So loñ, w’l mis y – w Yṛpiynz si hǎ mć y’v hlpt t śep s
(Transcription of a Guardian article of 27 December 2020)
Hisṭri wl juj ɖt ɖ nir 50-yir rleśnśp btwn ɖ YC n Yṛp hz bn gd fr bʈ. Bst t fget ɖ rancṛs endñ.
Fintn OTūl, 27 Dsmbr 2020
Nǎ ɖt a dīl hz bn dn, ɖ end v Britn’z lîf az a membr v ɖ Yṛpiyn Yńn cn b dīsntli mōrnd. Az fynṛl oreśnz g, ɖ wn Wiłm Śecspir pt intu ɖ mǎʈ v Marc Anṭni in Jūłs Sìzr z, wel, wrld-bìtñ: “Ɖ īvl ɖt men d livz aftr ɖm,/ Ɖ gd z oft intŕid wɖ ɖer bonz.” Bfr w ʈro ɖ last hanfl v rʈ on ɖ corps v Britn’z membrśp v ɖ Yṛpiyn Yńn, w mt brīfli disintŕ ɖ gd ʈñz abt ɖ rleśnśp.
A bad endñ gts pṛjctd bcwdz. A mesi dvors obliṭrets ɖ yirz v rīzṇbli hapi marij. Brexit hz pṛjctd intu ɖ fyćr a sǎr stori v rzntmnt n rancr. Olmst 50 yirz v hisṭri r sqizd intu a dtrṃnistic stori v irecnsîḷbl incmpatbiḷti. Ɖ īvl livz on; ɖ gd rots in ɖ rʈ.
Nwn dǎts ɖt Britn’z Yṛpiyn yirz wr ofn marct bî rluctns n smtmz bî rzistns. Fr ol sorts v rīznz, Britn cd nvr sit cumftbli in ɖ ples it wz ofrd in ɖ YY’z holi triṇti, alñsd Frans n Jrṃni.
Bt ɖt śd nt obskr ɖ gret rīzn fr sadnis abt ɖ we it hz ol endd: Britn dd mć gd fr Yṛp n Yṛp dd mć gd fr Britn. Ɖs haf-snćri hz nt bn mîrd in fytiḷti. It hz nt ol bn a west v tîm.
Tū hyj ʈñz in ɖ hisṭri v ɖ YY wd nt hv bn cmplitd in ɖ we ɖe wr wɖt ɖ Brits: ɖ sngl marcit n inlarjmnt. Ɖ probḷm wɖ bʈ, indd, z ɖt Britn pśt ɖm fwd wɖt qt unḍstandñ ɖer p’liticl impḷceśnz.
Ɖ sngl marcit z ɖ YY’z gret aćivmnt – pṛtctñ it wz, îronicli, ɖ oṿẃlmñ em in ɖ ngośieśnz on fyćr tred wɖ ɖ YC. It simpli wd nt hv hapnd, ẃn it hapnd, f Marġrit Ʈaćr hd nt prest so hard. It z īzi t fget – bcz it hz sūtd olmst evri sîd t d so – ɖt ɖ blūprint fr ɖ sngl marcit wz a bclit cōld Yṛp – Ɖ Fyćr ɖt Ʈaćr prizntd t hr felo līdrz at ɖ Fontainebleau sumit in 1984.
Ɖ probḷm wz ɖt Ʈaćr cd nvr axpt ɖt ɖ wrcñz v a sngl marcit wd hv t b cǎnṭbaḷnst bî comn sośl, invîrnmntl n sefti standdz, wɖ ɖ p’liticl, līgl n administṛtiv cpaṣti t infors ɖm. Ɖ fact rmenz: ɖ fors ɖt hz śept ɖ YY fr ɖ past 30 yirz wz set in mośn bî Britn.
Īqli, wɖt Britn, it z nt at ol obvịs ɖt ɖ YY wd hv rspondd so boldli t ɖ fōl v ɖ Brlin Wōl bî brññ ɖ Worsw Páct stets intu its fold. Agn, it wz Ʈaćr hu pṛclemd ɖ gol v inlarjmnt in hr Brūź spīć v 1988. It wz undr a Britiś prezidnsi ɖt tōcs on membrśp wr opnd wɖ ɖ frst wev v sntṛl Yṛpiyn stets. It wz Toni Bler hu lêtr pśt fr R’meńa n Blgeria t b alaud t jôn. Hir, tù, ɖ impḷceśnz v a Britiś poḷsi wr nt riyli unḍstd in Britn. It wz nt xplend ɖt fri muvmnt wd mīn mor iṃgreśn fṛm ɖz cuntriz. Or ɖt ɖ guvnns v a mć bigr YY wd inevitbli hv t b mor closli coorḍnetd. Nnɖles, on ɖz tū dfînñ iśuz, Britn wz advnćṛs, ambiśs, eṇjetic n ifctiv.
On ɖ uɖr sîd v ɖ iqeźn, ɖ YY hlpt Britn t rzolv ɖ dlemaz leid ǎt in ɖ 1971 ẃît pepr ɖt argyd fr membrśp v ɖ Comn Marcit. F it rjctd ɖs oṗtyṇti, “in a sngl jeṇreśn w śd hv rnǎnst an impirịl past n rjctd a Yṛpiyn fyćr… Ǎr pǎr t inflụns ɖ [Yṛpiyn] Cḿṇtiz wd steḍli dminiś, ẃl ɖ Cḿṇtiz’ pǎr t afct ǎr fyćr wd az steḍli incris.”
Biyñ in ɖ YY riyli dd alǎ Britn t trnsnd its impirịl past n imajin a Yṛpiyn fyćr fr itslf. It dd enśur ɖt ɖ inevitbl inflụns v a bigr p’liticl n ic̣nomic blóc t its īst wz tmprd bî ɖ abiḷti t hv an īql n rspctd vôs wɖn ɖt blóc. It gev Britn a we v biyñ in ɖ wrld ɖt dd nt dpnd on past gretnis.
N ɖ YY hlpt ɖ YC t setl bî far its bigist intrnl probḷm: ɖ conflict in Norɖn Îrḷnd. Ɖ YY’z d’rect involvmnt in ɖ pīsproses me hv bn marjnl. Its indirect impact wz imeźṛbli larj.
Ẃn Britn n Îrḷnd jônd tgɖr in 1973, rleśnz btwn ɖm wr vri pur, undr constnt stren fṛm ɖ preśr v ɖ Trublz. It wz ʈru wrcñ closli tgɖr in ɖ YY ɖt ɖ tū cuntriz lrnt t bhev az frendz n īqlz, wɖt rzntmnt on ɖ wn sîd or condisnśn on ɖ uɖr. It wz ɖ asumśn v cntinywñ comn YY membrśp ɖt md it poṣbl, in 1998, t cnstruct a pīs agrīmnt ɖt cd bild p’liticl recnsilieśn on a fǎndeśn v ic̣nomic n sośl intgreśn.
Ɖ tīdịm, fṛstreśn n rancr v ɖ past for yirz hv wîpt ǎr meṃriz v ɖ historic n hopfl ʈñz ɖt Britiś membrśp v ɖ YY alaud t hapn. Anti-YY reṭric in Britn hz incurijd a nośn in Yṛp ɖt ɖ YY wl b betr of wɖt ɖz srli n obstrepṛs malcntnts.
Bt, az anɖr gret Ñgliś powt, Jon Dun, pt it, olso in fynirịl mod, “F a clod b wośt awe bî ɖ sì, Yṛp z ɖ les”. Britn me hv bn clodiś at tîmz in its decedz v membrśp, bt Yṛp z ɖ les fr its biyñ wośt awe. N Britn z ɖ les fr alawñ itslf t b so. Ɖ marcs v ingejmnt rmen on bʈ bodiz n ɖe r nt wūndz. Ɖe r ɖ meṃriz v ḿćl aćivmnts, v ɖ gd ɖt men n wimin dd fr ć uɖr. At no tîm in its hisṭri hz Britn śept ɖ continnt so pṛfǎndli wɖt wor. At no tîm in its hisṭri hz it bn ebl t bhev twdz its nebrz so mć az an īql, so litl az a victim v dluźnz v granjr.
At anɖr momnt v fnaḷti, ɖ Bìtlz ćouz az ɖer last wrdz: “N in ɖ end/ Ɖ luv y tec/ Z īql t ɖ luv y mc.” Britn tc fṛm ɖ YY n md it in īql meźr. Ɖr śd b no gd ridns, jst a hevi-hartd, dīpli rgretfl So loñ, it’s bn gd t nǒ y.
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Fintn OTūl z a coḷmnist wɖ ɖ Îriś Tîmz
