Of the 5.5 million British individuals residing outdoors of the UK, many have lengthy thought-about themselves expatriates – individuals residing outdoors their nation of beginning, usually with plans to return dwelling. For a very long time, I didn’t assume twice about utilizing the phrase “expat” to explain Brits who transfer to Spain to retire, or businessmen relocating to Hong Kong.
A 2015 article by journalist Mawuna Remarque Koutonin prompted me to assume extra fastidiously concerning the connotations of sophistication, race and privilege related to the time period expat.
Koutonin requested why we use phrases like “immigrant” to explain some teams of people that transfer nations, and reserve “expat” for individuals who are white, western and rich. Koutonin means that the phrase expat permits Europeans to distance themselves from different migrant teams and due to this fact keep away from the negativity usually (unfairly) related to migration.
My analysis reveals that post-Brexit, Brits residing overseas are additionally distancing themselves from the time period. One yr after the Brexit referendum, digicam crews descended on resorts in Spain’s Costa del Sol to ask British individuals residing there how they really feel concerning the event.
The remark sections of movies like this and different information articles are filled with ridicule in the direction of these communities for his or her perceived lack of integration with the local people. Overwhelmingly, this protection targeted on retired individuals, with little point out of the 74% of Brits residing within the EU who’re there for employment functions.
In 2021, I started my very own analysis into British communities overseas, specializing in the Turkish resort city of Fethiye, the place I interviewed British residents. I wished to know how expat communities establish and really feel concerning the time period expat.
Fethiye is usually known as “Little Britain” by locals, and could possibly be described as Turkey’s Benidorm – an space of Spain identified for its British holidaymakers that even impressed a sitcom. The resort is the most well-liked place in Turkey for Britons to settle, and is even dwelling to a pretend “British excessive avenue”, with Turkish variations of standard UK shops and supermarkets (Tesko, Azda, Marc Spenger and Selfridğez to call just a few).
Throughout my analysis, I didn’t discover individuals fortunately embracing the expat identification, however the reverse. I used to be met with Brits determined to distance themselves from the stereotypes of vacation complexes (resorts that don’t have any relationship with native life).
These stereotypes – taking part minimally in native life or tradition, refusing to be taught the language of their hosts and customarily recreating a “little England within the solar” – have turn out to be synonymous with concept of British expats.
It’s embarrassing actually, individuals hear “expat” and consider someplace like Benidorm or “Blackpool within the solar” and being uninterested within the native tradition … however I’m very concerned with Turkish tradition, that’s why we moved right here.
Some noticed a connection between Brexit and adverse perceptions of British individuals overseas.
Since Brexit there does appear to be added stigma about British expats. They’ll say issues like “isn’t it a bit ironic residing in Turkey after all of the Brexit stuff” … as a result of persons are noticing that expats do precisely the identical factor that British individuals complain about again dwelling! It’s lack of integration actually.
Ross Bennett-Prepare dinner, Writer supplied
Who’s an expat?
I discovered that the need to dissociate from the expat stereotype additionally appeared to be actively encouraging Britons to keep away from each other, avoiding the notion that expats solely combine with fellow foreigners. This resulted in larger interplay with Turkish individuals as a substitute.
We’re expats, it’s simply what we’re, I had by no means even thought of it. The Fb teams are known as “Expats in Fethiye”, the social teams are “expat teams”. I had actually by no means even questioned it till Brexit occurred and abruptly it appears to be a nasty factor. After all we’re immigrants too, however expats simply appears to be the extra widespread phrase. Turkish individuals name us “yabancı” which simply means foreigner… possibly that’s a greater phrase for everybody.
At its most simple, the time period expatriate describes somebody who doesn’t dwell in their very own nation, and will due to this fact be used to explain migrants, asylum seekers, visitor staff and different teams. Some definitions add that “an intention to return dwelling” is what separates expats from different migrant teams.
I might argue that Polish staff within the UK too have plans to return “dwelling”, and Jamaican migrants to the UK might plan to spend their retirement within the sunshine of the Caribbean. But we’d not often use the time period expat to explain them.
Migrant communities are sometimes scrutinised within the media and political sphere. A lot of Brexit’s “depart” marketing campaign, for instance, centred across the probability of tens of millions of migrants flooding the UK if Turkey had been to affix the EU.
Now, plainly Brits residing overseas are not immune from such conversations about migration. As migrant stigmatisation has started to contain expats themselves, the time period has misplaced its enchantment.
