bn pounds
($7.5bn) to the UK GDP. Indeed, net migration to the UK has fallen
by a third in the past year, according to statistics released on
Thursday by the Office for National Statistics.
Yet, Migration Watch UK claims that migrants' contribution to the
economy, compared with their use of social services, is not enough
to justify their presence in the UK.
As I followed the debates around migration and UK attitudes towards
foreigners, I wondered how immigration could be the most important
question in the country, considering the numerous economic and
social issues. After all, every homeless person I have met here on
the streets of Oxford has been British-born, not African, Asian or
Eastern European. It has been suggested that the government is
using the issues of migration and continuing economic crisis in
order to pursue some of its more conservative policies. Labour
leader Ed Miliband said that tackling migration would not impact the
real issues in the UK, such as economic growth or unemployment.
But, the real question should not be whether the migrants contribute

to the economy or not, or how big of an issue migration really is in

the country. What concerns me is that very few media outlets or
politicians have commented on the human rights implications of
these discussions. The attitudes toward Eastern Europeans and the
debate around migration in the UK did not even cause a stir among
the European organisations which are so keen on publicising
human rights violations outside of the Union.
Portraying Eastern Europeans as criminals and barbarians surely
constitutes hate-speech and discrimination, something prohibited
not only by UK laws, but also by the EU Charter on Fundamental
Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, which
should apply equally to all member states and people, regardless of
their place of birth or its GDP. The fact that the UK has yet to sign or
ratify Protocol 12 to the convention, which deals with discrimination,
should not absolve it of its moral responsibility.
Having a "No Eastern Europeans" sign in the UK is not only
xenophobic - it dangerously resembles "No Jews", "No Arabs" and
"No Blacks" slogans, used by nationalists in days thought long past.
Although the sign in Warwickshire has been removed, the feelings
of intense dislike, mistrust and stereotypes towards "others" remain.
Lana Pasic is an independent writer and analyst from Bosnia
and Herzegovina. She is currently studying for a Masters
degree at Oxford University.
Source: Al Jazeera
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