Dining across the chasm: "He is a really good man, but he supports Brexit. He is still young; this is not normal'

Batuhan, 22, Bournemouth

Profession Support workers and postgraduates in neuropsychology
Voting record Batuhan is not eligible to vote in the UK.In the last local government election in Turkey, he voted for the center-left Republican People’s Party
Appetizer Basketball fan; support any team that LeBron James plays

Ron, 60 years old, Salisbury

Profession Semi-retirement; Runs Sports Recovery, a mental health charity
Voting record Vote for the Labor Party unless Tony Blair is the leader, vote for the Green Party or support the Socialist Party
Appetizer The first black man in the country to serve as a football community development officer: it was in the 1980s, for Millwall, where he received death threats

For beginners

Batuhan We arrived at the same time. The first thing I realized was that he was wearing a traditional scarf from my home country.I said, “In the east Turkey, People wear this. He said: “Yes, I wore it on purpose.” “He checked my name. I think it’s really good.

Ron I have been to Turkey several times and fell in love with this place. They like black people. Batuhan is a good guy and very smart. As I said in the transaction, doubly smart. I took the lead in ordering burgers for us.

Big beef

Batuhan I support Brexit. The idea behind it is to liberate Britain from taking on other countries’ debts. We work and make money here-why do we donate to Greece and other European countries? We can spend this money here to build new facilities for children in England, Scotland or Wales. Due to the passport exemption, I support Turkey’s accession to the European Union; I think this will reduce travel pressure. But the UK is different. Turkey’s membership has more advantages than disadvantages, and I think the situation in the UK is just the opposite.

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Ron He is a good person but supports Brexit, So and so! He is still young; it is not normal for a young man to support Brexit. When the Brexit referendum happened, I felt that I was not needed in this country, even though I was born here. Only Johnson and Farage are promoting their xenophobic statements. I think he has accepted it.

Batuhan At the moment, I think the EU is retaliating against the UK. They will learn that England is not a country that can retaliate.

Ron Not funny, most people who voted for Brexit are very thick.

Batuhan He said something offensive about the British, and I don’t want to repeat it. We agree that we need people from other countries to work in healthcare, supermarkets, truck drivers. But he firmly believes that Brexit will be the end of Britain. This is the world of capitalism. It will always correct itself.

Shared disk

Ron My father sold his two cows in Jamaica before he got here. One per person. He came first, my mother was behind, and then they let us come. They named us Ronald and Derek. They know subconsciously that if we have a British name, we are more likely to continue. I said to Batuhan: “I bet you will be discriminated against because of your name. You have to do twice as much, do twice as good.” He agreed. I think he is very shy, I…well, not to bully him, I hit him on the head several times.