No more European waves for the British?

If you are not British or are not a British citizen then this probably won't effect you directly, but maybe you will find it interesting in the way of freedom being rescinded and life changed because of bureaucracy and fear pedaling by the media and government.

I am a surfer, I am British and I currently live in Portugal. I am married to a Brit and have a child that was born in France, where we had lived for 10 years before Portugal. I have enjoyed the freedom that being part of the EU has given me, being able to cross borders without showing passports or queue up, not even really thinking I was going to another country.

My wife and I own our own house, work, pay taxes in Portugal. My child goes to Portuguese school and speaks French, Portuguese and English at the age of 5. At the moment, life is pretty good. But it seems like all that is about to change, for us and for a great many other British citizens that live in Europe.

Now before I go getting all serious and political, I would like to point out that this is a surfing magazine so that, essentially, is what this article is about, surfing and a family being wrenched away from their local spot. I know you may think 'how can I think about surfing' but, well it is a part of all of our lives, one that we have grown used to and one that defines us.

If we are forced to live back in the UK (sorry British surfers) but that will just be such a step down, cold water, weak waves and astronomical car park fees, oh and everyone thinks that because you surf you smoke dope and start every sentence with 'Duuuuude'. Nope I don't relish that at all. I am not having a go at the UK or the surfing there as I know it can be epic on the right day, but it is a 'choice' to live where you live and I chose not to live and surf in the UK. It would seem that choice could be taken away from me.

So what is this all about? The word immigrants is being thrown around like it is a dirty word, so that the general public now think that everyone from another country is claiming benefits on the taxes that they've paid. The reality is something very different. Actually over 87% of immigrants that are in the UK are working and paying into the system, so why shouldn't they benefit from it?

Then there are the British citizens that for one reason or another are claiming benefits. The simple fact is that a good percentage of these people have paid in and have a genuine reason to be claiming and are either out of work or can't work due to health problems. Yes, of course there are those that claim because their parents did and know no other way, but in life there will always be those people who are 'lazy'. The percentage of these people is actually very very low indeed.

We have now de-constructed the fear-mongering. The decision to come out of the EU is about money. Plain and simple. The government are saying their hands are tied by the EU and they can not do anything but come out of the 'Free Market'. That the immigrants are the cause? Here is a thought. Why not get Amazon to pay their taxes? How about Google, or Apple? These big companies that have put thousands of British citizens out of business because they can offer products and services at a cheaper price. Is that because they are above the law and don't have to pay the tax. What is being done about this? Nothing. We are being distracted from the simple facts. Smoke and mirrors.

I have done a little research on the subject of why the British government will not chase these big companies for their taxes and after a couple of hours I managed to find a pretty concrete basis for an argument as to why. But we are getting on rocky territory, and I for one believe that everyone has to find that sort of stuff out themselves if indeed they want to.

The message I would like to get across is that we have the power to stop this craziness and 'control through fear', we can vote to stay in the EU. I really don't want to leave my waves, my life, my job, my house just because of bureaucracy and because people who are rich want to get richer.

I realize that this will not apply to everyone and this article is aimed at a small niche, but if you think on a wider scale, this issue is about control and having your choice limited, it is about having something taken away from you no matter where you live, and for me a my family, it will take away our lives, our jobs and most importantly, our waves.

There are about1.2 million British citizens that are residents in Europe. Don't forget to vote guys.

I am off to get some European waves in before they get taken away.