THE Home Office has been keen to point out in recent days that the Radisson-owned Park Inn on Glasgow’s West George Street is a three-star hotel, but it’s clear from speaking to the asylum seekers who have been living there since the start of lockdown that they have not been receiving anything close to three-star service.
That’s not a criticism of the staff who worked in the hotel – two of whom are still in hospital – but rather a statement of fact.
When Badreddin Abdallah Adam went on his rampage last Friday, there were two residents who were completely oblivious to the brutal attack taking place, as they’d missed the brief window allocated for lunch and were forced to go out onto the streets to beg for cash to buy something to eat.
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According to others who lived in the hotel, the food, when you did get it, was not good, and the portions often small. One resident told The National she would often go hungry, fearful that if she took her share it would mean someone else would not get enough.
Before Mears took the decision to move all of Glasgow’s asylum seekers into hotels, most had been in their own apartments. They had their own kitchen and their own cookers, and, crucially, they had access to a meagre allowance of £5.39 a day. They could – to a point – eat what they wanted, when they wanted.
It was a challenge to us having the decent life just like other people
When they were moved into a hotel which provides food, they were no longer allowed access to cash. Unable by law to work, they were stuck in their hotel rooms, penniless.
Speaking at a press conference organised by the Positive Action in Housing Charity in Glasgow city centre yesterday, a man named Andrew said many of the hundreds staying at the Park Inn had complaints about the standard of accommodation.
He said: “The conditions, they are not too good for us at all. It affected the mental health of the majority of the people who have been staying there.
“Most times you see people, they are not liking the Park Inn move.
“Me myself, I happen to be a victim of the situation because it was terrible for us. Living in that condition and that situation. We don’t have the opportunity to have money to take care of ourselves.
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“Basically, the water we were drinking was from the tap water beside the toilet.
“The hotel rooms, especially my own room, was very sealed. You cannot have fresh air inside.
“It was a challenge to us having the decent life just like other people.”
Andrew said other asylum seekers who had know the attacker described him as “quiet, polite and a decent guy”.
“They were surprised he acted the way he acted,” he said.
“There must be something that has pushed him to behave in that ugly manner.”
There was gratitude from the asylum seekers towards Police Scotland and hero cop, David Whyte.
The 100 residents have sent a card to the PC to say thank you.
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