ACTS

A selective digest of news, events and other relevant information from Scotland.

Welcome to April Racial Justice Update.

From this month’s update:

• A Farewell from the Editor
• The Scottish Government published the latest statistics of racist incidents in Scotland: read reactions and download the publication
• Jim Sillars in the Scotsman challenges both the Scottish indigenous society and the Muslims in Scotland: he suggests that we in Scotland need to challenge Muslim extremism and for Muslims to not be offended but accept that in a diverse society their belief and tradition are inevitable exposed to criticism.
• Consultation: Scottish Gypsy Traveller (Discrimination) Bill

Racial Justice Sunday flyer ready for download and hardcopies will soon be available to order. Download a copy of the flyer from here

A Farewell from the editor

Some of you might be aware that I am moving on from my post as the Scottish Churches Racial Justice Officer. The good news is that it looks as the Churches in Scotland are seeking to commit to a further new three funding for this post and as a result a new officer will hopefully be in post by autumn.

As this is the last update I will edit, let me thank you all for supporting me, each in whichever way you did. Over the past six years that I have been in this post I met so many people who thought me so much. When I arrived to this post I had some limited experience in race relations and multicultural ministry, but by meeting and working with so many wonderful people I have learned so much and my life was changed forever. As I am moving away from ‘working in’ ‘Racial Justice’ I can assure you that ‘Racial Justice’ will forever follow me.

During my tenure I have witnessed many changes in social attitudes but also in legislation which I cannot all enlist here. When I started in this post the issue of asylum was at the top of the agenda. I think that churches, in general, had an important role and a significant voice in this debate. While we were not able to change the legal system in a way that we would have liked to, I still believe that we made some positive contributions to the plight of those people seeking asylum in this country. However I think that there is still a long way to go until our society stop seeing asylum seeking with suspicion and until our politicians stop using this issue as a football in their political game.

Then the focus and the public debate moved onto immigration, in particular with the enlargement of the European Union. This issue, coupled with and the issue of integration (and multiculturalism debate?), are still a hot potato in the public sphere and political debate, and they will probably still be high on the agenda for the next general election.

In the area of ‘racism’, as society and churches we have made some progress, but I think that, in particular here in Scotland, we have still a long way to go. For example I feel that, while the ‘home coming’ initiative might bring some benefit in terms of economic, political and probably emasculating (to some extent) the Scottish identity, or ‘Scottishness’, I think it might have a detrimental impact on race relation, and the effort of integrating minority ethnic people.

I can’t conclude this editorial by mentioning some of the highlights of my time as RJ Officer:
-The response of the churches to support asylum seekers and in particular Pastor Daly and his family. It was such a thrill to receive support from all quarters, to witness the release of Daly family and then to finally get news of a positive resolution of their case.
-Another highlight was the marking of the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, with the walk in Musselburgh, the service in Blantyre, and in particular the coming together and the signing of the statement by all the churches.
-There were many more experiences which left lasting impressions on me and my life but it would take too long to mention here.

I leave this post with hopes and encouraged that attitudes are changing. For example at the latest candidates’ conference (candidates for ministry of the Church of Scotland) I noticed that the great majority of these candidates were very much aware of racism and showed a great committed to fight it. Another sign of encouragement is that minority ethnic people are trickling into leadership positions in our churches. To use my own church as an example here: when I started six years ago I was aware of only one non-white minister in the Church of Scotland, but now there are about a dozen and some more in training.

But I want to say that the biggest and most satisfying part of the job was to meet and work with so many wonderful and committed people, from all creeds and persuasions. To all of those these people, many of whom receive this update, I would like to say a big thank you!

Before I finish I would like to let you know that John Wylie will take over the editing of the Update until a new officer will be in place. The update will be sent out by Tom Moyes from the ACTS office. If you would like to contribute, unsubscribe, or subscribe to the Update please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .


1. Racist incidents in Scotland:

Racist incidents in Scotland
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2004-05 to 2007-08. This publication presents statistics on racist incidents recorded by the eight Scottish police forces for financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 along with slightly revised figures relating to previously published information for financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06. Scottish Government
For a link to download a copy of the publication see below under Publications section.

Scots 'well on way' to winning racism battle – but still 18 hate crimes a day
Campaigners yesterday claimed Scotland was "well advanced" in the fight against racism as new figures showed the number of racist incidents recorded by police had fallen for the first time in four years. But with 5,243 racist incidents recorded in 2008 – that is only marginally lower than the previous year's 5,321 – Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, said efforts to tackle the scourge had to be stepped up. Scotsman

Justice Secretary comments on racism statistics
New figures published today by the Scottish Government show that there was a one per cent decrease last year in the number of racist incidents reported to the police in Scotland. Commenting on the figures, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "Overall crime in Scotland is at a 25 year low. These latest figures show a small reduction in the number of racist incidents in Scotland. Scottish Government

'Racist' incident on bus probed
A man who threatened an Asian woman in a "racist" incident on a bus in Aberdeen is being sought by police. The white man made intimidating comments to the 25-year-old woman and threatened her with violence. Grampian Police said the pair were on the number 12 bus in the Rosehill area on Saturday evening. BBC Scotland

Woman in unprovoked racist attack
A man wearing a hearing aid and sunglasses who made an unprovoked verbal, racist attack on a woman in Edinburgh is being sought by police. The lone woman was walking in Union Street at about 0210 BST on Tuesday when she was shouted at. Lothian and Borders Police want a woman who is thought to have witnessed the incident to come forward. The white man was 5ft 9in tall and had a local accent. He was wearing a long beige jacket and black trousers. BBC Scotland

Racist escapes terror charge after threat to behead and bomb Muslims
The Crown Office has been accused of double standards by Scotland's biggest Islamic group for not bringing terrorism charges against a man who threatened to blow up a mosque and behead Muslims. Scotsman

I'm going to quit Scotland because people have been nasty to me, says bombthreat racist facing jail term
A racist who threatened to bomb Scotland's biggest mosque last night whined he would quit the country - because people had been "nasty" to him. Neil MacGregor had also threatened to behead one Muslim a week until every mosque was shut down. The thug faces jail after admitting a racist breach of the peace. Daily Record

Alleged race row at boys match
Two adult spectators at an under-12s boys football match in Carnoustie have been reported to the procurator fiscal. It is understood the move comes after an 11-year-old Dundee boy of ethnic origin complained about alleged racial abuse from the touchline while he was playing in defence for Saints, a Broughty Ferry team. One of the alleged abusers is believed to be a parent of an opposition player. It is understood the match between Carnoustie Panmure Boys Club and Saints at Pitskelly Park was abandoned and the two adults who were the subject of the complaint have stayed away from subsequent matches. Courier

Racist attacker walks free after shattering Englishman's eye socket
A man who shattered an Englishman's eye socket during a racist attack has escaped jail. Nicholas Walker, 23, lashed out at Simon Maude after arguing with his victim's girlfriend over a taxi. Walker punched Mr Maude in the face before launching a foul-mouthed tirade on him, calling him fat and English. The 28-year-old was left bleeding heavily, with blurred vision, and he later discovered he would need a titanium plate in his eye to rebuild the fractured socket. Edinburgh News

Racist attacks up by 7%
Racist incidents in Glasgow increased in the last year to an average of more than three a day, according to new figures. The Glasgow rate is the highest in Scotland and more than double that of the rest of the country. Last year, police recorded 1301 racist crimes and incidents in the city - a rise of 7.6% - giving a figure of 22 incidents per 10,000 people. Evening Times

Four racist incidents reported to Lothians police every day
Ethnic minorities are reporting nearly four racist incidents to Lothian and Borders Police every day, according to new figures. A total of 1388 reports were made between April 2007 and March last year, with victims suffering both physical and verbal abuse. Edinburgh News

Sharp decline in racist incidents
A dramatic fall in racist incidents in Fife over the past four years has been hailed by the area’s community safety partners. The number of incidents recorded in the region has more than halved since 2004/05, according to police figures—falling from 302 four years ago to just 149 in 2007/08. Last year’s figure was also well down on the 193 noted the previous year, with Fife the only authority in Scotland to record a second successive drop. Courier

Rise in racism incidents after influx of eastern Europeans
Racist incidents in the Grampian area rose by 8% over the last year, the Press and Journal can reveal. Grampian Racial Equality Council (GREC), which released the figures, pointed to a rise in ethnic minorities moving to the north-east for the increase. A total of 574 racist incidents, including physical and verbal abuse, were recorded between April 2008 and March this year, compared to 531 in the previous 12 months. The biggest increase was in incidents involving people from the EU accession states, which include Poland, Hungary, Estonia and the Czech Republic, which shot up by 40% from 48 to 69. Asians were the most commonly targeted group, with 152 incidents reported in the last year, a rise of 11%. A 15% rise in incidents involving black people, from 89 to 106, was also recorded. Reported racist incidents against English people fell from 60 to 57, however. Press and Journal


2. Developments, Reports and Investigations

Gypsies suffer widespread racism in European Union
Racism and discrimination across the EU is far more widespread than previously thought, with Europe's estimated 12 million Roma, or Gypsy, population, being a special target, an EU agency warns. In what is claimed to be the most comprehensive survey of victimisation suffered by Europe's minority and immigrant communities, the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency said "racially motivated crime is an everyday experience". Guardian

Let's be honest and tackle murderous idiocy of militant Islam
Like Muslims, I believe it was criminal to invade Iraq. I agree with Osama bin Laden that for the West, its blood counts more than Muslim blood: we know exactly the number of UK and US deaths in Iraq, but not Arab ones. … The abysmal retreat in the face of militant Islam from indigenous values by the indigenous people has been remarkable. The instrument has been political correctness, an invention of the liberal political class. Free speech, the foundation of a truly liberal society, is seriously curtailed. People in public life, in factories and offices, will turn verbal somersaults, and newspapers will avoid, if at all possible, any serious criticism of Islam in a way that they would not hesitate to apply to Christianity or atheists. Scotsman

A new heartland for the far right
Ellis Street in the Brinsworth ward of Rotherham doesn't look particularly unusual. Once tied homes of railway workers, these houses' former two-up-two-down uniformity has been broken up by post-Thatcher evidence of ownership: a new paint and tiling job here, a new front porch there. Some of the tiny front gardens are tidy, very tidy, others less so. This the street where John Prescott once lived when he was a child, his father employed in the railway sidings industry that was a stroll from his front door. Sunday Herald


3. Asylum refugees:

Ministers renege on Dungavel child pledge
Last Tuesday, Sulaiti Wahuyo and her two-year-old son Gabriel were fingerprinted, photographed, issued with a number and an identification card, which must be carried at all times - and then imprisoned. While not convicted of any crime, as failed asylum-seekers, she and her child were incarcerated in Scotland's notorious Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre. Their plight is an indictment of the UK government which promised the people of Scotland last year that no more children and their families would be held like prisoners behind barbed wire. Wahuyo and her son are just one of many mothers and children to be held in Dungavel so far this year, the Sunday Herald has learned. Sunday Herald

Important legal ruling for refused asylum seekers
The Court of Appeal has ruled that hospitals have a discretion but not a legal obligation to provide treatment for refused asylum seekers. On 30 March 2009, the Court of Appeal handed down a ruling which contained both bad and good news for refused asylum seekers. The Court allowed the Department of Health's (DoH) appeal against Justice Mitting's decision that hospitals must treat refused asylum seekers who have been in the UK for over a year and have complied with the conditions of their temporary admission. The case was brought by a Palestinian man, YA, whose claim to have fled through fear of Hamas had been rejected, but who could not return home as the Palestinian Authority could not provide documents and the Israeli authorities refuse as a matter of policy to enable Palestinians to return home. IRR News

Churches to gather in mass demonstration of support for migrant amnesty
In what is set to be one of the largest ever Christian expressions in the public square, thousands are to attend simultaneous services celebrating the place of migrants before moving to Trafalgar Square to call for citizenship for large numbers of those who have overstayed their visas or been refused asylum. The Strangers into Citizens ‘Day of Action and Celebration’ on Bank Holiday Monday (4th May) will begin with a series of simultaneous religious services at Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall in which leaders of the Catholic, Anglican, and Free Churches will celebrate the place of the immigrant in modern Britain. Ekklesia

Trafficking

Police poised to launch people trafficking unit
Police will set up Scotland's first unit to combat people trafficking after stinging criticism of their failure to secure a single conviction for the crime. Scotland on Sunday can reveal that a special dedicated team will tackle the organised crime groups smuggling humans into the country, mostly women destined for the sex trade. Strathclyde Police has agreed to create the group, which will cover nearly half of the population of Scotland. Scotland on Sunday

Foreign police may be called in to fight people traffickers in Scotland
Foreign police could be drafted in to help Scots forces bring human traffickers to justice, a report said today. The Scottish Government report revealed there have been no successful prosecutions for human trafficking in Scotland. And it suggested police from victims' countries could be seconded to help local officers in a bid to tackle the problem. Herald

‘Clear links’ found between human trafficking and organised crime
Some 79 people believed to be the victims of human trafficking were identified in Scotland in just one year, according to a new Government report. The study published yesterday, which acknowledged there have been no successful prosecutions for human trafficking in Scotland, suggested police from victims' countries could be seconded to help local officers in a bid to tackle the problem. It also highlighted that there were "clear links" between human trafficking and other forms of crime, including, smuggling, organised prostitution, drugs trafficking and distribution, cannabis cultivation, money laundering and serious fraud. Herald

Foreign police may operate in Scotland to help catch people traffickers
Foreign police could be drafted in to help Scots forces bring human traffickers to justice, a report said today. The Scottish Government report revealed there have been no successful prosecutions for human trafficking in Scotland. And it suggested police from victims' countries could be seconded to help local officers in a bid to tackle the problem. Daily Record


4. Immigration

Worker Registration Scheme: ‘abuse of human rights’
More questions, more calls for it’s abolition, but no answers yet on the WRS
The MP for Glasgow South West has submitted a written question as to the future of the WRS, on behalf of a Glasgow Polish residents association. We await a response from the Minister. Migrantinfosource.co.uk

American expelled from UK 'like a criminal'
A "senseless" bureaucratic blunder has resulted in the deportation of a talented young American who was helping to earn thousands of pounds for the Scottish economy. Michael Merillo was attracted to stay and work in Scotland under the government's Fresh Talent scheme, excelling in a key job with the Scottish Book Trust. But the 30-year-old was kicked out of the country like a "criminal" last week by UK immigration authorities on the basis that he was earning 90p a week too little, potentially under-cutting local workers. Scotsman

Anger over £78 deportation ruling
A tribunal ruling which has left an Indian man and his family facing deportation has been criticised by Stagecoach millionaire Ann Gloag. Swarthick Salins has lived in Scotland for nine years and studied for a PhD at St Andrews University with backing from a charity set up by Ms Gloag. BBC
This story also in the Herald,
and the Scotsman also here:
Support for deportation order doctor
Alex Salmond has backed the Perth family threatened with deportation following a £78 blunder. Last week, a judge sparked controversy by ruling that Indian-born Swarthick Salins, who has lived in Scotland for nine years, should be kicked out of Britain. The respected academic has three children born in Scotland but was told he would be deported because —contrary to stringent Home Office regulations— his bank balance fell below £800 at one point last year. The fact that it fell to £722 with a £2000 overdraft facility was not enough to save him, leading to a huge public outcry. Courier
Salmond intervenes in deportation
BBC
Indian man wins appeal to stay in Scotland with his family
Scotsman
Joy for family in deportation fight
Evening Times
Tears over 'shameful betrayal' of Gurkhas denied right to live in UK
Campaigners condemned new rules giving more Gurkhas the right to live in Britain as a "disgrace" yesterday. Immigration minister Phil Woolas said the changes would allow around 4,300 more former Gurkhas to settle here out of the 36,000 who served in the British Army before July 1997. Supporters of the Gurkhas said the criteria were "unattainable". Actress Joanna Lumley said she felt ashamed of the government. Scotsman

Field hits out over immigration levels
The United Kingdom will have to build one house every six minutes, day and night, seven days a week for the next 20 years to meet the current scale of immigration, Labour MP and former minister Frank Field warned yesterday. He said immigration would account for 70% of population growth in the next 20 years – that is seven million, or seven times the population of Birmingham. In 2007, immigrants were arriving at the rate of almost one every minute. Scotland on Sunday

Why low migration levels threaten the UK's economic and social health
The falling fertility rate and an ageing population mean too little immigration may turn out to be a bigger problem for the UK than too much migration, says Danny Dorling. Guardian

Action call on migrant offenders
A strategy is needed to deal with the problem of violent offenders coming to Scotland from abroad, according to the Scottish Conservatives. Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken raised the issue after Slovakian Marek Harcar was convicted of murdering businesswoman Moira Jones in Glasgow. BBC

Homeless migrants prompt call
A Highland businessman who heads up two anti-crime groups said yesterday he was “shocked and disgusted” that three homeless people died in Inverness last year. The deaths were mentioned during a conference in the city which focused on homelessness and the increasing element of migrants sleeping rough in the north. Highland Council confirmed there were three city deaths involving homeless people last year. All three deaths were related to alcohol or drug addiction. Jim Ferguson, chairman of Crimestoppers Highland and the Inverness Crime Prevention Panel, urged the Scottish and Westminster governments to have “a balanced, open and constructive debate” on migration. Press and Journal


5. Publications and Resources:

Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2004/05 to 2007/08
Scottish Government

Human Trafficking in Scotland
A Scottish Government publication

Sanctuary- Mosaics of Meaning: Exploring Asylum Seekers and Refugees Views on the Stigma Associated with Mental Health Problems
Scottish Refugee Council Conference Report

Gypsies/Travellers in Scotland: The Twice Yearly Count - No. 14: July 2008
Scottish Government Publication


Consultations:


Consultation: Scottish Gypsy Traveller (Discrimination) Bill
Scottish Gypsy Traveller (Discrimination) Bill


Funding opportunity
Scottish Government Drug Policy Unit Equalities Fund 2009/10-Black & Minority Ethnic Communities announces opening for applications for funding from organisations working with Minority Ethnic groups, in conjunction with their “Road to Recovery” Drugs Strategy. Application forms and more information can be obtained from: Ria Din, Drug Policy Unit, 1WS St Andrews House, Regent Rd, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG, Tel. 0131-244 1776/5051, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Editor
Nelu Balaj