The scapegoating of asylum seekers has had the impact of increasing racism and it isn t only the Tories who are guilty of playing the race card. Anti-racist education is obviously a key to fighting racism. But under the system we live in, racism will always be used, so the best cure for racism will be a socialist society. Asylum seekers in Glasgow come mainly from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Africa. Glasgow City Council has a contract with the government for 2,500 housing units a year, about 6,000 people.
Refugees don t get a choice about coming to Glasgow - they are just sent.
They have to wait up to six months for English classes, which are generally two hours a day, five days a week. There is no cr che provision, so women with small children can t attend and there s no help with travel costs. I met one woman in Glasgow who was walking 42 miles a week to attend English classes. There are more support systems for asylum seekers down south. The problem in Scotland is that there are not large ethnic minority communities to provide emotional and practical support for newly arrived people.