In his documentary Glasgow Welcomes Refugees, South-American Filmmaker Jose Maria Martinelli shares the experiences of two Scottish activists, Jock Morris and Margaret Woods, who detail the history of the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees in the late 90s/early 00s.

Copy of original Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees banner from 90s/00s.

By Devon McCole

Last week, as part of the Govanhill Festival, a screening of Glasgow Welcomes Refugees, by South-American Filmmaker Jose Maria Martinelli was shown at the Dixon Halls - with the support of Stand Up to Racism.

Activists Jock Morris and Margaret Woods, the main storytellers in the film, have worked with, and fought for, the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland for decades. Both Margaret and Jock are still active campaigners today, fighting against increasingly racist government policies designed to keep people fleeing war, poverty, and oppression out of the country.

In the documentary, they both look back on the efforts of Glasweigians to help put an end to the unjust treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland. The pair tell true stories, taking the audience on a journey from past to present and documenting the trials and triumphs of campaign efforts by the Glasgow Welcomes Refugees movement. The film inspires hope at a time when refugees are once again being targeted by the current government, including its most recent insidious plan to force them to stay on an unsafe barge.

Stand Up to Racism banner attached to panel at the Dixon Community.

Jose told Greater Govanhill that he was initially looking to make a film about Scots and the transatlantic slave trade. But when a member of Stand Up to Racism told of him of the now infamous Kenmure Street protest that prevented the deportation of two men, he changed his mind and started working on Glasgow Welcomes Refugees.

Jose said: “After the Kenmure Street victory, the growing climate of hostility towards refugees, which was created by the Tory government and the Home Office, there seemed to be this renewed interest in the history of refugee solidarity in Glasgow. I realised the prevention of the hostile dawn raid didn’t come out of the blue, it was the result of a culture that had been forged and fought for many decades. This project was about rediscovering that history and telling the tale of how Glasgow managed to win the battle against the xenophobic far-right discourses that existed and still exist today in Scotland.”

Read more: Remembering Kenmure Street

Margaret, one of the life-long campaigners in the film details a time when she and her team of volunteers had recovered someone who had passed away during what could have only been a long and treacherous journey to Scotland. In the film, Margaret admits she had expected to recover the injured but never the dead. At that moment in the film the hall in the Dixon Community fell silent, the audience absorbing the very sad reality for many refugees who brave the journey looking for a better life.

Copy of original banner from 90s/00s against the Dungavel detention centre at the Dixon Community.

The film lasts around 40 minutes and was followed by a panel and discussion about lessons that can be learned from activists in the past and how this can inform activism today. At the end, people stood up to share their thoughts and spread the word of other campaigns those present could also attend and support.

Stand Up to Racism even shared plans to march on the Tory conference in October to resist the racism of the current government.

Towards the end of the event a young man named Twana explained that he is also under asylum seeker status. He shared his praises of the film and his thanks to the people of Glasgow. Catching up with Twana after the event he told me:

“The screening that day sent a positive message to me and to other asylum seekers and refugees. It was about the early times of tight regulations, brutal deportations and detention for innocent asylum seekers and their children. But it was also about how, because of the kindness and courage of the people of Glasgow, asylum seekers are now placed in hotels instead of detention centres along with countless other problems that were fixed, like clothes, transportation, connecting to family of home countries and education opportunities.

The lives of asylum seekers and refugees are slightly better here than in other countries due to the sense of responsibility, kindness and courage the people of Glasgow showed refugees when it came to protecting their welfare and their rights. There are always problems in the asylum life and system, that's a fact, but there is always hope so long as there are people that have humanity within them.”

Filmmaker Jose said he was surprised by the level of solidarity and organisation that existed when he began hearing the many stories shared by Jock and Margaret. He was especially impressed by the story of a refugee family who made arrangements with their neighbours who helped them climb into their flat upon the arrival of the police. The police could not enter the neighbours home without a warrant and because of this and the kindness support shown by their next door neighbours, the refugee family were able to stay in Glasgow without being deported or separated.

When asked about the impact he hopes the film will leave on those who watched it, Jose said: “I think that the people from Glasgow who saw the film, which was the majority, felt a little proud and I hope the people that saw it also saw that you can organise to fight and you can win. I hope it makes people feel that they can change the world for the better.

The documentary really helped capture the struggles of people deemed to be illegal asylum seekers and served as a reminder of how quickly a government can turn on those in-need, it also served as a reminder of how the city of Glasgow stood with those asylum seekers who were, targeted, blamed and shipped off.

It showed that the people had the power to prevent the poor treatment of asylum seekers despite the policies put in place to make their lives even more difficult, which is food for thought for those of us who are appalled by the recent Illegal Migration Act (2023) and keen to do something about it.