Laurence Dollimore
https://twitter.com/JibbaJabb/status/1220799439910076416
A BRITISH expat has taken to social media to blast the UK media for ‘misrepresenting Britons in Spain’.
Simon Goretti said he ‘didn’t recognise’ the people being interviewed on a Channel 4 special news broadcast, which featured Brexit supporter Derry Barton.
The Liverpudlian, who voted for the UK to leave the EU, told Ciaran Jenkins that he sped up his move to Estepona on the Costa del Sol to avoid the potential effects of Brexit.
The businessman, who hopes to create a training centre for beauticians, admitted that after Brexit it would be much for difficult to move to and work in the EU, as he has.
Barton was heavily criticised on social media and labelled a ‘hypocrite’ and ‘selfish’.
Meanwhile Simon Goretti, who also lives in Spain, took to Twitter ‘in defence of the British in Europe’ to report a perspective ‘you’ll never get on CH4, BBC, Sky or ITV’.
After the CH4 piece the other night, I’d have to turn over quite a few rocks before I found the people interviewed. I don’t recognise these people a part of my community. They are outliers.
Lesson 1: It was wholly unrepresentative of the majority of UK in ES.
— Simon Goretti (@GorettiSimon) January 26, 2020
He branded the Channel 4 segement as ‘wholly unrepresentative of the majority’ of Brits in Spain.
“The overwhelming majority of Brits in Spain are not pensioners,” he wrote, “Nor did they vote ‘like turkeys for Christmas’ in favour of leaving the EU.
“Working age families account for about 70% of resident UK nationals in Spain.”
He added that the British are a diverse group of people who, on the most part, get involved with their respective communities.
“Do you know what an ‘Intercambio is? Literally, an interchange,” he added. “Every decent sized village & town near me has one. It’s where English speakers (not just Brits) mix with locals so both sides of the language divide brush up and move from pleasantries to functional bilingualism.
“The truth is, almost everyone I know speaks enough day to day Spanish. A good number are fluent – out of necessity.
“Children go to local schools – totally fluent from as early as 6. They pick up local accents, dialects & idioms. Indistinguishable.”
He added that many Brits set up businesses, working long hours in the fiercely competitive tourism industry and for low pay.
He also knows British lawyers, accountants, vets, teachers, doctors, nurses and more.
“Almost everyone I know contributes positively to local life,” he wrote, “giving their free time and money to local charities, clubs and societies.”
He concluded: “It takes guts to leave your country of birth to seek new opportunities in another country.
“For any immigrant anywhere it’s the same. We’re not lazy or entitled – we’ve risked everything to make a new life for our families. We work hard, invest, and contribute.”
