Summer 2016 was hot, oppressively so. I sat my final exams at university as the country around me geared up for a referendum, one that would shift the course of British politics in as yet unimaginable ways. What felt more certain at the time was a rising tide of disquiet, culminating in sporadic acts of race-related crime and—even in suburban, cosmopolitan Oxford—moments that made anyone who wasn’t from ‘around here’ feel distinctly unwelcome. I got involved where I could, editing a slim booklet of poems to raise funds for Oxfam’s global refugee campaign, and showing up at events organised by like-minded friends. Anything to feel like we still had a say as the debate grew shrill, although more often it was clear we didn’t. The days became hotter as the weeks wore on.

• Tags: Issue 28, Lee Boo, Palau, Theophilus Kwek