Posted on 07/04/2021 9:46:52 PM PDT by Cronos
Now, one would assume that South Asian population cities such as Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester would heavily disagree with the nation’s decision. But the fascinating thing that I had uncovered while doing research, was that a majority of South Asians actually voted for leaving the EU. According to blogger Asad Abbasi, who wrote an article for the London School of Economics why South Asians voted for Brexit, the numbers outside London are astounding.
“Outside London, nearly every constituency with a double-digit South Asian population voted Leave. Luton has a 25 percent Asian population; Leave won there with a 19 percent majority. Places like Pendle, Oldham, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton also have high South Asian populations and voted Leave with large majorities. The only exception was Leicester, with its 30 percent Asian population – narrowly a Remain town, with a 2 percent majority.”
The numbers are enough to shock anyone. But that’s not all. Abbasi goes on to state that it’s not even the recent generation who were born in the UK who had voted to remain in the EU — it was a majority of the first generation, who had immigrated from South Asian countries and settled in the bigger cities. So how is it that the ones who have settled themselves to have families in the United Kingdom, knowing how difficult it was when they arrived and knew the problems that would arise if the UK was to leave the European Union, actually voted to leave?
Yasin Rehman, one of Luton’s prominent UKIP member who had immigrated to the UK from Pakistan fourteen years ago, tells Politico magazine,
“It’s obvious, why ethnic minority voters would vote for Brexit — immigration and a lack of resources including the shortage of housing. People are living in bedsits, living in hotels, hundreds of them. The result obviously is you feel left out, and you have this automatic resentment that ‘I’ve been here a long time, I’ve been a taxpayer, and now I’m not getting my kids into the school next to my house, I’m not getting the housing allocation I was waiting for, because someone else has come here.’ I came through a controlled system where there was a process.”
Since there is so much competition in the workforce, any chance there is of lessening it is immediately considered the best option. There is also the subject of xenophobic attacks. Britain’s history is peppered with them, and after Brexit, there was a large rise in the number of attacks that were covered in the news.
Maybe, because the South Asian community faced so much resentment in the past, that when it came time to vote for Brexit, they jumped at the chance to have the spotlight off of them. Brexit has possibly brought out the worst in the English community, and it has turned the atmosphere very tense. I believe that in a time when everyone should be united, there is instead more of a need to be competitive and protect one’s territory.
However, while the numbers show that there are many in the South Asian community voted to leave, there are those who fear what Brexit will do to the economy. That being said, the consequences of the vote has already started to show. For instance, there are many immigrants who reside in the UK and work to be able to send money and provide for their families back home. Brexit has caused many of the exchange rates to rocket upwards, causing it to be harder to send money abroad. In addition, while many in Britain want to go back to a homogenous society, the result is that there will be a lack of workers to employ in the smaller industries.
Brexit is a process that has caused quite the ripple effect throughout Europe. Many believed that this was a process that was supposed to die before it ever went to a vote, and yet it received enough of a vote to be passed through. There are many that believe that the process can be reversed and have made it their mission to use every method possible to convince the government to change their minds. As I watch the community come to terms with the decisions they have made, I only hope that when the time comes and the UK actually leaves EU, they will be able to bear the weight of their decisions. It is a hard pill to swallow and will likely leave a bitter taste for many years to come.
When this author says South Asian, I guess he means the Middle East and Far East, not someplace like Vietnam or Thailand. Got it. Maybe it is seen as impolite to just say Middle East or Arabic.
I assume Pakistan?
Had the same question ... from Wikipedia (not my fav but...)
South Asia is the southern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan,[note 2] Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.[6]
So how’s this translate for South Asains in the US ?
They don’t like open borders but like give away programs ?
South asian or just “Asian” in the UK is to denote anyone from the subcontinent, i.e Indian or Pakistani or Bangladeshi or Nepalese or Sri Lankan or bhutanese.
South Asians are newer in the USA. In the uk they are 4th and 5th generation and most feel very British. And they ARE as they are culturally, linguistically and ambition wise very British.
Everything you listed after Afghanistan, I would also consider the people there to be Asian, mainly because that is how they physically appear. The people I’ve met from Afghanistan usually appear Greek or Turkish or Iranian to me.
Not a big deal one way or another. People in the states often use ‘substitute names’ too. A very common example online is when someone says “Amish”, when referring to a black person. As a black person, I have always found that substitution somewhat amusing. Sometimes we become extra cautious when there is no actual demand to be that way, just a social habit that ‘everybody’ seems to be doing.
I assumed he meant countries like India that had strong English connections all the way back to the colonial era.
Don’t expect harmony with the Hong Kongers who are veteran street fighters as UK needs to expand the workforce hit by Brexit.
In the UK South Asian means India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The middle east and far east are different entirely.
The article draws from the fact that after WWII a very large number of people from South Asia came to the UK to provide labour and eventually settled there with their families.
South Asian = India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. Aka “Indian subcontinent”. Thailand and Vietnam are considered part of SE Asia.
Oh. Your article is from 2016.
The Brexit vote, 5 years on - what do we know so far?
Published: 24 Jun 2021
... The reduction of EU migration to Scotland is in line with analysis by the independent Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population[20], estimating a 50-80% reduction in net EU migration to Scotland after 2020.
Lower migration will be particularly harmful to sectors that rely on migrant workers, including textiles, agriculture, social care, leisure and travel and sales.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/brexit-vote-5-years-know-far/pages/3/
... Overall UK trade in goods has fallen considerably with total exports and imports falling from £266.4 billion in the first four months of 2018 to £237.6 billion in the equivalent period in 2021[5]. Comparisons are made with 2018 as it is the most recent period in which relatively stable trade patterns were observed, and were not impacted by either the pandemic or the end of the EU transition period[6]. But the decreases in trade with the EU have been much larger than the declines in non EU trade. When compared to January-April 2018, exports of goods to the EU were 19% lower in 2021, compared to non-EU exports of goods which were only 4% lower. The difference is Brexit.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/brexit-vote-5-years-know-far/pages/2/
Afghanis are between iranis and south Asians.
Linguistically they are mostly Iranic (Pashtu and Tajik belong to the iranian sub branch of the indo iranian branch of indo European.
However culturally they are part of the Indian sphere and have been since before Cyrus the great. They were part of various indian empires and were the heaviest promoters of Buddhism when they were part of the Kushan empire, a Tokharian empire.
Because they’re not European.
South Asian mostly means Indian in the UK.
Pakistanis, bangladeshis, Nepalese and Sri Lankans are also ethnically “Indian”. The term “Indian” is really analogous to the term “European” as there are so many ethnicities, indeed nations in the federation of India. The Rajasthanis are different from the Telugu etc etc
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