READING the White Paper last week, Pinar Aksu, a 26-year-old community worker at Maryhill Integration Network in Glasgow, felt afraid for the future.
A former refugee from Turkey who came to Scotland with her family to seek asylum more than 15 years ago, she has seen the harsh end of the immigration system first-hand.
As a child she was detained first in the Dungavel detention centre in South Lanarkshire and then in Yarl’s Wood removal centre in Bedfordshire for more than two months.
Child detention has since ended but overall Aksu does not believe the system has improved. Now she fears it’s about to get intolerable.
“This is going to make life impossibly hard for people in the asylum system,” she says. “It’s going to make it easier to detain and deport people that the [Home Office] do not accept. I know people being put into detention and their mental health really suffers.”
She says the language of the paper is “divisive and racist” and what’s left out in regard to asylum speaks volumes. “There is no mention of war, there is no mention that the UK is also bombing countries and selling weapons.”
And the paper is not only going to make lives difficult for asylum seekers but for thousands of migrants and their families, adds Aksu, who has also previously worked for campaigning group Migrant Voice. The idea that £30k is a suitable threshold strikes her as unworkable.
“There are people who are teachers or nurses who don’t earn that. So many people here in Scotland don’t earn that. How do they expect new arrivals to get jobs at that rate?
It feels like something from the Hunger Games. “This is going to have a huge impact on people’s lives. But this is not about lives – this is about numbers.”
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