Lately, conversations amongst members of the Diaspora Group for Global Citizenship have taken on a new urgency. Members across Scotland, from Aberdeen and Dundee to Glasgow, Inverness and beyond, have been sharing terrible experiences: racism, harassment, and feeling unsafe or unwelcome in places that should feel like home.
It’s become clear that these aren’t one-off incidents. Something is changing in how people talk about migration, race, and belonging. The tone in politics and the media feels sharper, more hostile. Misinformation online is spreading fear and harmful ideas and we’re seeing the effects of that in our everyday lives.
Even children are feeling it. One member shared about a park in northern Scotland where two children were playing when a third told one of them, a black girl, to “go back to your country.” These children had been friends since nursery, born at the same hospital. The little girl was left confused – what “home” was she being told to go back to? Even at this young age, we see how prejudice and false stories are shaping how children see each other.
In another recent incident, two black female healthcare workers were attacked while supporting a vulnerable client in broad daylight. People walked by without helping. Only after the attacker ran off did two cyclists stop, but instead of offering support, they told the women to run. It was a painful reminder of how unsafe and unseen people can feel, even while doing work that helps others.
These moments are not separate from our global work, they are part of it. Together with SIDA and all of its members, we are deeply committed to global justice and solidarity. We believe that the struggles for equality, dignity, and safety are connected, here in Scotland and around the world. What happens locally is part of the same story as what happens globally.
That’s why standing up to racism, fear, and division here is just as much a part of global justice as tackling poverty or inequality abroad. The same values guide it all – fairness, compassion, and solidarity. One can’t exist without the other.
But this work can’t fall only on diaspora communities. Many of your colleagues, neighbours, and friends are living this reality – walking to work while feeling less safe, or supporting loved ones who’ve been directly affected. Check in with them. Listen. Ask how they’re doing.
And beyond that, keep finding ways to make sure diaspora voices are included in leadership, in your teams, and in decisions that shape your work. This isn’t a side issue, it’s part of building the fairer, kinder, and more connected world we all want to see.
The statement below puts into words what many of us have been feeling for a while: that we need to speak up, together and clearly. It also recognises the strength, leadership, and contribution of diaspora communities across Scotland. We are not outsiders; we are part of Scotland’s story and part of the world’s shared future.
The statement also lays out some practical ways that you can stand in solidarity with our communities, whatever your role is.
What we need now is real solidarity – not just sympathy, not just statements, but action. A shared movement that stands together across communities and across borders.
Please take a moment to read the statement below, share it with your networks, and if you’d like to know more, contact us at hannah@intdevalliance.scot