15
Comings and goings TEXT
Julia Smirnova
Brexit is transforming towns and lives in the south of England. The prospect of chaos is looming at the border in Dover. And the inhabitants of two villages in Kent will soon have a new neighbor: a customs post. When the skies shine blue over the port town of Dover, Stephen Potter enjoys taking walks across its hills. The 61-year-old Brit, a customs officer, lives on the coast. From the heights he can savor the view of the world-famous white cliffs of Dover. For many of his compatriots, these chalk cliffs epitomize patriotism and love of country. It was here that the English defended themselves against attacks from mainland Europe. This rock face marks the dividing line between the island and the continent. Yet it also brings the close ties between the two land masses sharply into focus. France is only 33 kilometers distant on the other side of the English Channel. On a clear day, Calais is visible to the naked eye. Down at the port, life never stops. A huge ferry has just docked, ready and willing to welcome hundreds of cars on board. As the check-in area is closed for another few minutes, the trucks wait in orderly lines by the ramp, like brightly- hued building blocks in a children’s playset. They come from all over Europe – Poland, Slova kia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany. Finally, the gates open and they wend their way to the ferry. The next leg of their journey will begin on the mainland. On a typical day, some 8,000 trucks hailing from every country in the EU pass through Dover. Gazing down from the cliffs at the legions of trucks, Stephen Potter can’t help but feel concerned. If the UK and EU are unable to close a trade deal, the traffic might grind to a halt in January, producing the ultimate snarl-up in his hometown. “Every day thousands of trucks arrive on ferries here, disembarking and immediately continuing their journeys,” he says. “But soon they will be making an enforced stop,” he adds. Britain left the European Union on January 31, 2020, but a transition period will remain in force until the end of the year. The British are still following EU rules, allowing cross-border trade to continue smoothly. That, however, will soon change. Once Britain leaves
the Customs Union and Single Market, imported goods will have to be checked at the border – to make sure their sales tax and customs duty are paid. At present, nobody quite knows how that will work. Potter’s main concern is that Dover will become the bottleneck, effectively crippling local traffic. “It won’t last forever, but during the first year the people of Dover could find themselves under siege,” he says. “We use the same A20 and A2 motorways to get out of town.” “ Any agreement is better than no deal.” Truck driver Steven Jones will definitely be pack ing more food in the new year when he takes his first trip to the continent. In a worst-case scenario, it could take him up to two days to clear customs if Britain leaves without a deal, the 56-year-old Scot fears. “Imagine being stuck in your vehicle for that long,” he says. He is parked in a lot near Ashford, a town some 20 miles from Dover, waiting for a load due to arrive on the cross-Channel ferry. Jones has vivid memories of a Europe with borders. As a young man he spent a lot of time working on the conti nent, and now seems almost nostalgic about those years. “I loved all the different currencies, the individual stages between one border and the next. It was all very exciting,” he says. Yet now doubts over the outcome of the negoti ations are starting to gnaw at him. Fishing rights are one bone of contention, and here Jones has mixed feelings. “We can’t simply abandon Scotland’s waters,” he says, but he doesn’t want the entire agreement to collapse, either. If that happened, he might have to wait for days on end at the border. “Ultimately any agreement is better than no deal.” His colleague, 25-year-old Bouda Pectrica from Romania, is also praying for consensus. Otherwise, following Brexit, he too might have to spend two days at the border. In each direction. Currently he alternates between a month on the road and nine days at home. He would like to start a family in Romania soon, but that would be out of the question if he were away for two months at a time. “That’s no life for somebody of my age,” he says.
