OBV at the STUC

When the sun shines Scotland it is a most beautiful country. The Scots are rightly proud of their nation: its dramatic landscapes, and their fighting spirit. That pride is equally true from a growing generation of BME Scots who were either born north of the English border or have lived there long enough to, in part, to call themselves Scottish too.

Georgina seemed typical of a ‘twenty something’ Scot. ‘When I talk about how much I love Scotland, my place of birth, I’m fully accepted. I’m one of them. I’m happy’. Then she pauses, ‘but then I’m not just like them. My father is Scottish, but my mother is Iranian. A strong proud Iranian woman. My mother.

For the most part not everyone can tell I’m mixed heritage, and so when I inform friends about my other culture, too often everything changes. Questions begin to reign in: “Does that mean she’s a Muslim, are you Muslim? Do you support the Ayatollah, Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, terrorism? Where is your loyalty here or there?'.

Like most young men and women wanting to belong is about the most important element in their lives. Georgina is no exception, therefore she informed me with a sense of sadness and regret that, ‘I rarely talk about my non-Scottish side, its too difficult’.

Georgina’s story isn’t isolated. A number of the delegates at the fringe meeting the Scottish Trade Union Congress annual general meeting in Ayr also informed me that Scotland is a nation that at times is in denial about how its treats it Black and minority ethnic communities. ‘The Scots are used to fighting the English and poverty, but they rarely believe they are unfair to others’, one delegate lamented.

Encouragingly, the BME committee to the STUC want to fight back against race inequality in Scotland. The members bombarded with question after a talk I gave there. ‘We want greater representation within the Unions, at local authority level, in the Scottish Parliament, and beyond’, pleaded delegates. ‘And we want OBV to help.

Over a decade ago OBV ran a number of successful campaigns in Scotland, but to be honest we took our eye off the ball. Yesterday we were reminded that, in no uncertain terms, the problems or race, from violent attacks to as sense of unbelonging, still persist.

What’s more they cannot be solved unless BME communities in Scotland have a strong political, civic and cultural voice. For Georgina and others we at OBV have promised to do much more in Scotland.

Simon Woolley

Picture: Simon third from left with delegates at STUC meeting.