GLASGOW Girl Roza Salih, who could become one of the first refugees to win an election in Scotland, has slammed Westminster plans to deport refugees to a holding centre in Rwanda.
Salih, who campaigned as a schoolgirl to stop dawn raids and end the detention of children, told the Sunday National she was horrified the UK Government was now making the system “even worse” instead of trying to improve it.
“It is shocking that they want to send asylum seekers away,” she said. “As a child I had to campaign with my friends to improve the system so it is really sad that there is not any reform and they are actually trying to make it worse.
“I am tired of it. I have been campaigning for such a long time and when you look back you think you have not improved anything. Yes, we campaigned to end child detention, we raised awareness, we saved our friend from being deported, which was great, but they are still trying to detain people who are not criminal but just want to have a normal life. I don’t understand why we are treating people who seek sanctuary in this way.”
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Salih, who is standing for election as an SNP candidate for Greater Pollok on Glasgow City Council, said that since she was a child she had dreamed of Scotland being able to create its own system.
“I want an immigration system that represents the Scottish people,” she said. “We should have an independent Scotland so we can make our own choices here and not have decisions made for us in London.”
Salih said it would be “wonderful” if she were elected to Glasgow City Council.
“I came to this country as an asylum seeker so how amazing that would be,” she said. “I really want to represent the area so I can do the best job for the people; so I can give back what has been given to me. I hope the Greater Pollok ward trusts me with that honour.
“I have been a campaigner since I was very young and as a councillor I would try to achieve as much as I can for the ward, making sure we tackle poverty and trying to make sure people have a good life and are not struggling.”
As a trade unionist, Salih said she would do everything she could to help people with employment issues.
SHE is hoping this May will be third time lucky as she first stood for election to the council in 2017 and then as an MSP candidate in last year’s Holyrood election. So far, reaction from voters has been so positive and she said she was “overwhelmed” by the support.
“I have been campaigning for more than four weeks and it has been very encouraging at the doors. When I tell people I came to this country as a refugee they are really surprised,” said Salih.
Some people recognise her as a “Glasgow Girl” and ask to take pictures of her with their children.
“It is overwhelming but it is very nice and warming,” she said. “I just feel very welcome when I see people are so positive. The people I have spoken with are very happy I am standing and that I’m someone who really cares about the community. I am going to do my best by the ward if I get elected and will do everything I can to help everybody and speak up in the city chambers for my residents.”
She is hopeful of her chances this time as for the past six years she has been working in Pollok for local MP Chris Stephens.
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“I work on cases on a daily basis so I know how to help people with issues, whether it is benefits or a local issue, as that is something I have been doing for more than six years,” said Salih.
SALIH, who was born in Southern Kurdistan, is a co-founder of Scottish Solidarity With Kurdistan. She came to Scotland with her family to seek asylum in 2001 when she was 12 after her grandfather and two uncles were executed for opposing the then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Along with her friends at Drumchapel High School, she successfully campaigned to prevent the deportation of their school friend Agnesa Murselaj, a Roma from Kosovo, as well as the dawn raids and detention of children. The schoolgirls became known as the Glasgow Girls, with a musical staged about them which premiered at the Citizens Theatre in 2012.
Salih went on to graduate with honours in politics and law from Strathclyde University and was honoured in 2017 by the Saltire Society as an Outstanding Woman of Scotland.
The SNP’s other candidate in Greater Pollok is William Graham.
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