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Daily Record

THE CHANGING FACE OF SCOTLAND … a look at the immigration situation in Scotland in 2007

CHARLES ILUNGA - CONGO

A CONGOLESE refugee who fled his country in fear of being burned alive says his new life in Scotland is “a dream”.

Charles Ilunga, 46, escaped the town of Moba in 1998 as a bloody war broke out and ministers were being targeted.

The Methodist minister and his pregnant wife Josee, 40, walked bush land for four months before joining 27,000 refugees at a camp in Zambia.

The family then spent years living in tents supplied by the United Nations before getting the chance to move to Scotland this year through an initiative run by the Home Office and the UN.

Yesterday, after spending nine happy months with his wife and five kids in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Charles said: “Life is very nice and very different from the way we were living.

“Sometimes we talk and think we have died - life here is just so good.”

During his time in Congo and Zambia, Charles survived by eating Shima - a thick maize meal and water porridge.

Folk in Congo lucky enough to have a job could only expect to earn about 18 US dollars for three months’ work.

Charles’s family have been granted Jobseekers’ Allowance until he starts work retraining as a minister here.

He said: “We have been given a threebedroom house in Motherwell in an area that is very quiet and very fine.

“We used to stay in a place with no electricity. There was no computer or mobile phone. The food here is very nice too.

“Four of our kids are old enough to go to school. We’ve been very much surprised to see how well they have coped with learning English. They have already got Scottish accents!”

Charles has never experienced any racism or intimidation because he is a refugee in Scotland.

He added: “People in Scotland are very friendly. No one has been nasty because of the country we come from.”

Charles, who has worked as a French and philosophy teacher, has now got a post with theMethodist Church.

He added: “They have accepted me as a Methodist minister and given me the gift to be trained for three and a half years. At the end, I will be given the chance to minister a church group.”

WOJKET TOMALA - POLAND

BATHROOM fitter Wojket Tomala started a new life in Scotland three years ago and now earns 10 times his previous wage.

The married dad-of-two tried living in Italy and Germany but is now settling with his family in Ayr.

Wojket, 37, said: “This is my home now. I love Scotland and want to stay.

“People are very important and in Scotland they are really friendly - that’s the main reason I like it so much.

“In the last few months, I’ve started my own business and it’s going well.

“I’m a qualified plumber and boiler fitter.In Poland I could expect to earn around £250 a month. In Scotland, I can make around £2500 a month, so it is a lot better.”

Wojket has set up home in Ayr with wife Beata, daughter Karolina, 16, and sonMatesz, 14. The kids are at Queen Margaret Academy.

He added: “I’ve never received a penny in benefits since arriving and I’m now earning agood wage, which is spent in Scotland.”

LALITHA RAJAN - INDIA

ARTISTIC Lalitha Rajan was first drawn to Scotland by the beautiful scenery and the Scottish accents.

The 39-year-old was born in southern India but came to Scotland after growing up in the USA.

She calls Scotland home after setting up a company in Glasgow, Ankur Arts, helping people from ethnic minorities get into the arts.

Lalitha said: “I came to Scotland about 10 years ago to do postgraduate study and set up the company four years ago.

Scotland always fascinated me because I had this image of the magnificent landscapes.

“And I thought it would be an interesting place for me.

“I set up the company because I was tired of not seeing many black and minority ethnic people in the arts.

“We encourage people to get involved in the arts, do something interesting and meet new people.

“It’s not just about working with different communities, but about integrating them so that they can work together.”

Ankur have enjoyed a number of successes including productions at The Arches in Glasgow and their music event, Scotland United.

Lalitha added: “I’m lucky as, during my time in Scotland, no one as ever stopped me doing what I wanted to do.

“But I’m aware others aren’t that fortunate, and that drives the work that we do.”

ARTAN SHERIFI - KOSOVO

DESIGNER Artan Sherifi arrived in Glasgow in 1999 after being forced from his home in war-torn Kosovo.

The 25-year-old, his mother, father and two brothers were on the first flight taking refugees from a camp inMacedonia to Prestwick.

Now, Artan runs his own design business.

He said: “We flew to Prestwick and were taken to Glasgow where we were housed in the Red Road flats.

“It’s an area of the city which has its own problems but we were given a very warmwelcome.”

Artan learned English at Hillhead High School, which offered bilingual support, before studying at Glasgow’s College of Building and Printing and Glasgow School of Art.

He then set up the Arka Design Studio with fellow student Karen Hamilton.

He added: “We’ve worked with lots of cafes and restaurants and recently we’ve had some bigger clients, such as Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

“Things have been going very well.”

KASIM FARID - PAKISTAN

KASIM FARID was only six when he first picked up a cricket bat. Now, he’s on the verge of a call-up to the Scotland senior side.

But Kasim, 21, from Newton Mearns, Glasgow, has already enjoyed plenty of success.

In 2005, he became the first Scottish Asian to captain a Scotland cricket team, when he led his country in the U19 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

Kasim explained how it all started. He said: “My two older brothers used to play cricket and persuaded me to come to a training session one day - and that was it.

“And to get as far as captaining your country - the first Asian to do that - that is a great honour.”

Kasim is not an immigrant but his parents are, moving to Scotland from Pakistan.

At the age of seven, he began playing for Clydesdale Cricket Club. Now, he’s in the first team and has been named club captain.

He said: “I’monly 21 and I’ve still got a lot to learn so it’s a challenge.” Kasim’s first appearance for Scotland was at junior level in the 2003 World Cup in Bangladesh.

As well as leading out the under-19s, he’s also trained with the senior squad and played cricket in places like Ireland, Germany, Africa and Australia.

But playing for club and country involves a huge commitment in terms of juggling training with a full-time job.

Kasim said: “In Scotland, cricket isn’t too big so there isn’t asmuch money in it as there is in some places such as the sub-continent.

“Here, we’re all trying to play cricket alongside going to work or going to university.

“It’s a lot but it’s brilliant to get the chance to play in so many places abroad. I’m now hoping to push into the senior team.”

EWA LIPA - POLAND

EWA Lipa is now a full-time mum to son Oliver while her Scottish partner and the one-year-old’s dad, Stuart Walker, is out building his car valet business.

Ewa, 30, from Lublin, Poland, followed a familiar path for immigrants from the new member states of the EU, first finding work in the hospitality and catering industry.

She had followed her sister Magdalena to Edinburgh with the aim of finding a job and helping to babys it Magdalena’s children.

But Ewa started in restaurants before getting a post as a receptionist in the a lapdancing bar, where she met steward Stuart.

She insists Poles coming to Scotland in their tens of thousands aren’t just in search of a life living on benefits.

Ewa said: “Polish people are hard workers. They are not coming to Scotland to sign on the dole. They are here to work, to earn money for their future.

“They will pay taxes, they are not scroungers. Some will only be here for a few years, save money and return to Poland.

“I am not one of them. I am here because I want my future to be in Scotland with Stuart and Oliver.”

LIRIDONA KRASNIQI - ALBANIA

ALBANIAN Liridona Krasniqi now talks with a broad Scots accent, just seven years after arriving here with her mother as a 10-year-old.

She has made several short films and hopes to take up a career as an actress.

Liridona said: “I am really serious about acting.

“It’s a difficult field but I’d love to do it for a living.

“Since I’ve come to Scotland, I’ve been made very welcome and there isn’t much difference betweenme and my friends.

“Things here are very different to Albania and I like my life over here.”

RANA TAJIK - IRAN

IRANIAN KURD Rana Tajik was just 16 when she came to Scotland as an asylum seeker three years ago.

She was on her own and forced to find her way in life after escaping oppression in Tehran.

She is now studying an HNC in computing at Langside College, Glasgow, and hoping to put her skills to use after graduating.

She also works at the Shaqlawa Kurdish restaurant in the city’s west end to help make ends meet.

Rana said: “I feel at home in Glasgow now and I have lots of friends.”

QIYAG LLIU - CHINA

BUSINESS student Qiyag Liu hopes to work in Scotland after finishing his Masters degree at Glasgow University.

In the meantime, he pays for his stay in Scotland by working at nights in a fast food cafe.

He said: ” You can see people of all nationalities here.

“People in Glasgow have been good to spend time with and I think it’s a very good city.”

Qiyag, from Chengdu, added: “I have been here for 14 months and my English has improved and I have learned a lot about Scottish culture.

“My stay here has a lot to do with my visa. If I’m allowed to extend my visit I will see where it takes me.”

MISCHA KOTKOVA - CZECH REPUBLIC

MISCHA Kotkova came to Scotland nine years ago on a school exchange visit and vowed she would come back for good.

Every summer, she travelled from her home in the Czech Republic to work in hotels before finally getting her chance three and a half years ago.

The very day after she graduated from university with a tourism management degree, she came straight to Shetland and has never looked back.

Since then, she has married local man Donald Hay and runs the marketing department for Visit Shetland, encouraging others from around the world to come here.

Mischa explained: “That school exhange coming to a place in the middle of the ocean was some experience.

There was 10 of us in the group and I was the only one who really enjoyed it thanks to the family I was staying with.

“I always came back to see all the friends I made and wanted to live here.”

Mischa,26, was brought up in the eastern city of Zlin, which has a population of 100,000 and coming to Shetland with a total population of just 22,000 was quite a culture shock.

She said:”The people here are so friendly and really welcome you and that’s what made me want to come here.There are also very good job opportunities - I don’t think I could get the job I have now back in the Czech Republic because the competition would be much bigger there.”

Mischa added: “It is a great lifestyle here.A lot of Czech students come here to work during the summer along with a lot of other nationalities and the locals welcome it.Quite afew have settled here.”

She lives in the tiny village of Tingwall with Donald, 43, who works for Shetland Islands Council, and admits:” For me coming from a big city to such a small place with sheep in the back garden is really nice.

“I am pretty well settled down in Scotland.”

Daily Record

THE CHANGING FACE OF SCOTLAND … a look at the immigration situation in Scotland in 2007

ALMOST 150,000 migrants have come to Scotland in search of work over the last five years.

Huge numbers are coming from Eastern Europe, but we are still attracting thousands of people every year from countries including India and Pakistan.

And there are significant numbers of in comers from Australia, Ireland, America and New Zealand.

That’s good news, given expert advice that Scotland must look further afield than Eastern Europe to attract the 25,000 new faces we need every year.

Official statistics explode the myth that migrants are a drain on the benfits system.

Fewer than two per cent in Scotland claim state aid.

Since 2002-3, a total of 146,720 migrants have been identified as registered for work, although the real figures are much higher because many foreign workers are not counted.

After a modest start in 2002-3, when 14,500 migrant workers were registered, the total has increased every year.

Last year was the highest yet at 52,480.

The biggest source is Eastern Europe, particularly Poland.

Last year alone, Poles accounted for 44 per cent of all incomers.

They account for around 70 per cent of migrant workers in some parts of the country.

But the pattern varies throughout the country. In the UK, the vast majority of Eastern European workers are young - 82 per cent of them are aged 18-34.

Ninety-three per cent are single, with no dependants here.

But the figures can be taken with a pinch of salt. It is well known that many migrant workers are not registered for work and have no national insurance numbers.

MIGRATION economist Professor Robert Wright said: “The data is so weak that we are guessing at the exact numbers.

“If people are working for wages, they register. If they are self-employed, they don’t.

“The most accurate data is from the Census, but that’s only every 10 years. Here, we piece together information. There is no system of population registration like in Scandinavia.”

It is impossible to provide exact migrant numbers because of the way the statistics are gathered.

There are two main ways of finding information, although they do not provide an accurate picture.

Firstly, the migrant National Insurance Number Process provides information on the number of migrant workers. And secondly, the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS). Both have serious limitations.

NI numbers are allocated by the Department of Work and Pensions through Jobcentre Plus offices.

The date of arrival in the UK is recorded, along with the registration date. But there is no system to check when a migrant leaves the UK. And the information only shows the area of residence when the application was made.

The system does not track migrants if they move elsewhere in the UK. The NI scheme, therefore, only measures in-flow, not outflow or overall stock.

The WRS was set up to monitor migration from the A8 countries - Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, who joined the EU in 2004.

Migrant workers from A8 are required to register when they get work in the UK. But the WRS does not monitor de-registration and again only records in-flow.

Crucially, the self-employed do not have to register. This means the vast army of Polish and other A8 joiners, tilers and plumbers who work for themselves are not included in the statistics.

The register does not cover people who have more than one job.

Daily RecordNov 30 2007 By Tom Hamilton

THE CHANGING FACE OF SCOTLAND … a look at the immigration situation in Scotland in 2007

SCOTLAND must attract 25,000 immigrants every year or face going under.

That’s the St Andrew’s Day warning to the nation from one of our top academics.

Since the 1950s, more than 800,000 people have left Scotland.

With a low birth rate and an ageing population, we desperately need to attract more immigrants to maintain our standards of living.

Economics professor Robert Wright, who is the country’s top expert on economic migration, said we had to face some hard facts.

He added: “I spoke at a conference recently and a person stood up and said immigration will change the character of Scotland.

“I said it certainly will but you have a choice. You either have the same character of Scotland and a lower standard of living, or a changed character and a higher standard of living.

“People don’t want immigration but do want increased living standards. You can’t have it all ways. Take your pick.”

Prof Wright called for a new strategy to attract immigrants to Scotland and to make sure they stay here.

He said: “We need 20-25,000 a year net migration - that’s the difference between people coming to and people leaving Scotland.

“This is the minimum. And this is people staying for ever, not just two years and leaving. It’s 25,000 a year, on year, on year on year.

“If net migration starts to fall, there are going to be serious consequences.

“Output will be reduced, there will be less tax revenue, Scottish economic growth will be lower and the country will become increasingly expensive.”

Young migrant workers are already filling thousands of jobs in Scotland.

The foreign workers are crucial to the economy, as they pay taxes, which help us support our growing elderly population.

Prof Wright, of Strathclyde University, said the Scottish Parliament should be given powers to run immigration because our needs are vastly different to the rest of the UK.

He added: “Since the 1950s, more than 800,000 Scots have moved away.

“Scotland has been, and still is, a massive exporter of people.

“The SNP are trying to encourage immigration.

“Labour had a complacency. They thought the situation was fine because there was a big net increase in migration over the last three to four years.

“But just because these levels are achieved now, there are concerns this can be perpetuated in future years.

“The SNP understand this. They are aware of these things and talking about how important it is.

“But now they’re in power, they are finding it so difficult.”

Prof Wright wants to see a points-based immigration system to encourage workers to live, work and stay here for at least four years.

It is hoped that if they are settled for that length of time, they will then decide to stay on and get UK citizenship.

At present, the population is expected to rise to 5.13million by 2019.

But it is then expected to fall below five million in 2031.

There is an unprecedented immigration boom at the moment, with tens of thousands of people flocking here from overseas. Scotland has become particularly popular with migrants from the so-called A8 countries.

They are the Eastern European nations who joined the European Union in 2004 - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Poland forms more than 50 per cent of the combined population of the A8 and some figures show more than 70 per cent of A8 migrants to Scotland come from there.

But Prof Wright believes the reservoir of talent heading to Scotland will dry up in the near future.

He said: “Scotland will have to look further afield.

PEOPLE think the Poles are going to keep getting on flights and coming here. That’s just ridiculous. The Poles are not going to stay long. I am convinced this flow of people will dry up very quickly.

“The low-income push factors which are sending people here because of our high-income pull factor will become less and less over the years.

“I speak to these people regularly and there seems little commitment to stay long-term. They come here and they want to make and save money, go back and put a serious deposit on house.

“This is why you get highly skilled people working in low skilled jobs. They have very key objectives.

“The challenge here is to find someone in a job commensurate with their skills.

“I met a guy the other day, an electronic engineer with a masters degree. He’s fixing mobile phones. It’s valuable but hardly worthy of a man with a masters in electronic engineering.

“And there’s not an unlimited supply of highly skilled people from the A8 that want to come and work and live in Scotland in jobs they’re over-qualified for.

“If you keep going to these countries and stripping out their highly skilled workers, that is creating a problem there.”

“Immigration has to be managed - it’s a tricky process.

“Get it wrong and you get Germany. Get it right, you get Canada - not perfect, but some of the jobs are being filled.

“Here, the difficulty is to get people into mid-skill jobs.

“The Poles are helping that but I can’t see this being for the long-term,” the professor added.

The UK are introducing a points-based immigration system over a four-year period. Prof Wright points out this may not help Scotland’s situation.

He said: “The need is for a system to compete on the international labour market for people.

“The points system will allow the UK to do that but for the UK Government, immigration levels are too high.

“Labour nationally say there’s too much immigration, especially in the south-east and London and the points system will lower the level.

“But as they lower it in the UK as a whole, they will, by definition, lower it in Scotland and I think net migration is going to drop very quickly over the next few years.”

SCOTLAND, therefore, faces a major problem in trying to encourage the higher proportion of people needed to come here. And the Scottish Parliament have no special tools at their disposal to do that.

Prof Wright, who has 30 years of experience in the field of demography, added: “Look at what we need. The bottom line is, we can’t rely on A8 and Poles in particular to keep on coming and they don’t have long-termintentions.

“The only thing we have is propaganda.

“You can send the message out on the websites that Scotland is a place that’s welcoming, a good place to live, work and stay.

“But to say Scotland is a wonderful place and think people will flood here is not going to happen.

“You’ve got to look at the global village. Look at the aggressive immigration policies of Canada, Australia and the USA. They’re all competing for the same people, skilled high value added workers.

“That’s what we want too, but these other guys have highly sophisticated systems - points based with regionality needs built in.

“They have departments of employment and immigration in the same ministry.

“The employment people identify the skills shortages and immigration go and find these people. We have none of this. We’re going to need a points system and adapt what others have done to make it benefit the regions where people are needed.

“It sounds like a tall order, but others have the experience of doing it.

“I think Scotland needs to take the points system one step further. It would mean more responsibility for the Scottish government.

“If you agreed to come and work and live in Scotland for four years, it would be easier to immigrate.

“In general, if people come to live and work and stay for two years, they stay permanently.

“I’m a good example. I came from Canada for one year and stayed 17.

“The key to immigration policy is to get people to the right place and once settled, they stay.

“The challenge for Scotland is to get the people here in the first place.

“If a person has a job lined up along with a letter from an employer, that gets you points.

“Or if you have the right skills and need to pass exams, you can come and work under supervision until you are qualified.

“There should be a residency requirement - the longer you stay, the less likely you are to move.

“I think immigrants should be forced to learn the language and attend classes, as in Sweden.

“The reward is a job, you qualify for welfare and benefit entitlements and a promise to stay and citizenship.”

Prof Wright believes the system would work successfully if migrants were forced to sign a contract pledging to stay in Scotland for the duration of their four-year term.

This would prevent people coming to Scotland, then leaving for London.

Highlighting how regional policy works in Canada, Prof Wright said: “In Canada, if you sign to go to Edmonton and then leave to go to Toronto, you’ve broken the deal. People who break the deal are at risk of being deported.

“Quebec is French-speaking and has its own immigration policy. If you want to go to Canada, you apply separately. If you want to go to Quebec, you apply directly to them.

“They have different objectives. They want people to speak French in Quebec and they give more points for that.

“It’s very successful. They have high growth, high tax rates and a high standard of living.”

Prof Wright said a contract would stop people moving south from Scotland.

He added: “Why would anyone want to throw all the benefits away and run off to London.

“I don’t believe Canada is stupid. The growth rate is higher. A four-year contract or Scottish visa is logical to start with.”

While there is a need to attract migrant labour, Scotland also needs to hold on to our own young people.

Prof Wright said: “The data I have is that the emigration of Scots is increasing.”

Part of the problem, he said, is that many young people are studying the wrong subjects for the jobs on offer.

Prof Wright wants a basic rethink on the number of young Scots doing degrees in specialities where there aren’t enough jobs in this country.

He believes we need more courses matched to the needs of industry.

“More than 50 per cent go on to higher education but there are only so many jobs for business graduates, psychologists and qualitative sociologists,” he said.

“Everyone likes the idea of their kids going to uni for free and parents will vote for a party that does that.

“But if you want to keep people here, you have to provide them with the skills that are in demand.

“The net loss of 800,000 people since the 1950s, given a population of just five million, is quite a big number.

“I’m from southern Ontario and there are more Highland games there than there are over here.”