Scottish Racism towards Asylum Seekers & Refugees

Actor Ncuti Gatwa, Aileen Campbell MSP

‘I definitely now view myself as a Rwandan Scot…yes, there’s such a term and I’m giving it a name today!’ That novel ethnonym was the brainchild of actor Ncuti Gatwa during the 2019 documentary Black & Scottish.[1] His quirky innovation when coining identity labels is the same quality he brought to the popular Netflix programme ‘Sex Education’ in his role as secondary school student ‘Eric Effiong’. The flamboyant gay character loves dressing in drag and steadily grows confident in his own skin, the latter being a similar aspect of Ncuti’s childhood on Scottish shores. In Black & Scottish, he noted that Scotland looks like Rwanda in landscape with its rolling hills covered in thick, lush greenery descending into river valleys. What’s more, Scotland looks like Rwanda in people, at least inwardly as similar notions of justice and hospitality inform the region’s policy of ‘welcoming refugees and asylum seekers, recognising it is a human right to be able to seek asylum in another country’.[2] This was the capacity in which Ncuti’s family arrived in Fife when he was a toddler as they fled the 1994 Rwandan genocide. But beyond the wording of refugee policies and their oversight by Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government (currently Aileen Campbell MSP), Scotland looked very different outwardly when it comes to skin colour. This then transferred inwardly for some people in negative bigoted ways which Ncuti himself experienced first-hand. Indeed, various instances of racism and ill treatment have unfortunately greeted many as they take ‘refuge’ in Scotland.

 

Media mistreatment

To explore this issue, let’s first clarify the difference between refugees and asylum seekers.[3] According to Amnesty International, an asylum seeker is someone who faces maltreatment and/or serious human rights violations in their country of origin. The risks to their safety and life are immense due to their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and their own government can’t or won’t protect them from such unjust persecution as was the case with Ncuti’s family. Because of these well-founded fears, they are unable or unwilling to stay, feeling no choice but to flee and seek protection elsewhere, claiming asylum in another territory as is their right under international law. They remain an asylum seeker until the host country decide to legally approve their asylum claim, upon which they are then classified as a refugee. As such, whilst every asylum seeker might not eventually be recognised as a refugee, every refugee is initially an asylum seeker. 

Yemeni citizens displaced by UK-armed conflict

Considering the distressing reality of their plight, it is therefore truly shocking to see vitriolic headlines and reporting of certain right-wing newspapers regarding asylum seekers trying to reach the UK.[4] They often term asylum seekers more generally as ‘migrants’, removing the context of their humanitarian suffering and trying to get to safety. These include broadsheets like The Daily Telegraph stating, “Send back migrants or risk tragedy,” or tabloids like The Daily Express referring to a “taxi service” in the English Channel. Indeed, many have noted that the UK press are the most aggressive in Europe when reporting in this area.[5] By contrast, there is often underreporting of what fosters humanitarian crises that then create refugees. This includes indirect UK complicity[6] by the government keeping quiet about human rights violations like those in Egypt or Bahrain, or direct UK complicity[7] by supplying arms to fuel conflicts/atrocities like Saudi Arabia against Yemen. Though the most glaring omission is surely ‘the slightest hint of basic human compassion, impervious to the suffering endured by many…fleeing the consequences of historic western failure and greed in their homelands.’[8]

With such negative reporting (or unreporting) framing the narrative, this can unsurprisingly feed into public hostility towards asylum seekers & refugees (increasingly dispersed outside London and across UK over the past 10-20 years) as well as the wider British BAME community from similar ethnic groups…

Public mistreatment

Far from the peace of mind those fleeing persecution might think they would have when arriving in the UK, many in fact experience high levels of ‘racism and discrimination in workplaces, other institutions, their local communities and schools’.[9] Ncuti Gatwa himself shared some of his own stories of racial prejudice at his Dunfermline school from fellow students on the east coast, perhaps not surprising when a 2002 survey showed a significant numbers of Scots to be xenophobic. 25% admitted to being “slightly racist” and nearly 50% felt that saying ethnic insults like “p***” and “c*****” in relation to shops and food was acceptable. Whilst Ncuti’s experiences were in the mid-2000s, similar unreceptive attitudes from local Scots are evident a decade later after a number of refugee families were resettled throughout the region. This included the Isle of Bute on the west coast where several people objected that they had their own problems to solve ‘without trying to deal with anyone else’s’. 

Glasgow-based Sudanese refugee, Hammid

Beyond those more rural communities, similar sentiment can be found not too far away in Scotland’s largest urban centre Glasgow.[10] According to one Sudanese refugee called Hammid, he was stopped by an aggressive traffic officer after having driven through an amber light with a reminder to "remember how we do things in this country". Hostile attitudes were also part of Middle Eastern refugee Daniel’s experience when dealing with public officials. He recounts, "I could see how friendly [my advisor] was with the Scottish people in front, laughing and joking. His face would change entirely when it was my turn. "It's not something you can use as evidence, but something you see and feel. The only explanation is the tone of my skin, otherwise why?" 

Daniel’s supposition was validated during my interview with Fife Centre for Equalities (FCE) board member Sidique Akbar who recalls white refugees as non-visual minorities would get less hassle than refugees of colour during his time based at Fife Race Equality Council (FREC). Beyond being instantly identifiable visual minorities, being further differentiated as an audio minority by their accents didn’t help, exacerbated further by any language barrier. (He gave an example of going clubbing in his younger days and seeing brown refugees turned away by bouncers. In contrast, Sidique would put on his thickest Rab C. Nesbit twang, meaning the stupefied bouncers would indeed forgo his Pakistani façade and let him in, clearly making the most of his accent/language privilege.) 

UK Islamophobia increase after NZ terror attack on mosque

Yet another dimension of prejudice some suffer from is religion. Before the 9/11 attacks in the US, Sidique principally experienced racism against his ethnicity; after 9/11, Sidique principally experienced Islamophobia against his faith, usually identifiable due to clothing choices. Indeed from 2001 to 2020, UK attacks on Muslims have increased year on year by 600% (much more than when Sidique’s parents arrived in 1950s Britain and endured street attacks by the National Front and other racist organisations). This was heavily motivated by false accusations of many being ISIS sympathisers or undercover terrorists pretending to be refugees to then attack the UK.[11] Again, those with accents/language barriers got it worse as, in addition to ‘looking’ like terrorists, they also ‘sounded’ like them. Oddly enough, UK Islamophobia increased even more after the March 2019 New Zealand terror attack where Muslims were the victims, seemingly ‘giving permission’ for British bigots to further openly express their hatefulness. This really hit close to home for Scottish Refugee Council head Sabir Zazai, a refugee from Afghanistan, who in December 2019 had ‘two short, awful words of ‘p*** scum’ scratched on [his] car, and their hateful intent was clear.’[12]

Edinburgh-based Somali refugee, Axmed

All this hostility manifesting into targeted racial slurs have on occasion spilled over into violent attacks of the kind refugees were trying to escape from in the first place. This was the case back in January 1989 when Somali refugee Axmed Abuukar Sheekh[13] and his cousin Abdirizik Mohamed Yusuf were racially abused by white football fans inside Sneaky Pete's pub in Cowgate, Edinburgh. The Stevenson College students were completely unknown to the 8-10 strong gang who it later transpired had links to the National Front hate group. They went outside where unprovoked confrontation turned physical with gang member Terence Reilly punching Axmed repeatedly before the student was stabbed. He instructed his cousin to run away and was able to drag himself to a phone box before he collapsed. He would later succumb to his injuries, dying at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. In the wake of his killing, the police arrested 3 men, but just 2, Terence Reilly and Francis Glancy, were brought to trial. After an 8-day hearing where ‘the quality of the prosecution was poor while the defendants had a brilliant QC’, neither was convicted of murder as Francis Glancy was acquitted of all charges and Terence Reilly was found guilty of mere knife ‘possession’ vs ‘use’. Their National Front affiliation was ignored during the trial and only 6 months later did the police concede that Axmed’s murder was a racial hate crime. 

Edinburgh-based Syrian refugee Shahbaz after knife attack

12 years later, the same xenophobic animosity in the Scottish public was still apparent when in August 2001, 25-year-old Turkish asylum seeker of Kurdish origin Firsat Dag was stabbed to death in Sighthill, Glasgow. His unprovoked white attacker Scott Burrell who had a history of serious assault on other foreigners, yet the clear racial motivation for the murder would again later go unacknowledged. Fast forward another 16 years in May 2018, Shahbaz Ali[14] was assaulted by two men and two women in Upper Gilmore Place, Edinburgh. The 25-year-old barber was trying to protect a young female resident who the group were racially abusing when his father Sivan heard the attackers shout, “Why are you still here; why are you not back in your own country?” One of them, Sean Gorman, then stabbed Shahbaz 6 times before fleeing the scene, leaving him with critical injuries, again fighting for his life at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Aamer Anwar, human rights lawyer for the Ali family, said numerous attacks from the wider Scottish community on the Syrian refugees are not reported because people “are too frightened to complain”. He then shared that the family had fled death to live in Scotland five years ago. “Shabaz lost nine members of his family after an attack on their city by ISIS. Racist thug [Sean Gorman]…had no regard for the life of Shabaz Ali, who had done nothing wrong, he was a hardworking and quiet young man trying to rebuild his life after Syria. 

This clear anti-migrant sentiment that permeates through Scotland and the UK as a whole is not seen as ‘unkind, but a legitimate defence of [British] economy and way of life’.[15] Evidence of this was seen in an August 2020 YouGov survey showing almost 50% of Britons have ‘little or no sympathy for asylum seekers making the desperate journey across the English Channel.’ Indeed, the December 2019 general election landslide majority given to the current fundamentally anti-migrant Tory government plainly indicates the country’s increasing ease with ‘the only people allowed in [the UK] being handpicked, vetted, wealthy and from preferred races and classes - not scrappy, dispossessed and clambering on to a beach from a dinghy.’ 

This public apathy undoubtedly fuels the hubris of state mistreatment towards those seeking asylum…

State mistreatment

Scotland's changing demographics requires migrant workers 

There has long been parliamentary rhetoric about Scotland’s need for more asylum seekers and migrants in general to sustain the economy.[16] This was former Scottish first minister Jack McConnell’s assertion in 2002 with regards to the region’s ageing population and low birth rates creating a future deficit in the workforce. Fast forward to 2018 and the same circumstances are still true, meaning the ‘Scotland is facing a catastrophe in its future ability to deliver social care to its elderly and vulnerable.’ This underscores the importance of NHS essential foreign workers as well as those in other sectors. Yet at a time when Scotland has never required migrant labour and families more, the UK government is adamant on repelling them, as are many north of the border, clearly outlined in the 2014 report ‘Asylum Seekers in Scotland: Challenging Racism at the Heart of Government’.[17] The counterintuitive increasingly hostile attitude is in step with electoral advances by far-right and racist groups across Europe bringing in harsher immigration policies throughout the continent, extending to Scotland towards EU and non-EU foreigners alike. But as mentioned before, attitudes are harsher towards non-white migrants often thought of as monolithic. 

For one thing, different facets of the BAME population have different issues. The social & political needs of incoming refugee communities vary from settled BAME communities. The incoming 1st & 2nd gen refugee community require capacity building services orientating around language skills, education qualifications, visa, etc so they can enter the workforce. However, the settled 3rd & 4th gen BAME community who are already functional in all those areas require legislative measures against systemic (structural & institutional) racism aka white bigotry so they can enter the workforce, the disparity increasing significantly when we factor in gender. What’s more, there are differences between and even within different nationalities, something very apparent in the Sudanese community with the recent social upheavals in the nation. Though one area where concerns are unified is the allocation of housing often in such poor condition that white Scots would never stay there.[18] For example, in one case accommodation was given to ‘a pregnant mother with a baby whose bedroom ceiling was leaking for months’, such disrepair unsurprisingly resulting in the roof falling down in certain buildings. 

Asylum seekers housed in slum conditions

For a number of years, the UK have commissioned service giants G4S, Clearel & Serco for asylum housing provision, the latter of which having a £60 million contract with the government[19] and being Scotland’s main service provider. They in turn have subcontracted the work to Orchard and Shipman, a private letting company which according to a Scottish Refugee Council[20] report have provided ‘people fleeing persecution who deserve protection the equivalent of punishment’.[21] The horror stories include being put into slum-like flats with (1) infestations (2) lack of hot water or heating (3) no keys to get into their buildings (4) housing officers reportedly entering with no warning (5) one man being called a ‘criminal’ by his housing officer, locked out of his accommodation & his few possessions confiscated. Other problems included families having to share already cramped spaces with total strangers with only a few hours’ notice. The disturbance to life routine is bad enough, made infinitely worse by the racist abuse one mother received from her new cohabitors. Her resulting request to move was ignored by the housing provider, as were most complaints about any accommodation issues, occasionally also in turn met with abusive responses. 

Vulnerable women abused by detention centre guards

The appalling housing conditions subjected to asylum seekers who often already have severe persecution-related trauma adds further stress and suffering to their burden. This is particularly intense for individuals who have undergone torture or sexual violence, and then housed without a lock on their front doors. Even more shocking revelations emerged from asylum detention centres where male guards employed by Serco ‘sexually abused women in their care’.[22] The subsequent argument that any sexual encounter had been consensual was countered by ‘the power imbalance between a uniformed guard, keys jangling at his belt, and a vulnerable young woman, newly imprisoned: so extreme that it makes genuine consent on the part of detainees impossible.’ Another abuse of power included one volunteer’s first-hand account of asylum seekers in Scotland being given IUDs without being told what they were or being providing with adequate translation services to comprehend their function. As such, the government were authoritatively controlling their reproduction rights…the very type of human right abuse many seeking asylum were fleeing from in the first place (e.g. Uyghur Muslim women in China). 

Lack of proper translation services are not the only problem with ‘officialdom and bureaucracy’ characterising the ‘constant obstructions in navigating the labyrinthine housing association network’.[23] Location is also an issue particularly as Serco often accommodates asylum seekers in deprived wards where housing stock is appealingly cheap. As Glasgow is the UK’s largest asylum dispersal area, such districts in the city’s sprawling east end include Carntyne West, Haghill, Easterhouse, Parkhead North and Cranhill. The loose cluster of areas over a large geographical expanse means that, unlike Glasgow’s west end and southside with many train links and subways, the east end only has a few restrictive bus routes. Cranhill Development Trust[24] support worker David Jackson says the limited transport options mean people in the asylum process have difficulty traveling to Govan-based Home Office appointments on the opposite side of the city. The trip requires getting several buses, which adds up and really stretches their already meagre card payment of £35 a week.[25] This is also problematic for ‘a mother with a child with special needs who was housed far away from the child’s nursery and doctor’.[26]

Asylum seeker Mercy Baguma & her baby son Adriel

The situation can become even more desperate for those whose “limited leave to remain” has expired, as was the case in August 2020 with Ugandan asylum seeker Mercy Baguma.[27] This meant she was no longer allowed to work, spiralling into extreme poverty with her one-year-old baby Adriel, with only the generosity of friends and charities to sustain them. Shortly afterwards, the mother was found dead in her Govan flat with her starving baby crying in his cot. The tragedy of Mercy’s situation being left destitute with dire consequences is sadly not unique. In July 2018, 300 Glasgow-based asylum seekers were spontaneously evicted from Serco properties[28], blind-siding Glasgow City Council with the sudden announcement. The move ‘sparked fears of a humanitarian crisis on the city's streets, as the council was legally prevented from housing people with no leave to remain and no recourse to public funds.’ Then in April 2020, another 300 asylum seekers were given an hour’s notice to pack up their flats and moved into hotels by Mears, a new private company providing housing and support services.[29] Being at the height of the Covid-19 lock down, another possible humanitarian crisis was brewing as social distancing was “impossible” in those conditions, potentially creating a ‘super spreader’ environment due to difficulties keeping the space ‘hygienic and aired’. On top of this, the asylum seekers also had their weekly £35 allowance withdrawn as apparently the hotel, McLays Guest House on Renfrew Street, provided ‘three meals a day, basic toiletries and a laundry service’. However, there was no consideration for top-up phone credit to sustain contact with lawyers, increased hand sanitiser use, period products for women, or extra food for a heavily pregnant woman and families with children. 

Mentally distressed asylum seeker Badreddin Abadlla Adam

With no information about future housing arrangements and/or being told different stories of further transfer, feelings of increased fear, stress and anxiety were prevalent amongst those affected. This included Syrian asylum seeker Adnan Walid Elbi[30] who said the move came with ‘worsening flashbacks to torture he had experienced on his journey through Libya to the UK’. The suicidal thoughts he’d been having for weeks came to fruition a month later in May 2020 when he was found dead in his room. Adnan’s passing demonstrated the ‘spiralling mental distress of hundreds’ boarding in uncertain short-term accommodation as would be apparent just a month later in June 2020 with Sudanese asylum seeker Badreddin Abadlla Adam.[31] Housed at the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street for 3 months, he’d reportedly been treated "improperly" there and given food of "bad quality", causing him "abdominal disturbances" and to "vomit every time". He’d also been ‘kept in his room for a whole month’ which seriously affecting his mental state. Despite presenting outwardly as "smiling" and "very peaceful", he’d told a friend he was "so sad" and asked if he could ‘stab certain people who were causing him trouble’. The friend cautioned him about his ‘dangerous thoughts’, but it was not enough to assuage Badreddin. After a phone call to his solicitor complaining about the accommodation, saying he wanted to be moved and was suicidal, his erratic behaviour escalated. 90 minutes later he carried out a knife attack stabbing six people, including a police officer before being shot dead by emergency response. After the incident, another asylum seeker said ‘people were treated "like animals" and "that will make them savages"’, adding it wasn’t ‘just dangerous for asylum seekers, it's dangerous also for Scotland and the UK.’ 

Chilean refugee Carlos Giesen Martinez told to return to Nigeria

The hostile environment within asylum bureaucracy extends beyond the precarious housing situation into the applications themselves. This has been the experience of Glasgow-based Afghani asylum seeker Abdul Rahman Safi[32] whose case has been pending for 12 years. To live with the uncertainty of also perhaps being transferred to a hotel with a mere hour’s notice for over a decade was untenable. So last month in Sept 2020 the father of 4 finally took the drastic step of sewing his lips shut and starting a hunger strike as he camped in a tent outside the Home Office. But what happens when the Home Office response is in fact erroneous? Glasgow-based Chilean refugee Carlos Giesen Martinez[33] found out first-hand in March 2020 when his asylum application was rejected and the South American was told he should prepare to return to Nigeria(!) His UK naturalised daughter and his lawyer believe the incorrect country of origin and other errors stated in the letter was “cut and pasted” from a different claimant’s refusal and thus proof the application was not properly considered. A more disturbing error occurred with Glasgow-based Ghanaian former asylum seeker Lord Elias Apetsi McMensah[34] who was detained in March 2016 whilst reporting to the Home Office in Govan. The award-winning Strathclyde University masters student’s fresh application for “leave to remain” had apparently not been submitted on time by his lawyers, a "human error" not of Lord’s doing. Despite his wife and 2 young children living with him in Glasgow, he was immediately transported to the first of 7 immigration detention centres over the course of 2 months. The ultimate intention was to force him onto a chartered plane at London Stanstead Airport bound for Ghana where renewed persecution awaited him. 

Former Scottish first minister Jack McConnell

When all is said and done, we can see that the state response to asylum seekers/refugees has not been very kind, hence a similar attitude filters into the general populous resulting in hostility and xenophobia. ‘If anything, it suits the government to have “asylum seekers” as a group regarded as the lowest of the low and deny them of their humanity, as this ‘othering’ allows them to treat them in a way that they would not attempt to treat British citizens’.[35] With these long waits for Home Office answers, refugees work skills and professional knowledge go to waste, countering former Scottish first minister Jack McConnell’s 2002 assertion that foreign workers were welcome to help sustain the economy. All this mistreatment in fact indicates the government wants to kick migrants out because of fundamental racism. This has been consistently present in the social zeitgeist, but more emboldened/pressurised by the rising right-wing populism of the last decade or so. Thus we see government policies on asylum seekers/refugees not based in logical, rational reasoning of the benefits this new workforce can bring; but purely on negative emotional irrationality and nastiness. Not only is their treatment unacceptable morally, but also legally when measured against the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ and ‘European Human Rights and Asylum Legislation & Guidance’.[36]

Racial justice campaigner
Mukami McCrum MBE

Here’s the thing, regardless of their true stance on offering asylum, countries have to be seen internationally as having progressive policies. Indeed, ‘Liberal Scots like to portray their country as a beacon of progressiveness and enlightenment’[37], recognising the idea that the ‘warm Scottish welcome is as important to those trying to build new lives here as it is to Scotland’s global image as a welcoming nation’.[38] However, this is completely disingenuous in practice as most of the ‘progressive policies’ on asylum are never in fact implemented. Kenyan racial justice campaigner and Axmed Sheekh Commemorative Group member Mukami McCrum MBE noted that the policy-practice mismatch repeats with each new incoming government. This is because they want to ‘assert themselves’ by writing a new policy rather than seeing through the implementation of the good practices already stated in previous policies. This then serves as a delaying tactic to not get anything done, wallowing in an inept status quo (similar to the campaign for justice re Axmed’s murder at the local level). 

Former Labour MP and human rights champion Tony Benn

The late Labour MP Tony Benn encouraged vigilance on how we allow the government to treat asylum seekers/refugees. But perhaps Observer newspaper columnist Kevin McKenna[39] said it best: ‘As we root around in these dark places seeking righteousness for our indignation, we talk about protecting “our” borders and “our” identity. At other times, we talk of our “pride” at being Scottish or English or British. What bizarre and foolish concepts. It’s like being proud of having two eyes. They imply that being “Scottish” or “English” or “British” is to be bound by loftier values. Yet when we travel, we find that people are all really the same: they respond well to kindness; they like to share what they have; they want to bequeath peace to their children. Our nationality is an accident of birth. We do not own this country: we are merely stewards of its resources and I hope one day that we will be judged on how well we have shared them.’ 

After reviewing the reality of seeking UK asylum specifically in Scotland, how comfortable might Ncuti Gatwa continue to be with his coined ethnonym of ‘Rwandan Scot’? How easy is it to identify with the scenic similarities of green rolling hills aligning river valleys versus racial differences that would treat the most vulnerable with such contention? After all, on so many occasions in so many facets, Scotland has not been a safe ‘refuge’ for asylum seekers, but a dangerous enclosure that at times has been as life threatening as the places they were fleeing from…

 

Course of Action

 

So now we know of the racism against asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland, what can be done about it? Let’s break it down step by step. 

Lothian health visitor Rose Tibi

Regarding media mistreatment, tabloids and broadsheets alike need to reassess their tone with less negative biased reporting against those fleeing humanitarian crises who need our humanity the most.[40] Indeed, more articles should focus on ‘the need to address the push factors driving population flows’. The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR)[41] noted that, whilst the press gave reasons why people seek asylum in other nations (conflict, human rights abuses, etc), their coverage seldom included the need to confront the causes of such issues. As of December 2015, only 3.1% of refugee-related articles across Europe mentioned possible conflict resolution strategies to neutralise push factors, and this should enter the public consciousness more. Additionally, there should be more articles focusing on ‘the benefits that asylum seekers and migrants could bring to host countries’[42], be them economic, medical, technological or artistic. There are many to choose from, clearly illuminated by the Traces Project[43] by Counterpoint Arts spotlighting cultural contributions of artists who sought out UK sanctuary. Similarly, Amnesty International’s list of Scottish refugee success stories[44] like Lothian health visitor Rose Tibi from Sudan and her daughter Carol embody this too. 

Regarding public mistreatment, people in spaces that refugees have reported receive racism (workplaces, other institutions, their local communities and schools) should receive unconscious bias/anti-racist training. Beyond that, they should be charged from breaking UK law under the Equality Act 2010[45] and be dealt with accordingly by the authorities. However, the authorities themselves must be free from discrimination[46], as clearly was not the case with Axmed Abuukar Sheekh’s 1989 stabbing. For the murder charge against his white killer to be dismissed despite so much incriminating evidence was alarming, ‘greeted with disbelief, precipitated a crisis in community relations and galvanised Black and minority ethnic communities and white anti-racists into united action’. Whilst much campaigning and protest marches through Edinburgh led to police finally classifying the attack as racially motivated, there was no review of the notorious case’s judicial proceedings which bore deep similarities to the Stephen Laurence’s deficient murder investigation blighted by institutional racism. 

Ali family solicitor Aamer Anwar

However, with the introduction of the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011, Axmed Sheekh Commemorative Group campaigners urged the Crown Office to reopen the case.[47] The Somali student’s former Stevenson College teacher Joan Weir said, ‘it is not a case of his family, who are in Somalia, wanting the case to be fought again. The issue was whether Scottish justice had moved on when dealing with racist crime and that "some kind of good" had come out of the tragedy. It remains a responsibility on those of us, Black and white, in Scotland…to try to ensure this case is included in any new review,’ a sentiment also echoed by former Edinburgh Southern MSP Jim Eadie. In the meantime, FCE’s Sidique Akbar says that whilst the refugee reception in the north of Scotland is still as problematic as before, they have fared better in places like Fife & Edinburgh that have become more ‘diverse’ over years. However, whilst there are still heinous acts like Shahbaz Ali’s 2018 attempted murder, there seemed to be more expediency in recognising it as racially motivated and charging his attacker accordingly.[48] ‘Many refugee families today are suffering racist abuse in Scotland and it’s up to decent people to stand up for their rights and ensure that the culprits are dealt with and that the local authorities act sensitively to support and if necessary rehouse victims. What the authorities cannot do is hide and pretend this is not happening’, as family solicitor Aamer Anwar insisted. 

previous Scottish asylum housing provider, charity YPeople

Regarding state mistreatment, there should be a move away from the commercialisation of private housing and support services providers for asylum seekers.[49] Uniquely for-profit companies such as G4S, Clearel, Serco and Mears ‘tend to lack both empathy and specialism in this area’, resulting in the dire situations we have seen. Previously, service providers in Scotland like the charity YPeople[50] and Glasgow City Council itself were used and, even though not always perfect, there was much better insight into the particular needs of people with such vulnerabilities, certainly handled with more compassion. As such, a governmental review, backed by Chartered Institute of Housing, Shelter Scotland and the Scottish Association of Landlords, is required to again prioritise mercy and compassion in asylum housing provision over monetary savings to the extent of inhumane treatment. Particularly as devolving to un-specialised private contractors has quite clearly ‘failed to make anything like the savings that were intended to by the Home Office’. To this end, the New Scots: Refugee Integration Strategy 2018 To 2022[51] strives to tackle some of the core concerns regarding housing and access to services. Improvement in these areas as well as reduced racial hostility will surely go some way to assuage the extra mental distress compounding the already prevalent trauma that many asylum seekers carry. Additional funding should also be allocated to support them in this aspect of their health, which is currently minimal due to Tory austerity. 

Lord Elias Apetsi McMensah 

with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

The complexities of the asylum system itself also needs to be addressed so the long waiting period for Home Office answers re visas are reduced to a more workable timeframe, meaning no one else has to suffer through a 12-year delay like Mohammad Asif. Equally, more careful scrutiny of asylum claims must be enacted so such callous errors like confusing the applicant’s country of origin and decision to grant “leave to remain” like with Carlos Giesen Martinez won’t be repeated. What’s more, rushed removals of refugees without checking for resolvable errors through an appeal process for example should be stopped. In Lord Elias Apetsi McMensah’s case, it’s clear that this ‘warm, caring and intelligent man’ would have been returned to perilous circumstances if he didn’t have such a high profile in his university community[52]: being voted 2016 Student of the Year for his voluntary work linked to his Counselling MA to help other students, and elected as NUS Scotland’s Executive Committee’s Asylum and Refugee Officer. As a result, many people came to his defence and raised awareness of his situation like then Strathclyde Student Association Vice President of Diversity Raj Jeyaraj, then NUS Scotland president Vonnie Sandlan, Alison Thewliss MP and even then Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn[53] as well as many more. The added public pressure was successful and the Home Office thus granted Lord reprieve from deportation, lest his amazing people & knowledge skills be lost to his new Scottish home. 

Aileen Campbell MSP & refugee graduates of hospitality training scheme

Programmes that indeed facilitated utilising refugee professional knowledge & skills to support their local Scottish communities were the Re-entry of Ethnic Minorities into Teaching (REMIT) initiative as well as the Fresh Talent scheme.[54] However, these very successful programmes were discontinued as Scotland’s control over its migrant labour decreased with the 2010 election of the Tories. Since then, ScotGov have been trying to do similar initiatives, but the Tories reportedly won’t let them. This is an example of no actual new research for new policies being needed as the information of what works ALREADY exists, demonstrated by the Diageo Learning for Life programme[55] run by leading hospitality industry charity, The Springboard Charity. The government should action the recommendations already given rather than allocation resources/money for more unnecessary research, breaking the inept status quo of the policy-practice mismatch. In this way, Aileen Campbell MSP’s proclamation regarding refugees[56] that Scots should ‘demonstrate understanding, compassion and kindness’ as well as ‘continue to build strong, resilient and supportive communities’ will have true substance.

 

Empowering Asylum Seekers & Refugees

Whilst these proposals will help improve the circumstances of those seeking asylum on Scottish shores, what can be done to help those currently in a vulnerable situation either from just arriving in the region or extendedly navigating the chronic complexities of the asylum system? Fortunately, there is assistance through various NGOs, charities & community-led support organisations including: 

* Amnesty International Scotland https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/scotland

* Scottish Refugee Council https://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/

* Scottish Action for Refugees (SAFR) https://www.scottishactionforrefugees.org/

* Refugee Survival Trust https://www.rst.org.uk/

* Refuweegee https://www.refuweegee.co.uk/

* Student Action for Refugees http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/campaigns/campaigns_overview

* Glasgow Refugee and Asylum Seeker Solidarity https://www.facebook.com/GUGRASS/

* Migrants Organising for Rights & Empowerment (MORE) https://www.facebook.com/MORE-Migrants-Organising-for-Rights-Empowerment-606036873186603

* Massive Outpouring of Love (MOOL) https://www.mool.scot/

* Fife Migrants Forum = https://fifemigrantsforum.org.uk/

* Asylum Housing Support (ASH) project https://ashproject.org.uk/

* Positive Action in Housing https://www.paih.org/

* Community InfoSource, https://www.infosource.org.uk/

* Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/

* Unite Against Fascism as http://uaf.org.uk/

* Church Commission for Migrants in Europe https://ccme.eu/

* Churches Commission for Racial Justice https://ctbi.org.uk/racial-justice-the-long-journey-continues/

* Scottish Faiths Action For Refugees http://www.sfar.org.uk/

* Scottish Detainee Visitors http://sdv.org.uk/

Lawyer and multilinguist Debora Kayembe

Other organisations helping asylum seekers include those created by themselves, as is the case with Congolese Human Rights and International Law solicitor Debora Kayembe. After seeking refuge in the UK, she created her own linguistic company ‘Diversity Translation Services’ offering interpretation in 5 of her 7 spoken languages: Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili, French and English. Eventually settling in Midlothian, she uses her language skills to serve ‘international organisations in the USA, UK and mainland Europe by helping refugees and asylum seekers to settle within various resettlement programs as well as supporting victims of war crimes.’ She’s since become a qualified paralegal for Scottish Civil Court practice and is also a board member of the Scottish Refugee Council. Her brilliant work has won her many accolades along the way, resulting in her portrait being hung in the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). 

Poet & playwright Tawona Sithole

There are many more examples of asylum seeker contributions being celebrated, particularly in events like Refugee Festival Scotland[57] held annually in June to coincide with World Refugee Day. There’s also the portrait collection of asylum seekers known as the ‘New Scots’[58] giving ‘a snapshot of the difficulties they faced as they left their old lives for a new future in Scotland’ painted by Glasgow-based I.D. Campbell, an affiliate artist of the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts.[59] Additionally, Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network member Tawona Sithole[60] is a performance poet, playwright, and mbira (Zimbabwean instrument) musician who runs spoken word and creative writing workshops to share heritage and increase awareness of lesser-known African perspectives, using humour to challenge stereotypes and misinformation. Similarly, Sudanese refugee Leila Aboulela[61] gives voice to the racial/ethnic challenges in Scotland in her novel ‘The Kindness of Enemies’. 

Other artistic endeavours include those of Highlight Arts director and playwright Sara Shaarawi[62] from Egypt who works with emerging and established artists to ‘uncovering stories about people and places affected by a range of conflicts from inequality, prejudice, war and environmental issues’. Similarly, Dance Base Associate Artist, choreographer and dancer Farah Saleh[63] from Palestine connects people with experiences of refugeehood and oppression through her work ‘Gesturing Refugees’ as well as ‘What My Body Can/t Remember’ currently in development. All these serve to help refugees process their experiences as well as foster deeper understanding of their situation within their host communities. 

Yes, Scotland has a long way to go before resolving its issues with racism towards asylum seekers and refugees, and only with a concerted effort will progress be made. 

~ by Abiọ́dún Ọlátòkunbọ̀ Abdul 

instagram.com/abiodunoa

twitter.com/Abiodun_Abdul01

facebook.com/abiodun.a.o.abdul

facebook.com/ScottishRaceRelations

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[1] Ncuti Gatwa, Black & Scottish

  https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00098n0/black-and-scottish

[2] Scottish Government, Refugees and asylum seekers

  https://www.gov.scot/policies/refugees-and-asylum-seekers

[3] Amnesty International, Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants

  https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/refugees-asylum-seekers-and-migrants

[4] We should be ashamed of our response to this refugee ‘crisis’ (29 Dec 2018)

  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/29/we-should-be-ashamed-of-our-response-to-this-refugee-crisis

[5] UK press is the most aggressive in reporting on Europe’s ‘migrant’ crisis (14^th March 2016)

  https://theconversation.com/uk-press-is-the-most-aggressive-in-reporting-on-europes-migrant-crisis-56083

  How the media contributed to the migrant crisis (1^st Aug 2015)

  https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/aug/01/media-framed-migrant-crisis-disaster-reporting

[6] Why won't the UK government speak out on human rights abuses? (8^th April 2016)

  https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/apr/08/uk-government-speak-out-human-rights-abuses  

[7] Underreporting on the crisis in Yemen, the complicity of the British government, and what we can do to help (10^th July 2020)

  https://www.varsity.co.uk/opinion/19596

  UK ‘complicit’ in devastating ‘unlawful’ Saudi led blockade of Yemen (7^th July 2020)

  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200707-uk-complicit-in-devastating-unlawful-saudi-led-blockade-of-yemen/

  Britain is behind the slaughter in Yemen. Here's how you could help end it (6^th Sept 2020)

  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/06/britain-slaughter-yemen-planes-bombs-politicians-media

[8] We should be ashamed of our response to this refugee ‘crisis’ (29 Dec 2018)

   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/29/we-should-be-ashamed-of-our-response-to-this-refugee-crisis

[9] We should be ashamed of our response to this refugee ‘crisis’ (29 Dec 2018)

   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/29/we-should-be-ashamed-of-our-response-to-this-refugee-crisis

[10] Scotland Is Not as Woke as It Thinks It Is (31 July 2018)

    https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbj3ax/scotland-is-not-as-woke-as-it-thinks-it-is

[11] We should be ashamed of our response to this refugee ‘crisis’ (29 Dec 2018)

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/29/we-should-be-ashamed-of-our-response-to-this-refugee-crisis

[12] “The hateful intent of the two short words scratched on my car was clear” (29 Dec 2019)

     https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/the-hateful-intent-of-the-two-short-words-scratched-on-my-car-was-clear-the-only-thing-clearer-was-the-response-as-the-people-of-scotland-rallied-around-my-family/

     https://twitter.com/sabir_zazai/status/1208442336793038848

[13] Racism, Police, and Courts in Scotland (Dec 2000)

   https://www.runnymedetrust.org/bgRacismPolice.html

   https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/scot.2000.0012

   https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000n5w5

    https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/bbc-examine-1989-racist-murder-19044927

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13044453.call-for-fresh-inquiry-into-racist-killing/

   https://scottishcriticalheritage.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/fighting-denial-the-lothian-black-forum-and-anti-racist-protests-in-edinburgh-1989-1992/

[14] Refugee left fighting for his life after ‘racist’ attack (7 May 2018)

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/refugee-left-fighting-for-his-life-after-racist-attack-75p8r6252

    Teenager pleads guilty to racially aggravated attempted murder of Syrian refugee (20^th July 2018)

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/teenager-guilty-plea-syria-refugee-attempted-murder-shabaz-ali-edinburgh-a8455891.html

[15] British hypocrisy is to blame for the deadly plight of migrants (24^th Aug 2020)

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/24/british-hypocrisy-migrants

    Almost half of Brits say they have little to no sympathy for migrants crossing the Channel (12^th Aug 2020)

    https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/almost-half-of-brits-say-they-have-little-to-no-sympathy-for-migrants-crossing-the-channel/12/08/

[16] We should be ashamed of our response to this refugee ‘crisis’ (29 Dec 2018)

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/29/we-should-be-ashamed-of-our-response-to-this-refugee-crisis

    Scotland’s Changing Population (20^th Aug 2015)   

    https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2015/scotlands-changing-population

[17] Asylum Seekers in Scotland: Challenging Racism at the Heart of Government (24^th Sept 2014)

    https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/scot.2000.0042

[18] Revealed: the squalor inside ex-MoD camps being used to house refugees (11^th Oct 2020)

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/11/revealed-the-squalor-inside-ex-mod-camps-being-used-to-house-refugees

    Leaky ceilings and racist abuse: asylum housing in Scotland (1^st Sept 2014)

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/shine-a-light/leaky-ceilings-and-racist-abuse-asylum-housing-in-scotland/

    Moving Towards Integration: The Housing of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Britain (1^st Aug 2004)

    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02673030600709074

[19] Poor housing for refugees causing ‘suffering and stress’ (11^th Nov 2016)

    https://theferret.scot/poor-housing-refugees-suffering-stress/

[20] Scottish Refugee Council

    https://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/

[21] Leaky ceilings and racist abuse: asylum housing in Scotland (1^st Sept 2014)

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/shine-a-light/leaky-ceilings-and-racist-abuse-asylum-housing-in-scotland/

[22] The truth about sexual abuse at Yarl's Wood detention centre (29^th Oct 2013)

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/shine-a-light/truth-about-sexual-abuse-at-yarls-wood-detention-centre/

    Innocent, abused and imprisoned: the women of Yarl’s Wood (1^st Aug 2019)

    https://helprefugees.org/news/innocent-abused-and-imprisoned-the-women-of-yarls-wood/

[23] Scotland Is Not as Woke as It Thinks It Is (31 July 2018)

    https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbj3ax/scotland-is-not-as-woke-as-it-thinks-it-is

[24] Cranhill Development Trust

    http://www.cranhilldt.org.uk  / https://twitter.com/cranhilldt

[25] Syrian man dies in Glasgow amid fears over refugees' mental health (11^th May 2020)

   www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/11/syrian-man-dies-glasgow-fears-refugees-mental-health

[26] Leaky ceilings and racist abuse: asylum housing in Scotland (1^st Sept 2014)

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/shine-a-light/leaky-ceilings-and-racist-abuse-asylum-housing-in-scotland/

[27] Asylum seeker found dead next to 'starving baby' after losing her job (25^th Aug 2020)

    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/mercy-baguma-asylum-seeker-found-dead-glasgow-130027824.html

    David Linden makes plea for tragic Mercy Baguma's son to be allowed to stay in the UK (9^th Sept 2020)

    https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18708212.david-linden-makes-plea-tragic-mercy-bagumas-son-allowed-stay-uk/

[28] Glasgow 'blindsided' as refugees face mass evictions (30th July 2018)

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16384920.glasgow-blindsided-refugees-face-mass-evictions/

[29] Glasgow asylum seekers moved into hotels where distancing is 'impossible' (22^nd April 2020)

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/22/glasgow-asylum-seekers-told-to-pack-up-with-an-hours-notice

[30] Syrian man dies in Glasgow amid fears over refugees' mental health (11^th May 2020)

    www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/11/syrian-man-dies-glasgow-fears-refugees-mental-health

[31] Scottish police name Sudanese man shot dead during knife attack (27^th June 2020)

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-security-glasgow/scottish-police-name-sudanese-man-shot-dead-during-knife-attack-idUSKBN23Y0RM

    Glasgow attack: Knifeman pictured as family say they are 'shocked' (29^th June 2020)

    https://uk.news.yahoo.com/glasgow-attack-knifemans-family-shocked-hope-injured-recover-135400964.html

[32] Asylum seeker stitches up his lips and goes on hunger strike outside Home Office building in Glasgow (21^st Sept 2020)

    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/asylum-seeker-stitches-up-lips-22719225

    Abdul Rahman Safi sews mouth shut as part of protest against Home Office (21^st Sept 2020)

    https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18737132.abdul-rahman-safi-sews-mouth-shut-part-protest-home-office/

    Stand Up To Racism Glasgow: Update on asylum seeker hunger strike Glasgow (22^nd Sept 2020)

    https://www.facebook.com/sutrglasgow/videos/767695307139102

    Asylum seeker left in legal limbo refuses to end hunger strike (23^rd Sept 2020)

    https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/50679

[33] Chilean dad in Glasgow told by Home Office to go back to... Nigeria (12^th March 2020)

   https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18298868.daughter-battle-look-dad/

[34] Glasgow Strathclyde University student facing deportation for "human error" is in fear of his life (21^st March 2016)

    https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/14372142.glasgow-strathclyde-university-student-facing-deportation-for-human-error-is-in-fear-of-his-life/

[35] Leaky ceilings and racist abuse: asylum housing in Scotland (1^st Sept 2014)

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/shine-a-light/leaky-ceilings-and-racist-abuse-asylum-housing-in-scotland/

[36] Leaky ceilings and racist abuse: asylum housing in Scotland (1^st Sept 2014)

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/shine-a-light/leaky-ceilings-and-racist-abuse-asylum-housing-in-scotland/

[37] We should be ashamed of our response to this refugee ‘crisis’ (29 Dec 2018)

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/29/we-should-be-ashamed-of-our-response-to-this-refugee-crisis

[38] “The hateful intent of the two short words scratched on my car was clear” (29 Dec 2019)

    https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/the-hateful-intent-of-the-two-short-words-scratched-on-my-car-was-clear-the-only-thing-clearer-was-the-response-as-the-people-of-scotland-rallied-around-my-family/

[39] We should be ashamed of our response to this refugee ‘crisis’ (29 Dec 2018)

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/29/we-should-be-ashamed-of-our-response-to-this-refugee-crisis

[40] Press Coverage of the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in the EU: A Content Analysis of Five European Countries (Dec 2015)

    https://www.unhcr.org/56bb369c9.pdf

    8 ways to solve the world refugee crisis

    https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/10/eight-solutions-world-refugee-crisis/

[41] United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR)

    https://www.unhcr.org/uk/

[42] Press Coverage of the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in the EU: A Content Analysis of Five European Countries (Dec 2015)

    https://www.unhcr.org/56bb369c9.pdf

[43] Traces Project http://www.tracesproject.org/

    Celebrities who you might not realise are refugees – and did amazing things (1^st Feb 2017)

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/celebrities-who-you-might-not-9736017

    Prominent refugees and their contribution to the UK – in pictures (21^st May 2019)

    https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2019/may/21/prominent-refugees-and-their-contribution-to-the-uk-in-pictures

    Famous or not, refugees bring much more than their belongings with them to their new countries

    https://refugeeweek.org.uk/resources/facts-figures-and-contributions/famous-refugees/

[44] Scotland refugee success stories (19^th Oct 2013)

    https://www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/scotland-refugee-success-stories

    https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/refugee_success_stories_17_0.pdf?YGTh0_NU38j_PdM_qTLzbGGoYqijQjrN=

    Refugees’ contribution to life in Scotland celebrated (11 June 2019)

    https://www.stir.ac.uk/news/2019/06/refugees-contribution-to-life-in-scotland-celebrated/

[45] Equality Act 2010: guidance

    https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance

[46] Racism, Police, and Courts in Scotland (Dec 2000)

    https://www.runnymedetrust.org/bgRacismPolice.html

    https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/scot.2000.0012

[47] Call for fresh inquiry into 'racist' killing (11^th January 2012)

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13044453.call-for-fresh-inquiry-into-racist-killing/  

[48] Teenager pleads guilty to racially aggravated attempted murder of Syrian refugee (20^th July 2018)

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/teenager-guilty-plea-syria-refugee-attempted-murder-shabaz-ali-edinburgh-a8455891.html

[49] Leaky ceilings and racist abuse: asylum housing in Scotland (1^st Sept 2014)

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/shine-a-light/leaky-ceilings-and-racist-abuse-asylum-housing-in-scotland/

[50] YPeople https://www.ypeople.org.uk/

[51] New Scots: Refugee Integration Strategy 2018 To 2022

    https://www.gov.scot/publications/new-scots-refugee-integration-strategy-2018-2022/pages/8/

[52] Glasgow student Lord Apetsi granted reprieve from deportation (29^th April 2016)

    https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,glasgow-student-lord-apetsi-granted-reprieve-from-deportation_6911.htm

[53] Lord Elias Mensah Apetsi | We Fought Theresa May and Here I Am (14^th Sept 2019)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzwCw8GNG9k

[54] Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme: an Evidence Review

    https://www2.gov.scot/resource/doc/235857/0064664.pdf

[55] Glasgow refugees celebrate graduation from pioneering training scheme (12th Aug 2019)

    https://scottishbusinessnews.net/glasgow-refugees-celebrate-graduation-from-pioneering-training-scheme/

[56] Fairer Scotland, World Refugee Day (June 20, 2020)

    https://blogs.gov.scot/fairer-scotland/2020/06/20/world-refugee-day/

    Fairer Scotland: World Refugee Day (June 20, 2020)

    http://aileencampbell.scot/1054-msp-hails-clydesdale-refugee-response

[57] Refugee Festival Scotland (20 June 2019)

    https://www.refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk/programme-2019/

[58] Portraits of the asylum seekers known as the new Scots (25^th Oct 2020)

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18819173.portraits-asylum-seekers-known-new-scots/

    Portrait Painter I.D. Campbell

    https://www.idcampbell.com/

[59] UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts

    https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/

    https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/artscollaborations/rilaaffiliateartists/

[60] Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network

    https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/gramnet/about/artists-in-residence/tawonasithole/

    https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/staff/tawonasithole/

    https://researching-multilingually-at-borders.com/?page_id=422

[61] The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela, book review: A spiritual journey to Dagestan (6^th Aug 2015)

     https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/kindness-enemies-leila-aboulela-book-review-spiritual-journey-dagestan-10443307.html

[62] Highlight Arts http://highlightarts.org  /  Sara Shaarawi https://www.sarashaarawi.org/

[63] Dance Base, Farah Saleh https://www.dancebase.co.uk/associate-artists/farah-saleh-979