Still Small Voices

News from Glasgow

Thanks to Talk Rhubarb for this news.

Sleep Out

Last night I slept in George Square in the heart of Glasgow city center. This was an event / protest as part of the Still Human Still Here campaign which seeks to raise awareness of the issues of destitution of refused asylum sekers, and ultimately bring change to legislation. The Glasgow event had been organized by Positive Action in Housing.

I arrived just after 9pm, just as the speeches were drawing to a close in the small marquee they had erected. There must have been about 100 people in the tent, a good mix of activists, asylum seekers and general punters. I knew no-one and being rather shy just hung around on the edge of things. Two other people who were there and did not know anyone else quickly spotted me as being in a similar situation to themselves and befriended me - Thank you. The rest of the evening was filled with chatting about each others involvement with the whole asylum issue, talking to asylum seekers who were there and activists who are working at the sharp end in lobbying MP's and MSP's and helping with legal cases.

Lynn popped along briefly to show support - she could not sleep out due to other commitments - but the support she has shown to families we know who have been taken into detention or who fear a dawn raid adequately demonstrates her commitment to these issues. Stuart arrived sleeping bag in hand about midnight. By this time I was helping someone who had an art class at Glasgow Women's Library prepare materials for this. The rest of the night was spent in conversation of trying to grab a little sleep, which due to the light pollution and noise of the square (the buildings seemed to bounce back all the noise to the area which we were occupying).

At 4:35am, which I think was officially sunrise, a few words of thanks were said by the organizers and we all went our separate ways.

So what does an event / protest like this accomplish? I think it works on many levels. For those who are daily helping, supporting, speaking, advocating for asylum seekers then the presence at the sleep out of people like me who are less involved with these issues is an encouragement - there are other people who care, who think what you are doing is valuable and great. For the asylum seekers and for those who have been made destitute then our sleeping out is a small act of solidarity, an action that says 'you are not forgotten, that we don't all support the systems of our government ...we care about your plight ...we are sorry for how you have been and are being treated'.

Events / protests like this also raise awareness and dispel myths. Is it coincidence that the BBC web site today carries this story? I think not. It also challenges our own indifference to suffering and injustice - by participating in this the memory of the event, the inspiration by meeting so many other caring people speaks out to me when I am tempted to behave selfishly, or in an uncaring matter. It also brings the issue onto my friends agenda. When asked how my week has been, how can I not talk about sleeping in George Square as an act of solidarity with those who have been made destitute? If each person that was there tells seven friends what they did, and those friends then tell a further three then over 2,000 people will have been made aware of an issue that before they had not given much or any thought to.

Small things matter, especially when lots of others are doing small things. In the noise of our daily lives, in the competition for worthy news items a still small voice speaks, a still small voice is heard.

Categories

This is just a bit of blog house keeping so you can see some of the categories that we hope to have posts on. If you think that there are some glaring omissions in this list then leave a comment - hey we may not follow through on it, but we will give it some consideration.