About ninety people travelled by train from Glasgow and held an impromptu procession from the station led by the Unity banner. Protesters met up with supporters and friends from Edinburgh. Others came by coach organised by a local church in the East End of Glasgow.
Chanting “Stop Dawn Raids!”, “No More Deportations!” and “We belong to Scotland!” the group spent three hours outside the Parliament taking turns to speak and lead the chanting. Speakers called for the right to be treated with dignity and respect and for asylum seekers to be given the right to work so they were no longer dependent on benefits.
Several speakers also mentioned the recent campaign against removals to the YMCA but called for continued vigilance against possible future attempts to move families and for the importance of solidarity and unity by asylum seekers.Several MSPs, Rosie Kane, Sandra White, Colin Fox, Tommy Sheridan and Mark Ballard, joined the protesters for a shortwhile. Asylum seekers had been due to have a meeting inside the Parliament with MSPs but due to the size of the crowd the room booked was not big enough and it was decided to continue the meeting outside.
During a picnic lunch whilst children played on the grass outside the Parliament many asylum seekers however took the opportunity to be shown round the Parliament by SSP MSP Rosie Kane.For many asylum seekers present it was the first time they had been at the Parliament (or in Edinburgh) and although we may not have made the impact we would have wished, many felt the day had been great fun and very successful!
One asylum seeker commented that the day was the first time that he had felt that he really had a right to live in Scotland.
