I woke up this morning an immigrant in a spectacularly diverse neighbourhood of immigrants in what might be the most beautiful melting pot of a city in the whole world, but surrounded by a country that has just made it clear that it doesn’t want us here… a country choosing economic suicide over cooperation, isolationism over shared responsibility, and the endorsement of hate groups over compassion.
For the first time, I don’t feel welcome in the country that I’ve made my home. Outside my London bubble there’s apparently a lot of space occupied by people I simply cannot comprehend right now. While my right to stay here with my family has not changed, my heart hurts for all the EU immigrants I’m proud to have as friends and neighbors, who are such an important part of what makes this country so vibrant and so connected to every corner of the planet. My heart hurts more for the refugees, who instead of finding much-needed mercy are being treated like pawns by politicians stirring up xenophobia. And it hurts too for the British people whose fears for their own security have been exploited and twisted into hatred.
I guess now we just have to hope that this isn’t as big a mess as it seems, and to never stop encouraging kindness and compassion. Maybe some day it’ll work.
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michelle heimburger 
This move makes me sad too, not so much because of the economic impact (which will be significant and terrible) but because of the triumph of mindless right-wing populism. We get it here in the USA too, of course. In a sense, we taught it to the UK. At its heart, it’s cruel, mindless, and suicidal.