Paisley’s refugee community was celebrated recently with a series of events as part of a national festival.
Groups and individuals attended various get togethers across the town to express their solidarity with new arrivals to the area.
Several events were held in Paisley as well as others across the country as part of the week-long Refugee Festival. Scotland.
One of the festival’s events was held at the Mossvale Community Church hosted by Sewing2Gether All Nations, where an exhibition created by Iranian refugee Razieh Sarafraz called Paisley Conversations was showcased over three days.
Razieh’s work incorporated videoed interviews with Paisley residents – born-and-bred Buddies and others who have settled in the area – speaking about how multiculturalism has enriched the area and about their experiences more generally.
One of those interviewed was Alok Singh, owner of Indian By Nature restaurant on Moss Street.
Alok moved to Scotland from India 22 years ago.
Speaking in one of the videos, he said: “This is where I love to be. People in Paisley are very friendly… If you ask people ‘where is this place’ they’ll come out and show you. When I was new here, people were saying ‘Paisley is this or that’ but to be honest, I love it. It has such a good atmosphere and people are very enthusiastic. If you ask about anything, whether they know it or not, they will try to help.”
Greeting attendees at the exhibition was a tapestry covered in beautiful designs created by Razieh. It featured a tree with 1,700 petals and 550 leaves handcrafted by Razieh.
The tree is supposed to represent the Paisley community and those interviewed , with Razieh saying: “The symbol of the tree, it means that the lady or the man are part of the same thing, they’re all of them connected. Some of them have lived here for years and years, some of them are asylum seekers, some refugees. Different people that are connected to Paisley for many reasons. I’m a refugee as well. I think that Paisley is a good place for refugees, because the people that are living here are very friendly with refugees and asylum seekers.”
Kairos Women+, a community-led women’s space for all women and non-binary people, held a community meal at their Abbey Mill base as part of the festival.
Coinciding with World Refugee Day the event saw around 20 people attending from many nationalities and cultures.
The group spent the afternoon preparing four dishes from around the world: Ugali, a corn meal made from maize or cornmeal eaten in several African countries; Sukuma Wiki, an East African dish made with collard greens, onions and spices; Plantain, part of the banana family and eaten fried in many countries including across West Africa; and finally Spicy Tomato Chutney, an Indian recipe.
Annie Tothill, project manager, said: “Everyone commented that the food was delicious. One person fed back that ‘it felt like a shared family’ which shows how the Refugee Festival’s invitation to ‘share a dish’ can bring people together across differences.”
Other events in Paisley for the festival included a croquet tournament and a free community barbecue.
Meanwhile, the UK Government’s “inhumane” policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was ruled unlawful.
The Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling that said in December the east African nation could be considered a “safe third country”.
Announcing the decision on Thursday morning, Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett said the Court had come to the conclusion that due to “deficiencies” in the Rwandan asylum system there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk that persons sent to Rwanda will be returned to their home countries, where they were fleeing from.
Organisers of the Scottish Refugee Festival, the Scottish Refugee Council welcomed the decision.
Sabir Zazai, CEO of Scottish Refugee Council, said: “Suella Braverman’s plan to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda is unlawful, inhumane, and costly.
“Instead of focusing on cruel and unworkable legislation such as the Rwanda plan and the Illegal Migration Bill, we would urge the UK government to instead focus on investing in a fair and efficient asylum system.”
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