Last Sunday the Glasgow Mela descended upon Kelvingrove Park. A veritable feast for the soul (and the stomach), it brings together a variety of cultures from around our pale blue dot with an astonishing assortments of food, drinks, music, art, crafts, dance and so much more. Kelvingrove Park, looking as resplendent as always against the backdrop of the Kelvingrove Museum and Glasgow University’s majestic architecture, was host to tens of thousands of people all there to enjoy the rich and diverse tapestry of world cultures on display. Mela comes from the Sanskrit for ‘to meet’, which people certainly did do in large numbers, an estimated 40,000.
Amidst this celebration of multiculturalism, the perfect closer for the Scottish Refugee Festival, it was the perfect day for Global Justice Glasgow to set up shop for our Migration campaign. Amidst the lush, labyrinthine walkways of the park, our stall found itself in the middle of an eclectic mix of other organisations ranging from a theatre and a car rental company one side to a foster care charity and the navy on the other. Activists from all around Glasgow arrived to provide help and support over the course of the day – all of which helped to reach more people.
The star of the day and the main attraction was our good friend from deepest darkest Peru, Paddington Bear! Paddington is the perfect symbol for challenging the negative media narratives around the topic of Migration. Adored by kids and adults alike, he found it difficult to move around the Mela without being stopped every metre for a hug or a photograph from an excited fan.
Connecting with people in this way meant a lot more people came to our stall, asked questions, took badges, stickers and information on our Migration campaign. We were also joined by friends from Refuweegee, Refugee Survival Trust and Scottish Detainee Visitors (Check out their recent action at Dungavel here) who supported us throughout the day and informed visitors of the amazing work they do with refugees around Glasgow. Visit their websites to learn more about what they do and how you can get involved.
In typical Glasgow fashion, we did get a downpour at somer points throughout the day but it did precious little to hinder the festivities which continued throughout the day in full furore. Across multiple stages, there were stellar performances from Indian, Chinese and local dance groups accompanied by music equally as astounding. The food on the day allowed you to taste your way around the world with expertly made authentic dishes to spice up your life like chana chaat and lamb bhuna or bring you a little sweetness with mouth-watering kulfi and falooda. For the first time, there was a ‘crafts village’ with workshops and demonstrations showing off the multitude of skills used to create beautiful and ornate artistic pieces.
The conversations at the stall that day were wide ranging and informative. We had people sign up for more information, asking how to get involved and sharing their own experiences with migrants and refugees in Glasgow or even their own personal story of migration and their experiences as a refugee in the city. One topic that came up time and time again is the question: “Who is a migrant?”. This prompted everyone to look back into their own family and history and realise that most of us are migrants is one sense or another.
With Brexit due to move full steam ahead and the Great Repeal Bill looming over the horizon, it is set to affect climate change, health and safety standards, food standards, workers rights, human rights and, of course, the right to free movement. Now more than ever, we need to defend this right and ensure it is upheld for all, wherever they’re from. As complex and challenging as the issue is, it is only made worse by the simplifying, misinformed and toxic coverage of it by the some parts of the media. To this end, if you haven’t already, make sure to email the CEO of Marks and Spencers to stop advertising in the Daily Mail and put a stop to their support of misleading and poisonous rhetoric around Migration.
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