2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow Times reporter wins prestigious award
Donald Erskine was crowned winner of the local media category for the Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards 2025.
The winners and runners up were announced at a ceremony in Glasgow on Wednesday, June 11 as their work was celebrated for showcasing powerful storytelling and highlighting the everyday realities for those seeking safety.
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(Image: Images supplied) Donald took home the top prize for his article on Oleksii Koliukh, 31, and his wife Ana Bohuslavska, 31, who came to Scotland when Russia invaded their home near Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.
The couple, who live in Pollok, spoke to Donald about their struggle to find permanent work. To stay longer in the country, Oleksii and Ana were in the process of applying under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which lets them live, work, and study in the UK for another 18 months — but it doesn't offer a path to stay permanently.
Donald's article reported on the couple's experience, whilst highlighting the issues refugees experience as they try and find a safe space to call home.
You can read the full article HERE
The judges of this years entries were Alison Phipps, chair of UNESCO-RIELA at the University of Glasgow, Larry Bottinick from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Nick McGowan-Lowe from the National Union of Journalists, Elahe Ziai from IMIX, and Johannes Gonai from Pachedu.
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Hamish Morrison, reporter for the Glasgow Times' sister title, The National, also scooped up the top prize in the news category for his article on Hyab Yohannes.
Yohannes, a refugee who fled Egypt against the threat of organ-harvesting kidnappers, compared the riots which spread across England last August to the horrors he left behind in Africa.
You can read Hamish's full article HERE
The Scottish Refugee Council said: "In an increasingly polarised world, accurate, responsible reporting on refugee and asylum issues is crucial. Last summer, racist riots swept across the UK, creating fear in refugee and migrant communities.
"Good journalism can help counter toxic narratives and harmful misconceptions about forced migration. That's why we team up with the National Union of Journalists each year to host the Media Awards.
"Thanks so much to everyone who entered work, every person who shared their story and every journalist who helps amplify the voices of people from refugee backgrounds."
The full list of winners and runner ups can be found by visiting,
