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August RJ Update

Welcome to this month’s update. I trust most of you are back from holidays and getting back into the swing of things. Last week we also returned from holidays. I hear that the weather in Scotland was not as hot as in Romania, where we spent our holidays (I saw the thermometer reach 42 C). While I was in Romania I had a telephone conversation with to a friend of mine who works with Romany people in the South East part of Romania (near the Black Sea). She shared with me a number of horror stories about how badly these people are treated by everyone in that part of the country. She was telling me that the local authorities did not want to know of these people and the local churches were not interested in them. Betty and her husband are doing extraordinary work among those people, but they are facing lots of obstacles. Betty and her husband would appreciate your prayers for their work and for the Roma people in Romania

In this update there is a story which tells us the plight of Roma people in Glasgow, which I encourage you to read.

1. Racist incidents in Scotland:

Race attacks soar after terror strike   
Racist incidents across Scotland have soared following the terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport. New figures reveal a surge in cases of violent attacks, abuse and harassment in the four weeks after the car bombing, with the worst cases including attempts to blow up an Asian shop and a mosque. Scotland on Sunday 

Man denies racially abusing bouncer   
THE 23-year old son of an ex-Labour councillor was racially abusive to a nightclub bouncer who was called to deal with "a rammy", a court heard. Zeshan Khan, of Mountcastle Crescent, whose father Shami was also a member of the Lothian and Borders Police Board at the time of the alleged incident, denies a charge of committing a racially aggravated breach of the peace. Edinburgh News 

Polish boy, 11, ‘attacked before
An 11-year-old Polish boy kicked and punched in what police believe was a racist assault in Aberdeen was the victim of an earlier attack. BBC 

Boy, 11, assaulted in 'racial' attack
Scotsman 

Race attack thug caged for 4 years  
A Racist thug high on drink and drugs who thrust a jagged bottle into a man's neck has been jailed for four years. Scott McFarlane forced Wesley Seroot to write out a £1000 cheque and fill two suitcases with his belongings in the March 16 attack in Paisley. Evening Times 

2. Developments, Reports and Investigations

The Child Sex Scandal On The Streets Of Scotland
Major police probe as immigrant Roma children exploited
A child prostitution ring which is sexually exploiting immigrant Roma children as young as nine is operating in Glasgow, the Sunday Herald can reveal. Police have been running undercover surveillance operations in empty homes and unmarked cars in the Govanhill area in the southside of Glasgow for months in the hope of catching those behind the ring and the men paying to have sex with children. Sunday Herald 

Isolated, Abused, and Victims of Decades of Persecution The Roma community in Scotland
Walking the network of streets in the heart of Govanhill is a primer for the confused and warring nature of race relations in 21st century Scotland. Local white people and those of Asian origin throw the most appalling slurs at the latest incomers to the area - the Roma community. The Roma people tend to stick together - isolated by language - unwittingly adding to the tension between them and their neighbours. Sunday Herald 

How would you fare in the bid to be British?  
Tens of thousands of immigrants have passed the Home Office citizenship test since it was introduced two years ago. The exam, which must be taken by anyone seeking British citizenship, was recently updated to include more questions about Scotland following complaints it was too Anglo-centric. But how relevant are the questions, and would you be able pass the test? Scotsman

'I love my mixed race baby - but why does she feel so alien?
"She's getting very dark, isn't she?" This is what one of my friends recently said about my much adored - 12-week-old daughter. She didn't mean to be rude. But it was a comment that struck me with the force of a jab to the stomach. Daly Mail

Mirror, mirror
Is it a natural emotion for a parent to want their child to look like them? And what if the child is a different colour? Guardian

A bad rap
We in the black community know that our young people are being destroyed by a popular culture that glorifies guns and criminality. Guardian

It takes a racist education to hold us back
Calls for new role models for black boys let the white establishment off the hook. Guardian

The Romanian Orthodox Church, with support of the Metropolitan for Western Europe in Paris is considering to open a new parish in Scotland.
The location would be chosen in response to the interest and support expressed by the Romanian community in the different areas of Scotland. The Romanians in the North-East of Scotland have already shown their enthusiasm and concrete arrangements for starting up the church are under consideration. Support is sought from other denominations and Christian churches in Aberdeen, and the possibility to start a choir is also under consideration. Further responses are expected from Romanians all over Scotland, and we encourage all those interested to offer their support, to get in touch with the Romanians in Aberdeen group.
Sunday, 22 July 2007 , See the full story at Romanians in Scotland website

3. Asylum refugees:

Children of asylum seekers in Scotland
Scottish executive press release  

University fees waived for children of refugees   
Children of asylum seekers who have been in Scotland for more than three years will be treated as Scottish residents when it comes to paying university fees, the Scottish Executive will announce today. The move will mean youngsters who gain a university place after studying at Scottish schools will not be turned away because they cannot afford the hefty fees demanded of foreign students and follows lobbying from Universities Scotland and the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC). Herald

A degree of common sense  
For young asylum seekers studying in Scottish schools, this year's exam results have suddenly become more meaningful. The announcement by Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, that children of asylum-seeking families who are offered a university place after three years or more of study in Scottish schools will no longer have to pay tuition fees - between £5000 and £24,000 - will make it possible for them to go to university. Herald

Westminster snubs SNP's amnesty plan for asylum seekers in Scotland  
An attempt by the SNP-led Scottish Executive to secure an amnesty for 1,400 asylum-seeking families in Scotland has been rejected by UK ministers, it emerged last night. Scotsman

4. Immigration 

Tougher migrant rules 'illegal'    
Tighter rules which could force thousands of highly skilled immigrant workers out of the UK are unlawful and must be scrapped, MPs and peers say. BBC

New rules on immigration 'are unlawful'  
New immigration rules which could leave thousands of highly-skilled migrant workers facing the prospect of deportation are unlawful and should be scrapped, MPs and peers warned today. Scotsman

5. Marking the Bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade

See www.scotlandandslavery.org.uk

 
6. Events

Doors Open Weekend in Inverclyde, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September 2007 Saturday 11.00 am and 1.30 pm Sunday 1.30 pm Meet at the car park beside the Ivy House with the cemetery, ten minutes before departure. Free Coach tours around Greenock to mark the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The tour will last about two hours. Learn more about the history of Greenock through the people who shaped our past; merchants and ship owners, ship builders and mariners, the ordinary and the extra-ordinary. Listen to some of their voices and hear their stories as costumed enactors highlight events and tell of some of the people who lived and worked there.

Mixedness & mixing: New perspectives on mixed-race Britons
A CRE eConference · 4-6 September 2007
http://www.mixedness.org.uk/ 

‘Refusal Factory’: Women’s experiences of the detained fast track asylum process at Yarl’s Wood IRC
Launch of new research by Bail for Immigration Detainees & discussion about Fast Track, 6.30 – 8 pm, Thursday 6 September 2007, Lecture Hall, Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial St, London E1 6LS (nearest tube Aldgate East, 1 minute). Please confirm attendance to: enquiries@biduk.org 

Race, Disability and Human Rights - Shaping a new public policy agenda
Wednesday 12th September 2007, 9.30am - 4.30pm, Place: Central London (for security reasons delegates can only be notified about the exact venue 24 hours before the start) Speakers include: Lord Adebowale CBE, Haji Saghir Alam, Julie Charles, Cherie Booth QC, Baroness Jane Campbell and Shahana Ramsden , E-mail: Clare.Basel@drc-gb.org, Tel: 0207 543 7049, Fax: 0207 543 7055

6. Publications: 

REACH - An independent report to Government on raising the aspirations and attainment of Black boys and young Black men 9 August 2007
Website of the report, Download a PDF copy [2240 kb] 

Promoting interaction between people from different ethnic backgrounds
A research project carried out for the CRE by SHM, Published July 2007, download PDF version from here

CRE Factfile 2: Ethnic minorities in Britain
In this factfile, we look at the current ethnic make-up of Britain, and how the overall population can be broken down according to country of birth, age, sex, languages spoken, religion or belief, and areas in which people live. The factfile draws on a variety of sources, including the Census 2001 data and the annual Labour Force Survey. Download PDF (156 kb)