EveningTimes
by Caroline Wilson
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
She is one of three Scots who have been invited into the homes of refugees and asylum seekers living in the city to mark the launch of Scottish Refugee Week.
Each will visit a refugee in their home to share their experiences of building a life in Scotland.
Each visitor was also asked to bring an object which evokes the feelings of home and belonging.
Paisley writer and artist John Byrne and former Delgados frontwoman Emma Pollock are also supporting the campaign, which aims to highlight the contribution by refugees and asylum seekers to Scottish society.
The Education Secretary will chat to Fuad Warsame, who arrived in Scotland from Somalia as an unaccompanied minor and recently won the Trades House of Glasgow Modern Apprentice of the Year award.
The week-long campaign, running from June 15 to 21, has a home theme to celebrate Homecoming Scotland, marking the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birth.
John Wilkes, chief executive of Scottish Refugee Council, said: "We want to remind Scots of the journeys refugees have taken to get here; fleeing their previous homes in fear of persecution and danger, and trying to build a new life and safe home here in Scotland.
"We know that those seeking sanctuary in our country have a lot to contend with.
"However, we hear time and time again from refugees we work with that the people of Scotland have provided welcome, assistance and friendship at a highly traumatic time of their lives.
"We're restating the importance of a place you can call home."
Other events will include an exhibition by photographer Angela Catlin and writer Billy Briggs.
There are around 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland, with most new refugees who come here fleeing from Iraq, Iran and Eritrea, in Africa.