Like many of you, the EU referendum is deeply personal to me.
I moved to Northern Ireland to study peacebuilding, as it is and has been one of the most inspirational models for the world. The EU has been responsible for supporting this process since before the Good Friday Agreement and has allocated funds (in the billions...) along with non-monetary resource to tiny wee Northern Ireland for peace projects which have and continue to transform the place and the people who live there. I have had the pleasure of working and volunteering on these projects, and I can testify to their vast potential.
This vote has divided Northern Ireland again on sectarian lines, and the implications for the province, the island of Ireland, the Union and the EU are massive. The future is uncertain. It is likely the Protestant-Unionist-Loyalist (PUL) community who vastly voted #leave, have precipitated huge changes for their wee country. Changes they have voted and struggled against for decades. They thought they were voting for better healthcare, less immigration, and more accountability from their elected representatives. They will see how grievously they were lied to.
Like many of my closest friends, I lived in Northern Ireland (the UK) on EU rights (as a family member to an EU citizen). There was no UK path available to me. These EU rights allowed me to remain in the UK with my partner (now husband), to continue my work, and to build a life in a place I love.
If I had a penny for every bigoted, hateful person that told me I wasn't the immigrant they had a problem with, I would be a richer person than I am. Sure I am American, they would say... I reply to these people: Please, travel. Meet people who are different from you. Your mind may (hopefully) change on immigration. And also, you are keeping me out, whether you meant to or not.
Finally, I have my best friends in the world in Northern Ireland because of the open flow of people within the EU to study and work. They are from across the EU member states or they are from Belfast and the surroundings and are rich in experience because of their work, travel and study abroad. I met many of my closest friends working in a multinational company that invests in Belfast as a hub for its European business. I can't imagine what the atmosphere will be like in that office today, where thousands have relocated from around the world, bringing economy, diversity, and positive change to Northern Ireland.
You have told me and my friends we don't matter to you and your country. You have no idea.
Let this be a wake up call to my own country! We cannot allow right-winged politics and politicians to fear monger their way into power and policy change with hateful rhetoric and targeted scapegoating against Muslims, Migrants, Refugees, and other world leaders.
Closing borders and building walls has no place in a global world.
We cannot.
I will not.
