A FORMER refugee has called for immigration to be devolved to Holyrood as she believes Scotland would deliver a more humane asylum system.
Amal Azzudin, 28, fled the war in Somalia with her mother in 2000 and four years later was granted refugee status while living in Glasgow.
She works for the Mental Health Foundation in Scotland where she leads its refugee programme Sawti which raise awareness about mental health in asylum seekers and refugees.
READ MORE: Asylum system would be more humane if immigration was devolved
“I regularly hear from asylum seekers and refugees who have struggled with pre-migration trauma, but the main cause of mental health problems is the distress created by the UK asylum system,” she wrote in The National. “There is no time limit to an asylum case and we can detain asylum seekers indefinitely among other barriers such as language, not knowing their rights and experiencing racism. I strongly believe that if immigration was devolved to Scotland we would have a more humane and fair asylum system. We have long argued key frontline agencies such as the Home Office and Social Work Services should proactively seek to increase staff awareness of refugees’ experiences of mental health stigma and discrimination to inform policies and practice.”
Immigration is reserved but the Scottish Government want it to go to Holyrood to recognise the specific demographic concerns Scotland faces.
READ MORE: Asylum system would be more humane if immigration was devolved
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel