Britain appears a very distant land at the moment and fellow expats all admit that they are slightly bemused by the whole affair. When you talk about the European Union referendum they always end their comments with the words "I am so glad that I don´t live there". And I agree. I say this with a heavy heart but in some ways I am glad that I do not have the vote in the referendum, because I have lived outside Britain for more than 15 years. I am totally perplexed by the whole situation. I don´t want the vote because I don't understand the issue.
The European Union referendum has not shown Britain in the greatest lights; it has been a campaign of scaremongering and misinformation by both sides and unfortunately tensions are riding high as we saw with the murder of Member of Parliament Jo Cox. My view is that Britain needs the European Union and the European Union needs Britain. I thought that Britain had moved on and it was now a modern European country which could take heart from its proud history. Britain has played a key role in European affairs for most of its history. During the Second World War Britain stood firm and not only fought for the freedom of the European continent it also provided a home for thousands of people who were fleeing Nazi persecution. I believe that the European debate can be summed up with the following: it is better to be part of something which could one day work rather than being apart and alone.