6 days ago
Anti-migrant politics of UK leaves new Scots 'hopeless and afraid'
A host of organisations across Scotland have joined more than 350 homelessness charities, refugee organisations, LGBT+ support groups, and faith groups in a UK-wide pledge to combat 'the politics of division' and declare Britain an "island of solidarity".
The statement, coordinated by Asylum Matters, warns that a growing 'politics of division is placing communities under attack'.
It highlights comments by Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the UK risks "becoming an island of strangers" as he launched controversial new migration policies including extending the period before a person can apply for citizenship from five to 10 years' residency.
READ MORE: The 5 big issues dominating the Hamilton by-election
Support groups have said such rhetoric is having 'a real knock-on impact' on refugees and people seeking asylum in Scotland.
Scottish signatories of the statement include the Scottish Refugee Council, LGBTQ+ support groups including LGBT Health and Wellbeing and Scottish Trans, and grassroots refugee support groups like Refugee Sanctuary Scotland, Ubuntu Women Shelter and Maryhill Integration Network.
Dania Thomas, director of Glasgow's Ubuntu Women Shelter, said the comments from the UK Government are causing women they support to feel "too afraid to do anything".
"When there are these spikes in anti-immigrant sentiment it has a real knock-on effect on the women we support: they withdraw, they won't come out to the social gatherings, they don't want to engage with the legal system, it feels hopeless and hostile, there's a complete loss of trust, fear that leads to them being too afraid to do anything really, it takes a lot of support to help them start engaging again," she said.
"We have a template of what it looks like when hostile policies are announced, from when the Rwanda Act was introduced, and it was the same this time.
"There had been a sense of relief that the Rwanda scheme was gone and a feeling that there's going to be a fairer asylum system, but then you have the Border Security Bill and the white paper, which is even more concerning, particularly in extending the settlement route, from five years to 10 years, that's been a big concern for women who've come through the service.
Keir Starmer has said the UK risks becoming an 'island of strangers' if immigration policy is not tightened "The Government needs to be aware of how policies and rhetoric like this affects people. There are many components of the immigration system that work and many that don't work, but when you're being reactive and not thinking things through that's where the harm comes."
Thomas said single mums are being particularly affected by anti-migrant politics.
"If I could talk to Keir Starmer, I would want him to know that these are the people you're talking about, and this is how you're harming them," she said.
Mark Kelvin, CEO of Edinburgh-based LGBT Health and Wellbeing, said the organisation's new Scots service supports more than 560 LGBT+ people who have fled their home countries, adding they want to be part of Scotland's economy and social fabric.
READ MORE: The SNP's key messages in the Hamilton by-election
Referencing Starmer's "island of strangers" line, he said: "These 'strangers' are people who aspire to be active citizens.
"But instead, they are too often met with suspicion, hostility, and policies designed to deter rather than welcome. These divisive narratives don't protect society, they undermine it."
Ekta Marwaha, CEO of Refugee Sanctuary Scotland, added: 'Over the last 30 years we have worked with individuals who have been made destitute by the immigration system.
"The negative terminology and dehumanising rhetoric needs to stop as these create a divide amongst the communities we live within. It is important that politicians and the policies that are implemented focus upon language which promotes inclusivity and supports integration, rather than advocating racist ideologies.'
