Minister from Germany feels ‘like an intruder’
A GERMAN Church of Scotland minister says she now feels like an ‘intruder’ in Scotland in the wake of the Brexit vote.
The Rev Anikó Schütz Bradwell admits to becoming increasingly nervous about speaking in her native tongue in public.
The 34-year-old minister who works in East Lothian believes the rhetoric of politicians backing a Leave vote has ‘made it legitimate to use racist language’.
She spoke out ahead of a Scottish Government summit on Wednesday, when EU nationals living in Scotland will be able to question Nicola Sturgeon about the implications of the Brexit vote.
At present, SNP ministers are examining options in the wake of the referendum on June 23, when voters in Scotland backed Remain while the UK as a whole voted to leave the EU.
Mrs Schütz Bradwell said: ‘I was very shocked with the result of the EU referendum. I have been living in Scotland for ten years, volunteering, working and studying during this time. Up until the referendum, I have always felt welcome here – as part of a wider society that is made up of people from different backgrounds, including their nationality. Now I’m much more worried about being seen as an intruder.
‘Since the referendum there have been many reports of increased racist abuse. It seems to me that the rhetoric used by some of the politicians in the campaign for Brexit has made it legitimate to use racist language. I’ve noticed that I have at times been more nervous about speaking German to friends, or on the phone, in public.’
Mrs Schütz Bradwell spent time in several EU countries volunteering with Christian organisations after graduating from university in Germany.
She said: ‘I’ve always appreciated these opportunities, to get to know other cultures, meet different people and make friendships across borders.
‘I worry that opportunities like this – which are extremely enriching – will not be so easily available in future if borders are closed.’
Mrs Schütz Bradwell’s husband David is English and she fears that when Britain leaves the EU, it will be difficult for them to travel together to see her family in Germany. She said: ‘Up until now, we both were EU nationals – now different rules with regard to travel will apply to us. I don’t know if, or for how long, I will continue to be able to work in the UK.’
After the Brexit vote, a string of racist incidents across the UK were reported to police. Cards reading ‘leave the EU, no more Polish vermin’ were allegedly posted through the letterboxes of Polish families in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
In west London, the Polish and Social Cultural Association was vandalised with racist graffiti.
A Scottish Government spokesman said last night: ‘As the First Minister has said on many occasions, EU nationals living in Scotland are very welcome here.’
‘I’m much more worried’