DEMONSTRATORS against the eviction of asylum seekers were out in force in Glasgow last night – and they were clear about the message being sent. The National spoke to some of them.
Iona Grants, 17, said: “We want to show support for refugees. They are being denied a safe home. People don’t understand the situation. They see them as ‘foreigners’ – not as people coming from war zones.”
Lesley Watson said: “I think it’s really important that people are standing up to what the government it trying to do. It’s part of this right-wing agenda. The climate is totally different in most of Scotland.”
Khosrow Zanganeh, 22, said: “I think we should honour our legal obligation to create a decent environment for refugees to live in. We shouldn’t outsource national obligations to private companies. The object becomes profit.”
READ: Home Office tells MSPs: We won't talk to you about immigration cases
Bob Fotheringham, 64, said: “I think the decision is disgusting. Serco is probably under pressure from the UK Government. It’s part of the hostile environment. In Serco’s eyes, it doing the Home Office’s bidding. It is profiting off vulnerable people’s lives.
Sean McCabe, 17, said: “I’m here to show I’m against refugees being kicked out of their housing. It’s inhumane. It’s no way to treat human beings. Government organisations are in it for themselves these days. They just think they can treat people any way they want if it benefits them.”
READ: Hundreds protest against asylum seeker evictions
Fran Craig, 57, said: “This is the rise of fascism. We’re going more and more right wing. It’s frightening. They want to create a climate of fear – to divide people.”
Abdul Bostani, 36, chair of Glasgow Afghan United, said: “Scotland has a long history of welcoming refugees. The door was opened to them. This is closing and even locking the door on asylum seekers. It is the most inhumane way to treat people and I want the Scottish Government to do everything it can.”
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