Keep racism out of the Scottish Borders, says Council

Friday, August 12 2005

Scottish Borders Council has joined with local public sector organisations to condemn the attitudes that lead to racist and religious hate attacks.

At a media briefing held at SBC headquarters this week, Deputy Leader Michael Cook said, "There is never an excuse for racism. As a Council we utterly abhor the singling out of any individual because of his creed or the colour of his skin. One racist attack is one too many."

Flanked by senior SBC officers and leading representatives from the Police, NHS Borders and the Community Safety Forum's Racial Equality Group, Councillor Cook added, "It's a measure of the seriousness with which we view racism that we have been prepared to come together publicly to take a joint stand on it."

The message follows concern at a marked rise in racist and religious hate attacks elsewhere in the UK since the London bombings of 7 July (reported to be up six-fold in the London area and 22% in Scotland).

Although ethnic minorities make up a relatively small percentage of the Scottish Borders' population, SBC believes that this may make them conspicuous and vulnerable to racial attack. Councillor Cook pointed out, "Whether there is one incident or 10 incidents, it's a completely unacceptable experience for the individual concerned."

SBC Director of Social Work, Andrew Lowe, said that the Council is currently working with the Police on a system of remote reporting, whereby the public will be able to report racial attacks and other hate crimes at places other than police stations, including Council contact centres. The system is likely to include new report forms and training for Council staff to ensure that complaints are well handled.

Speakers at yesterday's media briefing emphasised, however, that Borderers are generally welcoming towards people from ethnic minorities. "The Borders is one of the most tolerant and inclusive societies, and that the vast majority of the community stand in opposition to any kind of hate crime," Andrew Lowe told the briefing. "But we are becoming a more diverse society and we need to be conscious of that and have a clear stance on how people should be included."

SBC Chief Executive, David Hume, said, "In the Borders we must embrace and support the increasing diversity of our population. Diverse communities are strong communities. Diverse workforces are strong workforces. As the population of the Borders grows, we must ensure that the new Borderers who come to live and work here feel welcome, safe, and secure."

Praising the Borders as "a very tolerant, inclusive community", Inspector Kenny Simpson, Lothian & Borders Police liaison officer with the Community Safety Forum, added his support to the other speakers: "Although we do not experience many racist incidents within the Division, there is no room for complacency. All reports are treated seriously and investigated thoroughly," he said.
George Higgs, Chair of the Community Safety Forum's Racial Equality Group, outlined some of the initiatives run by the group to promote community integration and understanding. "Our mission statement is 'One Borders, Many cultures'," he explained. "We run events such as theme evenings. One hundred and thirty-five people attended our recent Chinese Evening at Langlee, Galashiels. We also produce the booklet, 'Migrant Workers - a guide to living and working in the Borders' and are in the process of providing 'Welcome to the Scottish Borders' packs."

Chief Executive of NHS Borders, John Glennie, concluded the briefing by pointing out that the health service is concerned with race relations both as a health care provider and as "a significant employer of people from different racial groups".

Mr Glennie adds, "NHS Borders actively seeks skilled staff to provide health care to the wide range of ethnic backgrounds in the Borders. We need this diversity reflected in the staff we employ to enable us to provide appropriate health and spiritual care tailored to our patients' needs. Our staff do say that they actually feel very welcome here and this is important for us to be able to sustain our services."
For more information, please contact Lesley Crozier, Policy Analyst, SBC Business Improvement Unit. Tel: 01835 824000 ext 5369.

Reference: News-7048, Contact the Author