Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2025
As an immigrant into Scotland, I am proud to make the opening speech on behalf of the Scottish Greens in the debate, and to speak to our amendment.
Much will rightly be said this afternoon about how migrants benefit Scotland’s economy, especially in agriculture; in tourism and hospitality; in our health and social care; in our education, from rural primary schools to university research departments; in our communities; and in our creative lives. The inventive, imaginative, passionate and compassionate Scotland that we know and love relies on people who were born here and on people who have come from across the world, having recognised something special about this place, or having come to love it and having made it their home.
As well as Scotland’s needs and benefits, we should consider our responsibilities and how we should act as compassionate human beings. We must ask ourselves what we can and should do to open our borders to those who need a place to call home, whether that is on a temporary basis or a permanent basis.
I came here as a student and from a position of relative privilege. I was fortunate enough to have some choice of where to pursue my studies and had support from my family to do so. Also, of course, my skin colour and mother tongue meant that I was not obviously an incomer. I will always recognise those facts and remember the warm welcome that I received.
People are increasingly on the move across the world not out of choice, but because they have to move. They are forced from their homes by conflict, scarcity, loss and disaster. They come not for adventure and exploration, but for survival, and not so much in search of a better life as in perhaps diminishing hope of a life that is liveable at all.
We, and the Governments that represent us, have three layers of responsibility for migration. The first is that we abide by international law—in particular, our solemn commitment under the Geneva convention to grant asylum to those who are fleeing persecution. That would scarcely have needed a mention a few years ago. I hope with all my heart that we can return to that consensus, that we can undo the terrible damage that has been caused by the previous Westminster Government’s legislation and that we can dismantle the lies of the far right. I hope that we can replace with the dialogue of solidarity the rhetoric of hate that has, thanks to Conservative, Reform and even some Labour politicians, become mainstream.
Our second responsibility is that we acknowledge the particular role of the United Kingdom in creating many of the conditions from which people now flee. That role is historical, but it is also contemporary, and Scotland cannot evade its share of collective shame. I again implore both Governments to recognise what has been done in Palestine and beyond, and to recognise that there are no pathways to safety for the children of Gaza.
Children are also dying from climate injustice and its brutal blows on homes, crops, water sources, lives and livelihoods. We remembered that in Glasgow three years ago, but nothing has grown better since then. More and more people are being displaced by the climate crisis, and the fault is not their own. There is an opportunity now for the Scottish and UK Governments to work, together and with others, to build robust and fair responses, not only through mitigation and adaptation measures, but in compassionate and welcoming approaches.
Finally, our Governments must show decency, humanity and justice to all who come here from elsewhere. Human rights are for all humans—not only for those with citizenship or with deep pockets. The cruel and vindictive condition of having no recourse to public funds has been a disastrous experiment.