February 08, 2020
Freedom of movement between countries changed my life when I was growing up in Lincolnshire, and if it ends because of Brexit, the cost will be in human contact.The UK government boasts that it will end free movement between the UK and the EU as soon as it can, which could be as early as 31 December 2020. This doesn’t bother some commentators,  especially those who claim that freedom of movement only benefited the rich and became a source of resentment for “the working classes” in places like Ipswich and Lincolnshire.I grew up in a village of 2,000 people in Lincolnshire, one of the most rural counties in England. But life in other countries was made real by our foreign holidays - meaning taking a caravan around different countries in Europe - and by family friends from other European countries who came to visit us, and even to stay and work. Added to that were school exchanges, and French and German language assistants who taught us their language and also about their life back home.Related... What Does Brexit Mean? We're About To Find Out The life-changer for me: at 18, I got my first full-time job – in France. This wasn’t predictable – I was the first person in my family to work in another country – but it was surprisingly easy to arrange. Once I got the job I boarded a coach to Lyon and the next day was working, on minimum wage, for the local council supporting “town-twinning”, which brought together a small town near my home in Lincolnshire with Feyzin, a suburb of Lyon known for its oil refinery.Neither were places attractive to foreign tourists, but the links developed between the towns brought so many different people together.  Freedom of movement made it easy to arrange for musicians from a Lincolnshire brass band to play at a famous concert venue near Lyon, and for French artists to come to work in England.And this openness stretched to partnerships with towns in Germany and Portugal as well, all linked by free movement. In Feyzin, I worked with Chilean refugees who had fled to France from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, showing me for the first time Human Rights abuses on the other side of the world, made real by their presence in my new home.After returning to the UK, to university in Yorkshire, my life and knowledge of the world were immeasurably enhanced by students from around the world. So many came from other parts of Europe, because it was easy to study across the EU.When I began working as a human rights lawyer – a world I doubt I would have discovered without that work experience in France – I learned that this ability to travel, live, work and study in other countries was not something that can be taken for granted.  The EU’s guarantee of free movement is among the strongest in the world. It was that protection that made it easy for the young language assistants to work in rural schools like mine, and made it easy for me to live and work in France.And importantly, the EU combines freedom of movement with strong guarantees for workers’ rights, to try to ensure there is no “race to the bottom” on employment standards when people work across borders.  This system is not perfect, but these are basic principles and rights that have made so many lives better.It’s a disastrous mistake to present freedom of movement as being primarily about economics and cost-benefits. It is above all about human connection.If we lose this right after Brexit, it will not be the rich who suffer the most – they will still be able to travel, holiday and work in other countries with ease, fulfilling any income requirements for free movement. But millions of ordinary people with lives that cross borders are rightly worried by threats to free movement. If the government prevents people from moving and working and living together across borders, people from backgrounds like mine will lose millions of potential connections: future friendships, family relationships, and work opportunities. Ending freedom of movement is not inevitable after Brexit – it will be a political choice. It is time we celebrate freedom of movement, and work to save it.
Freedom of Movement Changed My Life – We Can’t Lose It Now
Clive Baldwin is senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch. Related... More Than Half Of People In Poverty Come From Working Families – So Why Can't They Make Ends Meet? Bees Are Important. Here’s How To Prevent Their Extinction Boris Johnson Prefers No Trade Deal Brexit To Meeting EU Demands
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
JoJo Siwa Reveals She Spent $50k on This Cosmetic Procedure
April 08, 2024
tilULujKDIA
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Files for Divorce from Ryan Anderson
April 08, 2024
kjqE93AL4AM
Bachelor Nation’s Trista Sutter Shares Update on Husband’s Battle With Lyme Disease | E! News
April 08, 2024
mNBxwEpFN4Y
Alan Tudyk Does All His Disney Voices
April 08, 2024
fkqBY4E9QPs
Bob Iger responds to critics who call Disney "too woke"
April 06, 2024
loZMrwBYVbI
Kirsten Dunst recites a classic cheer from 'Bring it On'
April 06, 2024
VHAca3r0t-k
Dr. Paul Nassif Offers Up Plastic Surgery Warning for Gypsy Rose Blanchard | TMZ
April 09, 2024
cXIyPm8mKGY
Reba McEntire Laughs at Joy Behar's Suggestion 'Jolene' is Anti-Feminist | TMZ TV
April 08, 2024
11Cyp1sH14I
NeNe Leakes Says She's Okay with Cheating If It's Done Respectfully | TMZ TV
April 08, 2024
IsjAeJFgwhk
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s wedding was 20 years in the making
April 08, 2024
BU8hh19xtzA
Bianca Censori wears completely sheer tube dress and knee-high stockings for Kanye West outing
April 08, 2024
IkbdMacAuhU
Kelsea Ballerini tells trolls to ‘shut up’ about pantsless CMT Music Awards 2024 performance #shorts
April 08, 2024
G4OSTYyXcOc
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
08
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Udinese - Inter Milan
07
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Manchester United - Liverpool
07
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur - Nottingham Forest
07
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Fiorentina
07
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Sheffield United - Chelsea
07
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Monza - Napoli
07
Apr
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Wolfsburg - Borussia Monchengladbach
07
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - Genoa
07
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Cagliari - Atalanta
07
Apr
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Hoffenheim - Augsburg
07
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Frosinone - Bologna
06
Apr
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Heidenheim - Bayern Munich
06
Apr
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Stuttgart
06
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Brighton - Arsenal
06
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Lazio
06
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Crystal Palace - Manchester City
06
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Lecce
04
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Manchester United
04
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Sheffield United
03
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Luton
03
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
Manchester City - Aston Villa
02
Apr
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Tottenham Hotspur
01
Apr
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Atletico Madrid
01
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Lecce - Roma
01
Apr
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Empoli
31
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Manchester City - Arsenal
31
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Athletic Bilbao
31
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Brighton
30
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Barcelona - Las Palmas
30
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Brentford - Manchester United
30
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - AC Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.