Source: BBC
By Camila Ruz and Susannah Stevens
Thousands of foreign farm workers come to the UK every year. But in the wake of the UK vote on 23 June to leave the EU, they find themselves in uncertain times.
- Some EU workers fear they may soon need visas
- Some farmers worry about not having enough workers
- But there are plenty of farmers who voted Leave
The farm may have an English name, but the tractor at the gate was supplied by an American company, with parts manufactured in Germany and its driver is Bulgarian. Ivan, not his real name, has been working at the same Cambridgeshire farm for the past nine seasons.
“I don’t come just for the money,” he says, “I like the work.”
He has always felt welcome on the farm. His employers have paid for his agricultural courses and helped him move into a cottage nearby, along with other Bulgarians. But not everyone is happy with the arrangement.
“The other workers are alright with us but I don’t think many of the English ones like us,” says Ivan. “Some of my colleagues voted for Brexit but when I asked them, they didn’t know why.”
He gestures at the green fields behind. “I wasn’t surprised that they voted leave. I mean, always the old people vote like this because they are homesick for the past.
Categories: Europe, The Muslim Times, UK