Patricia Ferguson

It is a pleasure to contribute to this short debate. I will be brief, but I want to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge and Bellshill (Frank McNally) for securing this debate, and add my comments to his in praise of the excellent work done by people and communities in his constituency. It is a pleasure to hear such heart-warming stories coming out of such a dark and difficult situation. Like my hon. Friend’s constituency, my home city of Glasgow has a long, proud record of welcoming refugees; the city has eventually become their home in many cases. My constituency of Glasgow West has a particular record of welcoming people fleeing conflict in their native land. In the 1970s, Drumchapel played host to many people fleeing Chile because of the brutal and fascist regime of General Pinochet. Many of those refugees were fortunate enough to be able to return home after Pinochet’s downfall, but others chose to stay and make Scotland their home, and many of those who stayed ended in Lanarkshire, close to where my hon. Friend is from. In the present day, my area has welcomed the Ukrainian refugees fleeing Putin’s murderous onslaught in their country. Many of them, as my hon. Friend said, were originally accommodated in cruise liners—not the best of starts, perhaps, but at least it was a safe refuge for them, and it is there that many of the cultural activities and school classrooms that have been developed began. The fact that people were together in a confined space obviously helped make that happen. The joyous part of the story for both the Ukrainian and Chilean communities is that our local Glaswegian communities have been so enriched by being able to be part of their lives and their celebrations, and they have learned so much about another culture on the way. Over the past three years, I have attended many concerts and church services that have been both moving and enjoyable. On 24 August last year, I was delighted to again join in the Ukrainian independence day family fun event in Victoria Park in my constituency, an annual event that is much anticipated. With workshops, music and dance, as well as sporting events, it is truly a fun day, but I hope nobody will ask me to demonstrate what I learned, as I definitely do not have the skill to replicate Ukrainian art. I tried very hard, but I am afraid that my attempts were pretty pathetic.