Dungavel detention centre is an affront to humanity. Any lingering doubts will surely have been dispelled by the plight of the mother ''fined'' for feeding her baby.
The Dungavel authorities also claim that Fatima Jailana Muse has a ''bad attitude towards staff''. Now this is just a stab in the dark, but could that have something to do with the fact that she faces deportation to Somalia, where she was raped, while her husband - and presumably the father of her children - has been granted leave to remain in the UK? Why on earth is this not considered a breach of the right to a family life guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights?
But, then, much about UK asylum and immigration policies is beyond me. As a Glasgow MSP, I get pleas for help almost every other week from desperate people battling deportation to countries where they would be subjected to the most appalling human rights abuses and, in some cases, death. No doubt there'll be some politicians ready to complain that I'm interfering in reserved matters. To save them the bother, I plead guilty. Trying to explain the difference between reserved and devolved matters to someone at the end of their tether just never seems appropriate. The result is that I have come to know too well the callousness, indifference, and racism that too often underpin Home Office decisions. I have come to believe it is time for all politicians - regardless of party or parliament - to speak out.
As a Nationalist, I believe that asylum and immigration policy should be the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. I know that others take a different view and they are entitled to do so. But, surely, at the very least, we can all agree that the Scottish Parliament and its executive must speak out when human rights are abused; and that our responsibility for the care and education of children in Scotland demands that we don't simply turn a blind eye to the plight of innocent children incarcerated in Dungavel.
Nicola Sturgeon, MSP,
The Scottish Parliament.
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