Yesterday was one of those days when I couldn’t resist the temptation of bragging about being a citizen of Scotland to my friends back in France.
Even though there are elements in Scottish politics and current affairs that are truly depressing, such as the drug death crisis, the frankly off-putting discussion about trans rights, the way sexual assault and rape victims are treated and talked about, I will add yesterday’s events at Kenmure Street, and MSPs taking an oath in Québecois, German, Zimbabwean, Scots and many other languages, to the long list of reasons why I am so proud to call Scotland home.
READ MORE: Language record broken at MSP swearing-in ceremony as Scottish Parliament opens
Especially compared to France, where government ministers, high-profile ruling party MPs and some politicians on the left revel with islamophobia and xenophobia, and the difference between the so-called centre-right and Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (National Rally) is getting harder to discern by the day.
At a time when many of us feel powerless in the face of injustices and tragedies, the solidarity shown by the people of Glasgow yesterday, and the way it resonated on social media, filled my heart with joy, optimism and pride.
Seeing ordinary people turning up and say they will not, as a community, suffer this demonstration of force from the Home Office, especially on Eid which is meant to be a day of celebration for the Muslim community, is such a powerful image, and a reminder that we can all be engaged, play our part, and show up to defend our neighbours’ interests, because they are our interests too.
There’s a political power in being a good neighbour, as Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, California, explains in this brilliant Ted Talk. “As I prepared to govern”, the city’s youngest mayor ever said, “I realized that given the diversity of Stockton, the first step to making change will be to again answer the same question: Who is our neighbour? And realizing that our destiny as a city was tied up in everyone. Particularly those who are left on the side of the road.”
READ MORE: How extraordinary community action led to Kenmure Street victory over cruelty
Meanwhile, in my home country, the contrast in the public discourse around diversity and who belongs to the national community couldn’t be starker.
The latest gut-wrenching example came from President Emmanuel Macron’s party executive officer and MP Stanislas Guerini, who reacted to a campaign photo for the upcoming local elections, on which a candidate of his party was wearing a hijab. After being called out by a Rassemblement National MEP, the La République En Marche (LREM) MP answered that his party’s values “are not compatible with the conspicuous wearing of religious symbols on an electoral campaign document. Either these candidates change their photo, or LREM will withdraw their support.”
What is frustrating with these people is that they are hiding behind “la laïcité” to mask their overt racism and islamophobia.
France’s landmark law voted in 1905 creates a strict separation of the State and religions, with the neutrality of State guaranteeing every citizen’s freedom of belief and cult as long as it doesn’t contravene to the public order. Nowhere does this law say that the main goal is to erase religions from the public domain, thus excluding many French citizens from politics and everyday life. Whether you personally agree with a faith and religious practice is a matter of freedom of conscience and expression: it doesn’t allow you to control people’s lives and right to exist as citizens.
READ MORE: Glasgow triumphant as Home Office forced to back down on dawn raid detentions
Far from making sure the far-right will not win next year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, this kind of stance has transformed Le Pen and her acolytes’ views into the centre-ground of the debate. And the terrifying thing is that there aren’t that many voices to oppose them. The Socialist Party, for example, is shockingly shy on this subject, whereas they should understand that it is fallacious to pretend to fight exclusion with more exclusion.
Yesterday’s events have confirmed why I decided to come here and cover this country for audiences back home: We have a lot to learn from you. People of Glasgow and Scotland in general, please keep standing up for basic decency and human rights: believe me, the world is watching.
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