New face of young Scotland; Tikka masala hasn't topped haggis as our

Sunday Herald, The, Sep 12, 2004 by Edd McCracken

Over the next few weeks you may hear about Black History month, an event in October celebrating the black community in Scotland. You may even hear about Young Scot launching a new website for young people, exploring the variety of cultures and ethnicities within Scotland as part of the One Scotland, Many Cultures campaign.

And then you look at your street, in your classroom, in your village, and for most young people, Scotland just looks white, white, white. But it's time to look closer.

Even if your neighbourhood isn't particularly culturally diverse, your taste in music, clothes, food and film certainly is; that is unless you listen to nothing but bagpipes, wear kilts, eat haggis and watch Braveheart constantly. And as your tastes diversify, taking in all that is great from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and beyond, Scotland's population is not far behind.

According to the last census, only 2% of the Scottish population is from an ethnic minority group. While this is obviously very small - in England it is 9% - it is definitely getting bigger. In Scotland, the population is getting older: the number of grannies compared to the number of teenagers is getting bigger and bigger. And it's getting smaller: with less babies being born, Scotland's population is expected to dip below five million by 2009. But minority ethnic groups are bucking this trend.

"They are a young and growing population," says Philomena de Lima, researcher and lecturer at Inverness College. "So potentially our [Scotland's] growth in population is likely to come from ethnic minorities. It's really important to bear that in mind when we look at the way we treat ethnic minorities. They are going to be our future."

And while 60% of ethnic minorities live in the four largest cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee), they also comprise valuable parts of nearly all local authorities in Scotland.

"There are a huge number of different cultures within Scotland. There always has been," says Morag Neil of Edinburgh Mela, one of Scotland's biggest celebrations of multiculturalism.

Legend has it that Scotland's name comes from Scota, daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. In the Middle Ages, Scotland was notably free of the anti-Jewish laws found in England and elsewhere in Europe. This encouraged many Jews to settle here.

The first people from India arrived during the 18th century when many Indian seamen were hired and eventually stranded in Scottish ports. The first Chinese communities also grew in a similar fashion. And the first wave of immigration from Africa and the Caribbean occurred in the 18th century, with many freed slaves arriving from Scottish plantations in America.

"Culture becomes much richer the more people that contribute to it," points out Morag.

At the very least, our stomachs certainly love having many cultures in Scotland. You can find fine Indian, Chinese, and Italian restaurants in most Scottish towns. There's even a Polish cafe in Glasgow and a Ukranian centre in Edinburgh. As for music, bands like the Hindi-influenced Stereo Nation are starting to break through.

Morag says that coming into contact with other ethnic groups makes you "realise there is a whole big world out there". She adds:"You get new ideas. Sometimes people seeing things from a slightly different perspective can change your whole outlook on something. If you talk to someone else who had a slightly different upbringing from you, or has different beliefs, then that's a way to open up your mind."

But Philomena says that Scotland needs to do more. Increased diversity brings increased racism, she says, and that, despite having been born in Scotland, many teenagers from ethnic minority groups are made to feel like non-Scots.

She says: "Young people still feel, despite having lived in places like the Highlands, or wherever, for all of their lives, people will still say 'where do you come from?'"

But Sanjeev Kohli, who plays Navid the shopkeeper in the BBC comedy series Still Game, says kids from ethnic minorities today are growing up in a more accepting Scotland than he did.

"The Scotland I grew up in was still quite racist," says the comedian. "But if I go into Glasgow city centre today, I'm very, very surprised if I'm called a racist name. It hasn't happened in a long time, but when I was 10, 11 and 12, when I went up town I was very surprised if I wasn't called something."

Sanjeev is part of the first generation of Scottish-Asian families to be born here. His parents' generation, who moved here from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh still feel like "visitors".

"My generation don't quite feel the same way, but because we've been through a bit of racism growing up, we still feel a wee bit like outsiders," he says. "I genuinely hope that the next generation who are born and brought up here, don't have that kind of duel feeling and they can confidently say they are Scottish-Asian."

And if the fantastic food, great music, flourishes of creativity and expansion of minds isn't enough, Sanjeev sees one more benefit of Scotland becoming more multicultural.