THERE’S a community feel to Battlefield in the southside of Glasgow, says Susana Garcia.
From her tenement flat, it’s just a stroll to her five-year-old daughter’s primary school, to the local library, her allotment or Finn’s place – a wellbeing centre attached to the local church where she meets friends and neighbours.
Originally from Mexico, she came to live here with her Scottish husband via Spain in 2014. As she arrived from the EU she applied for settled status last year and now works freelance as a psychotherapist. Scotland is now her home.
But in this vital election – where issues around immigration, Brexit and Scottish independence all feel critical – her voice will not be heard.
“I see messaging around immigration that is so dangerous for people,” she says. “And in this election it feels clear that our opinions don’t matter in the UK. I feel like a second-class citizen.”
In Edinburgh, Noelia Martinez also feels powerless. She came to Scotland from Spain in February 2006, hoping to improve her English and return to her home country with better career prospects as a journalist. But she met her partner and is now the project co-ordinator of EU Citizens’ Rights Project Scotland.
For the first three years she voted in Spain but since 2009 has voted in Scotland. She always feels frustrated during General Elections but “especially in this particular one because since the referendum politics has mainly focused on demonising and blaming migrants for all the ills in the UK,” she says.
“To me, this election is about whether you support xenophobia and racism or not. There was nothing constructive about the referendum’s campaign and it shocks me how many politicians got away with lies.”
Speak to other EU migrants and it’s not just immigration that emerges as a key issue. Clemence Cocquet is a French citizen living between Glasgow with her two children, and the Isle of Mull on a croft with her Scottish partner. She worries deeply about the impact of our next UK Government in regard to progress on climate change and social justice.
She moved to Scotland in 2004 to complete her degree and stayed, working for the NHS in elderly medicine and spinal injuries before setting up Scapa Fest – an annual “leave no trace” sustainable festival, held in Argyll each May since 2016.
“I am an avid news reader and follow the election campaigns very closely,” she says. “Scotland is my home and I have always felt extremely welcome here. But it feels unfair and unjustified to be cast aside and made voiceless because of where I was born.”
Her concerns are echoed by Svenja Meyerrick who moved to Glasgow from Berlin in 2003, and now works in the third sector and has a baby daughter.
“Climate breakdown is the most urgent issue that we can only address by fundamentally restructuring the ways we live at all levels, government and industries included,” she says. “But the issue of equity is also really crucial here, and Tory austerity policies have done immeasurable damage to the most vulnerable communities, especially over the past decade. I’ve been working in environmental projects in post-industrial communities in Glasgow where this impact has been worst felt. The differences in life expectancies are staggering – far too many people I’ve known have died way too young.
“If the current government gets re-elected and sees Brexit through, social and environmental issues are going to be actively undermined.”
She’s opposed to Brexit and hopes that Scotland will eventually achieve independence and rejoin the EU. “For now though, I am really scared to end up for five more years with a government that cannot be trusted,” she says.
According to Nazek Ramadan, director of Migrant Voice, their sense of powerlessness is typical. She says: “Whatever government is formed after December 12 – and whether Brexit goes ahead or not – immigration policies in this country are going to change, possibly radically.
“It’s deeply unfair that many of those most impacted don’t have a say in what that government will look like. We’re encouraging our members who can’t vote to make their voices heard by emailing the candidates in their constituency about the issues affecting them, by going along to hustings and asking questions.
“Whoever wins in their constituency will represent them, just as much as anyone else, and it’s important to get involved however they can.”
READ MORE: We're the people who can't vote: Asylum seekers
READ MORE: We're the people who can't vote: Young people
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