part of the international day of action against detention, they went from the Home Office Reporting Centre in Ibrox to a rally in the Carnival Arts Centre in town.This was the first big demo by Unity: the Scottish Asylum Seekers Union. Over the last few months there have been mass meetings of asylum seekers in several different parts of Glasgow and local committees have been elected to campaign for better treatment. At the Unity rally after the march
asylum seekers queued up to join the union and were encouraged by the speakers - including speakers from Unity, Jock Morris Chair of Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, Mohammed Asif, Tommy Sheridan MSP - to organise meetings where they lived to form more local committees.Though it was a long way, the rain stayed off and the march appeared to gather momentum and energy as it went along. An international crowd with large numbers of women and children chanting, "We belong to Glasgow", "No Dawn Raids" and "No Borders, no nations, stop deportations". I thought I knew the word "ullulation" before but before passing into Tradeston under the M8, I didn't really. Paisley Road hasn't seen anything like it, judging from the surprise on the face of the smokers outside the pubs.
Once in town, the march paused outside Trades Hall, waiting to enter. Despite the management going back on their late decision to exclude the "rabble," there was no-one there to open the doors on arrival. The police's decision to force a premature start from Brand Street thus backfired on them as people spent 20 minutes on 
the busy street getting their message across before deciding to go to the Carnival Arts Centre (many thanks to the folks at Carnival Arts for helping with this last minute booking).
Inside the packed venue there was juice for the kids and speeches from the diverse strands of the march organisation. Representatives of asylum seeker committees in the Red Road, Pollokshaws and elsewhere spoke passionately of the need to stand together so that their voices could be heard. "We don't want income support, we want to work." They thanked the solidarity shown to them by Glasgow people and some even sang the praises of its weather (as diverse as its citizens).
Glasgow has seen marches with more people but this was something more than that. Rather than just walking, this was people finding their voices and the confidence to speak out against the injustice and indignity our immigration system heaps upon them. In Glasgow they are rejecting the isolation and fear imposed by the Home Office and starting to Unite.
many thanks once again to Gareth Harper for photos - www.photoecosse.net
