In the early hours of June 24, 2016, Anneke Schmidt, a German teacher training in the UK, woke up to a life-changing reality. The Brexit referendum had passed, and her carefully laid plans for a future in Britain began to unravel. With a teaching job and a mortgage application in the works, Anneke suddenly found herself facing an uncertain future.
Anneke had moved to the UK the previous year to pursue a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), specialising in Religious Education. She was drawn to the inclusive approach to teaching various faiths, a stark contrast to the denominational model she had experienced in her native Germany. However, the looming Brexit vote was not on her radar when she enrolled in the programme.
As the referendum results sank in, Anneke’s sense of belonging was shaken. “I’d never really thought of myself as an immigrant, but that morning, I woke up as one – same person, different label, and I hadn’t moved an inch,” she recalls. The uncertainty of her status and the future of her teaching career left her in a state of freefall.
With the qualification she had worked hard to obtain now holding little value in her home country, Anneke faced a difficult decision. She could either return to Germany and start her training again from scratch, or find a way to stay in the UK. In a desperate bid to secure her future, Anneke applied for a PhD at the University of Exeter, giving herself just three days to craft a research proposal.
The decision proved to be the right one. Nearly a decade later, Anneke has built a successful freelance career, focusing on research and education. While she had to surrender her German passport to become a British citizen, she has embraced her new identity, stating, “When I arrived here, I saw myself as an EU citizen living in an EU country. Now, neither category applies. Brexit transformed my sense of self.”
Anneke’s story highlights the profound impact of the Brexit referendum on the lives of EU nationals living in the UK. As she navigates her own journey, she reflects on the experiences of others who arrive in the country with fewer resources and face even greater challenges. “Whenever I hear about anti-asylum protests spreading across the country, I wonder what it feels like to arrive with none of those things, not by choice but by necessity, and to be met with hostility,” she says.
Anneke’s resilience and adaptability in the face of adversity serve as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Her experience is a poignant reminder of the far-reaching consequences of political decisions and the importance of empathy and understanding for those whose lives are irrevocably changed.
