AS it becomes increasingly likely no solution to the border problem will be found before the UK exits the EU in 2019, a new study has shown Brexit is already impacting day-to-day life here in worrying ways.
Among the many effects the result of last year’s referendum has been having on border areas such as Fermanagh, aside from stirring feelings of anger, apprehension and anxiety for local workers and businesses as well as wreaking havoc on the exchange rate, is that people here feel there has been a noticeable increase in the polarisation of communities on each side of the border.
According to the study from Queen’s University and the Fermanagh-based Irish Central Border Area Network (ICBAN), there are strong fears this polarisation will worsen significantly if a hard border is imposed post-Brexit, while this potential scenario has also raised concerns for the future of the peace process.
Shane Campbell, CEO of ICBAN, which has its headquarters in Enniskillen, said: “We were not seeking to revisit the leave/remain debate in this study but rather to get a better understanding of the views of people whose voices are otherwise rarely heard in the discussion about the post-Brexit future for the region.”
The “Bordering on Brexit” report, which was carried out by Dr Katy Hayward of the the Centre for International Borders Research at Queen’s, incorporated responses from hundreds of residents of the eight local authority areas of the Central Border Region, including Fermanagh and Omagh.
The report stressed the emotional and psychological, as well as the social and political, impact of Brexit should not be underestimated, with many respondents describing how it was already impacting their decisions on where to live or locate their businesses.
Many others described how the Brexit vote was “reawakening” their memories of the hard border of the past, with one stating “the hardening of the border is like opening a wound.”
Dr Hayward said: “It is imperative these concerns are heard and addressed now, at this critical time in the negotiations and by all political representatives in the border region.”
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