Hansard

Russia’s unprovoked and illegal war on Ukraine seemed to be unthinkable just over a year ago. Sabre rattling and rhetoric from Putin has been turned into a brutal and savage war being waged on the people of Ukraine. I suppose that hindsight is a wonderful thing. Given Russian actions in the Crimea and elsewhere in the world, perhaps we should never have been surprised. There was a naivety there, perhaps. Russia has had no thoughts for the human cost or for the pain, suffering, destruction and death that it has inflicted on the innocent people of Ukraine, or indeed for the families in Russia whose sons are coming back in body bags. It has no respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity or its sovereignty, and no consideration of the potential destabilising impact on the entire world.

I offer my solidarity to the people of Ukraine. Solidarity is just a word if there is no demonstration of that solidarity but, as we have heard from members across the chamber today, people have opened their homes to Ukrainian families and demonstrated that solidarity here in Scotland. Fundraising and humanitarian support, offered by ordinary Scots, as well as financial support from the Scottish Government and the practical efforts of all public bodies and agencies—such as councils, housing associations and the national health service—have demonstrated that solidarity.

Now that so many Ukrainians have made a home—at least for the time being and for as long as they wish—in Scotland, we must always make sure that solidarity remains not just a slogan but a tangible part of our deeds every day. I am confident that that will absolutely remain the case.

Let me provide some local examples. In his opening speech, the minister mentioned young people going to schools in Scotland and making a success of that, and I have many such examples in Glasgow and in my constituency. I have heard many positive stories about those young people being assets to the schools and communities in which they now live.

I was speaking to Mr Stone, the headteacher of St Roch’s secondary school in my constituency. Pupils, staff and the wider community of St Roch’s in the Garngad—an area that, in some ways, has been forged by immigrants and immigration—have done a wonderful job of making the young people from Ukraine warmly welcome. They are offering young people quality educational opportunities. There are around 20 Ukrainian students at that school.

Most of those students have accommodation in communities, but two senior school students currently reside on MS Ambition. They are embedded in that school community and have seized the opportunities that are open to them. In the months ahead, I understand that they will sit Scottish Qualifications Authority exams, but they face the disruption of being rehoused from MS Ambition just as they prepare for and sit those exams. It is wholly unclear where they will end up, although I am sure that much good work is taking place to do the best that we can for their families. I very much hope that the families secure suitable accommodation in Glasgow or nearby enough that both students can continue their studies at St Roch’s—with minimum disruption to their exams—and retain the friendships and relationships that they have forged. That will be challenging, but we must absolutely try. I have contacted the relevant authorities and corresponded with the minister about that. I hope that such cases will be looked at sympathetically, so that the two students can stay at St Roch’s and maintain the friendships that they have forged, and we can build that solidarity.

The other day, I met a gentleman whom I will not name. He stays on MS Ambition with his wife and child, and I met him by accident, when he was trying to contact a local housing association, which is coincidentally located beside my office. He had found a job at a local business and had been working there for some time and wished to ensure that he could retain that job when he was rehoused from MS Ambition. The gentleman was simply trying to secure a local tenancy, and I have no doubt that securing such a tenancy would be of as much benefit to the business that employs him as it would be to him and his family. I have written a letter to the relevant authorities to offer support for that gentleman and his family.

I mention those two very local examples this afternoon because solidarity is not just about the international context and the big, sweeping things that we can do as Parliaments and nations to show solidarity on the international stage. It is also about day-to-day solidarity for those who, because of adversity, have made Scotland their home. Whether those are the young people who have welcomed Ukrainian students into their community, the people who have fundraised or opened up their homes, the politicians across the parties in this Parliament, or the wider Scottish population, the people of Ukraine have our hearts and solidarity. Slava Ukraini!