Oh Brexit, Brexit, what art thou, Brexit? Three years – and counting – and both the United Kingdom and Europe are still working hard to figure it out, with the topic getting more intricate everyday.

So, last September I spent some time in Scotland to delve into the hot topic of Brexit state-of-the-art from the locals point of view. Knowing that Scotland has a reputation for wanting independence from the rest of the UK plus having read of the social-economical-geographical traits of that beautiful region and some comments from experts on politics about the Brexit vote in Scotland, I must admit I didn’t know what to expect: would I find EU supporters or EU leavers?

The people I spoke to offered some meaningful, engaging and stimulating conversations. In general, I was surprised to encounter so few who rooted for independence, which I had imagined would be the common ground. The majority of the people (of all ages) that I talked to put the 2016 vote into some historical perspective and context to give me the best and most reasonable explanation of the “take back control” idea that led 51.9% of the British population to opt out of EU membership. It was unexpected and so very interesting to hear people using both the ancient and recent history of their country to interpret what is happening right now.

From their words it was clear that the “Great British Empire” is a heavyweight legacy whose memory will never be forgotten and will forever be wanted back. The people I met all recognised that the world has (obviously) changed since the height of the British Empire, and that with a fluid society that grows at the speed of globalization, pursuing policies of isolation not only won’t work, but may be suicidal. That, along with the "still lit up" grudge towards France, Britain’s economic decline in the 1970s and in more recent years, and the loss of its colonies, have been fertile ground for the Brexit campaign. It is centered around the idea of the British identity being under attack from the outside, Britain having given away too much sovereignty to Europe when it entered the European Union. Many cited economic inequality, too much money being sent to Brussels, the decline of quality of the NHS (the National Health Service), and other problems — wrongly attributed to European immigrants. They all recognized that those are all untrue myths, but, sadly, myths that are easy to share and absorb by people who only rely on modern, but poor quality informational channels.

If it were up to me, personally, I would call myself a Remainer, so when I heard about the results of the vote that made it official for the UK to leave European Union, I was in a state of disbelief. I have visited the UK many times and my personal experience is of a country that treasures and values welcoming and integrating people from all around the world, knowing that diversity enriches every aspect of life, whether it be culture, art, food, economics, or technology...

I have ideas and opinions shaped by my own experience and upbringing, but I believe that nowadays putting on the table topics such as imperial ambitions like the UK has done with the Brexit campaign is anachronistic. It is unthinkable to stop immigration by closing borders or fighting dinghies. That’s a simplistic answer to a very complex issue. Laws and actions are due and necessary, but cannot come from a single country; I know this well, seeing hundreds of people every day trying to reach Sicily. Those laws must be conceived at a European level, because the topic is multi-layered and affects every country.