On the 7th May 1948, Winston Churchill cried in front of an applauding audience after making a speech to the Congress of Europe at the Hague. He said, "A high and a solemn responsibility rests upon us" and "if we fail in clarity of view or courage in action, a priceless occasion may be cast away forever." Churchill also spoke of a "tormented world."
Indeed in 1948, the world had experienced World War II, with memories still fresh of World War I and all the damage and loss of life it had created. The world from 1945 was divided in two, East versus West. In the years to come, the world suffered from smaller divisions, civil wars, poverty and unrest. This is what the world inherited post 1945.
The creation of the European Union wanted to end wars and conflict and create a unified Europe. It grew and prospered and hoped that the world would never see conflict again. Unfortunately this has not been the case. Closer to home, here in Cyprus, the European Union has protected and guided our island, offering opportunity and trying to help us reach unification and peace.
The United Kingdom has chosen to leave and it is with a heavy heart that it does so. In the 1948 speech, Winston Churchill talked of "(moving) together into a happier sunlit age." Would Winston Churchill , if alive today have supported Brexit? We can only speculate and wonder. What is evident however, is that he would have wanted the best for Britain, and perhaps would have advocated that Britain should indeed "move into a happier sunlit age," alone, independent and free from the shackles it felt tied it to Europe.
In Shakespeare's 'Richard II' John of Gaunt makes a memorable speech and talks of "England, bound in with the triumphant sea/ Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege/ Of wat'ry Neptune." The United Kingdom is an island, like Cyprus and it now looks ahead to what will hopefully be a new and promising future.
