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English Man

I came to Scotland in the late 1980s from SE England to escape from the tyranny of Margaret Thatcher and the destruction of traditional English society and its values.

Materialism was taking over, and there didn't seem to be much worth staying to fight for. I admired the Scots for their fine spirited resistance to the Poll Tax and their co-operative and democratic values.

I haven’t experienced racism personally apart from one very rude remark from a drunk in a rural Ayrshire pub, but my kids get picked on at school sometimes even though Scotland is all they have ever known.

We need to challenge any form of racism or discrimination through education and, if needed, the courts. Racism damages the values which make life worth living.

Funnily enough, my mother's family were Huguenots who fled from religious persecution in France, so I guess I feel a lot in common with the travellers.

Migration can be a very positive and life-enhancing experience, and migrants have so much to give Scotland, they should be supported and celebrated.