Meeting of the Parliament 08 September 2016
The current refugee crisis in Europe is the result of one of the most significant movements of people that we have seen in recent decades. Such movement, sadly, is not uncommon. According to the Scottish Refugee Council, more than 65 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced from their homes, and 21 million refugees are seeking sanctuary outside their home countries, as a consequence of conflict, political upheaval and, increasingly, climate change.
The vast majority of refugees are in the countries that are closest to their country of origin. Those are usually the poorest countries and the least able to cope with the crisis. A total of 4.5 million people have fled the conflict in Syria, and the vast majority of those people are now living in neighbouring countries. Only a fraction have come to Europe, and of those only a small fraction have come to our shores.
The big picture can tell us a story, but at its heart a refugee crisis is the accumulation of countless human stories of individual struggles, too many failures and some successes. I want to illustrate the human aspect by telling the stories of three refugees from different parts of the world with whom I have come into contact.
The first of the three has been a friend of mine for around 20 years. He is a successful businessman who has created countless jobs for others over the years, but when he arrived in this country as a small boy in 1972, my friend was a statistic: one of tens of thousands of Asians who were expelled from east Africa for racially motivated political reasons. His contribution to our society has been immense. East Africa’s loss has been our gain, by any measure.
The second human story has a far-from-happy conclusion. In 1995, I travelled to Bosnia as part of an aid convey. One of the Bosnians whom I met on the trip had a simple request. They wanted me to bring back some family photographs to deliver, along with best wishes, to a family member who resided on the outskirts of Edinburgh. On my return some weeks later, I found the address and attempted to deliver the photos. When I arrived at the door I was met by a friend of the woman. I explained my reason for the visit, only to be informed that the woman had ended her own life some days earlier—the culmination, no doubt, of the stress of being uprooted from her home country and separated from family who were still in the war zone, and the perceived hopelessness of her situation. The case is a reminder that effective support for recent refugees is often more than simple material support.
The final case that I want to convey is much more recent. Last year, I was contacted by a couple I know who, like so many others in recent months, spurred by the images on their television night after night, decided to do something and volunteered to help with a refugee charity. They had befriended a recent arrival from Eritrea—a young man who was going through the process of seeking to remain in the UK. To progress his claim, the young man required his documents, which had been separated from him during his arduous journey. The documents were with a friend of his who had ended up in Norway.
I met the young man to find out what help he required and I arranged to have his documents couriered from Norway. That is a simple process for anyone with an understanding of how to arrange such a transfer and the means to pay for it, but it is an insurmountable obstacle for a recently arrived refugee. The documents arrived and I handed them over to the young man, who subsequently secured the right to stay in this country. The young man is a maths graduate and is keen to learn and contribute. I have no doubt that, in future years, he will make a significant contribution to this country, perhaps through teaching and helping us to deliver the science, technology, engineering and mathematics students we need for future economic growth, or in other significant ways.
As we focus on doing what we can to help the individuals who are caught up in a refugee crisis, we should not forget the value that they add to our society and economy. They enrich our experience, broaden our world view and help to drive forward our society and economy.
Turning to the most recent crisis, we should celebrate the arrival of 1,000 refugees in Scotland and the way in which all those who are involved in the process have worked to ensure their settlement, including the Scottish Government, local authorities, third sector organisations and individual Scots who, through small acts of support, have made the transition easier. However, we should not forget that that represents the tip of an iceberg. We should continue to work for the resettlement of those who are still suffering the hell of being uprooted from their homes, with all the uncertainty and risk that that entails.
The number of deaths in transit has increased in the past year, with the figure already almost at 6,000. Atrocious conditions prevail in the refugee camps in Calais, particularly for those unaccompanied children who are desperate to be united with family members in the UK. We should not forget the impact of trigger-happy foreign policy on the crisis. People bandy about phrases such as “regime change” without thinking through, or wanting to face up to, the consequences for the individuals who are forced to become refugees as a result of the ensuing conflicts.
Scotland has more than played its part in the resettlement of refugees coming to the UK, but there is much more to be done. We look forward to Scotland continuing to take the lead in the UK on providing secure and safe places for those fleeing persecution and conflict.
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