Media volunteer Jack Tannock and Community Learning and Development student Barbara Flynn reflect on refugees’ contribution to the Scottish independence debate.
For many of us in Scotland the independence referendum will be the biggest political decision of our lifetimes. One way or another, the referendum is at heart a debate about the future of Scotland, and everyone in Scotland, including new Scots like refugees and people seeking asylum, has a right to contribute their thoughts to this discussion.
In the run up to the poll on September 18, Scottish Refugee Council has been working with refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow to make sure people have all the information they need to participate in the debate. Over the last six months, our Community Learning and Development student Barbara Flynn has coordinated a series of events called Active Citizenship: Engaging Refugees in the Referendum. The idea behind these events was to encourage people who have come here from diverse backgrounds to get involved with democracy and politics in Scotland. We held four events from May to August 2014 with the referendum as the starting point for discussion at each event.
Democratic process
The first event was themed around Scotland and the UK’s political and electoral systems and was held in collaboration with Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights. It was a chance to explore what different branches of government, eg local government, the Scottish Parliament and Westminster, actually do. This was an important discussion as many participants did not come from functioning democracies and had limited experience of the way the UK political system works. Other participants were very knowledgeable and generated an active and lively debate. This was the ultimate goal of the event and it was inspiring to see that so many people wished to become engaged in the political process.
The second event, called ‘Your Human Rights’, was a chance to explore the law-making process in the UK and examine the constitutions of other nations. The main focus was on how constitutions claim to protect the human rights of citizens and how this happens (or doesn’t happen) in practice. It was a great and often humbling part of the experience to hear the thoughts of participants on this issue.
New voices and new dialogues
The third event was exclusively for women and was held in partnership with the Refugee Women’s Strategy Group. It focused on women’s participation in politics and ensuring women’s voices are heard. This is of course so important as in many countries women are denied engagement in the political process.
The fourth and final event was a pre-referendum hustings debate with MSPs Christina McKelvie speaking for the YES campiagn and Ken Macintosh for the NO camp. Again there was plenty of lively debate and both MSPs were encouraged to listen to the discussions people were having rather than just providing answers, giving everyone the chance to really explore the issues in depth.
All of these events were well attended with a good mix of men and women from different backgrounds and nationalities. The events were a chance to encourage political engagement and ongoing participation but also to help prepare the refugee community for whatever outcome the referendum produces. The participants were thoughtful and insightful about the issues and often impassioned about different aspects of the debate. They showed that they were eager to learn more from both sides and get to involved and make their voices heard.
For Barbara herself these events were a valuable experience as part of her Community Learning and Development student placement as dialogue and open discussion are highly valued in this field. Events such as these can aid the development of critical thinking, self-awareness and can empower greater collective action and self-belief.
Find out more about refugee participation in the Scottish referendum.
