"Selina Hales has a thing about pineapples. She is talking in a quiet office, set aside from the bustle of Refuweegee, the charity she founded 10 years ago, and the walls are festooned with tissue paper cutouts of the fruit, which is an international symbol of hospitality. Refuweegee its name a combination of the words refugee and Weegee, local slang for Glaswegian has expanded exponentially over the decade into an operation that supports hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees in the city every day."
"Back then, she had a simple idea about making welcome packs, each one including a handwritten letter from a Glasgow resident. One of our very favourite early letters said: Welcome to Glasgow. I like pineapples. What do you like? Refuweegee has sent out more than 10,000 welcome packs and those letters reflect a quintessential aspect of the city: opening its arms to strangers in need."
"Threaded through the city's collective memory are acts of generosity and resistance the Glasgow Girls who fought the detention of their Kosovan classmate, the public outpouring after the Park Inn tragedy, the southside residents who surrounded an immigration enforcement van in Kenmure Street. But the past year has been marked by a significant shift in Scottish public sentiment. Nigel Farage's Reform UK party secured 26% of the vote in its first Scottish parliament byelection, and there were protests outside asylum hotels and flag raising across its cities, including Glasgow."
Selina Hales founded Refuweegee in 2015 to welcome forcibly displaced people arriving in Glasgow. The organisation began by assembling welcome packs with handwritten letters and has sent over 10,000 such packs. Refuweegee's city-centre hub offers free hot meals and a hangout that welcomes 200–300 people daily and supports hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees across Glasgow. The city has a history of collective generosity, including actions by the Glasgow Girls, responses to the Park Inn tragedy, and the Kenmure Street incident. Recent political shifts include Reform UK winning 26% in a Scottish byelection and protests and flag-raising outside asylum hotels. Visitors to the hub are feeling less safe.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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