‘There’s no Going Back to the Bad Ol’ Days’ by Joe McVeigh

On Saturday 8^th October, I joined the rally on the Fermanagh/Cavan border today at Aghalane to protest against Brexit. There were about 200 people present – people from all walks of life and people belonging to different political parties – apart from the unionists. The British army came along in a helicopter to monitor proceedings. They must be concerned about us. There were rallies at five other points along the border, all organised by Border Communities against Brexit (BCAB). This is only the beginning. The people will continue to protest and to make their feelings known until we are sure there will be no return to a hard Border. All the speakers expressed concern about our future if this should happen. All referred to the hardships of the past when the border was sealed.

Only this week the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, said she wanted ‘a hard Brexit’ which could only mean a hard border in Ireland. The main reason for the hard border is to stop immigrants getting into Britain. She is doing everything to appease the right wing in her Tory party.

As one of the speakers at the rally I had this to say:

“Today’s action is a response to a growing concern that Brexit will result in a hard border. Last weekend’s comments from British Prime Minister Theresa May has fuelled these concerns. Both the British and Irish Governments have stated publicly that they do not wish to see the reintroduction of border control and customs posts. This may be irrelevant as it is not up to them alone to determine. We do not want any barriers or reinforced borders on the island of Ireland. We have come together to ensure that the North’s vote to remain within the EU is respected. We want to ensure that the views of local communities are heard when big decisions affecting our futures are taken in London, Dublin and Brussels.  We cannot allow the progress of the last twenty years in breaking down barriers to be thrown away as a result of Brexit. The majority of people in the North of Ireland have clearly stated that they do not want to leave the EU and Theresa May needs to respect this democratic mandate.

The concerns of small, peripheral border communities, workers and businesses like those familiar to ours might not be at the top of the agenda for Theresa May right now but we can and will change this. We need every single elected representative, no matter which party they represent, to stand with us on these demands. The uncertainty caused by the Brexit referendum result is already damaging trade and investment and causing currency fluctuations which are impacting on cross-Border business.

But this will be nothing compared to the hardships we will experience with the imposition of tariffs and the restriction of the free movement of goods, services and people on this island. For decades communities  were divided and isolated; these communities have still not fully recovered. Together we can make this campaign a success. We can ensure our voices are listened to and our rights are upheld. We can ensure a prosperous future for our region. We can ensure our communities are not divided by an EU border. We will stand up for the votes of people in the North to be respected.”

There is no going back to the bad ol’ days. The people here have spoken in favour of staying in the EU. We want to stay in the EU. We want our rights respected. That is democracy.