Africa & Middle East
Eritrea & Scotland
Eritreans move to Scotland to escape dictatorship and human rights abuses. Everyone between the age of 18 and 60 has to do military service which is indefinite. Since 2003, about 1 million have fled Eritrea. Approximately 1600 of them ended up in Glasgow. It is a small community, yet it has made a mark on Scottish life, from the food scene to sports. An Eritrean restaurant serves traditional food in Glasgow city centre, and a sports club from the East End, Shettleston Harriers, had a team of refugee runners from Eritrea who won multiple Scottish championships.
Iran & Scotland
Many Iranians seek asylum in Scotland due to religious and political persecution, most arriving here since the late 1970s. They run Persian restaurants, oriental rug shops, and groceries selling traditional delicacies. There are schools for Iranian children in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Every Spring, Iranian Scottish families celebrate their New Year (Nowruz) with picnics by Loch Lomond and in other green spaces.
Have you heard of the Iranian Scot, Melika Balali, a gold-winning champion wrestler, poet, and painter who highlights women rights in her work? And did you groove to Darius Danesh’s ‘Colourblind’ when it was the no. 1 UK single in 2002?
Kenya & Scotland
The migration of Scots to Kenya started in the early days of African colonisation. The first president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, studied at a primary school started by Scottish missionaries. His teacher, Minnie Watson, arrived with the East Africa Scottish Mission funded by colonial merchants.
After Kenya gained independence in 1963, many Kenyans with South Asian ancestry were expelled as a backlash against the racial hierarchies created during British colonial rule. Many of them settled in the UK. Currently, around 3000 Kenyan people call Scotland home.
Kurdistan & Scotland
Kurdistan is a region spanning across parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. It is not an internationally recognised country, but many Kurdish people consider it one and campaign for its independence. Many are exiled because of discrimination they were experiencing. Kurds have been arriving in the UK since the 1980s. In Scotland, they run Kurdish community hubs, women’s groups, university societies, shops, and restaurants. Every March, celebrations of Kurdish Newroz (New Year) brighten up Glasgow and Edinburgh with bonfires, line dances, folk music, and traditional costumes.
Nigeria & Scotland
During the British colonial period, Scots were amongst the colonists who went to West Africa. Many Black people from Nigeria and other countries were forcibly brought here through the transatlantic slave trade and ended up living in industrial cities of Scotland.
More recently, Nigerian people have been arriving here to work in the oil industry and study at Scottish universities. Today there are 21,000 Nigerians in Scotland, with the largest community in Aberdeen. In 2022, Glasgow City Council voted to return 17 bronze sculptures from the Glasgow Museums collection to Nigeria. It is the biggest repatriation of artefacts in Scottish history.
Sudan & Scotland
Hamza Yassin is a wildlife photo- and videographer, a TV personality, and a 2022 winner of Strictly Come Dancing. He was born in Sudan and grew up in England, but his love for wildlife led him to settling in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands. Another well-known Sudanese, the writer Leila Aboulela, lives in Aberdeen.
Until recently, there were only around 1000 Sudanese people in Scotland. However, the outbreak of civil war in 2023 has caused many more to come here and seek safety. There are Sudanese community organisations in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Syria & Scotland
In response to calls for refugee protection after the outbreak of the war in Syria, the UK government introduced the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) in 2014. It was the first time that all local authorities in Scotland received refugees. Nowadays, more than 5000 Syrians live in Scotland, with Glasgow being home to around 4000 of them. Scottish Syrians work as doctors, teachers, chefs, and in many other professions. Syrian food is served not only in restaurants across Glasgow but also in more remote places like Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.
Zambia & Scotland
Zambia had a long and uneasy history with the British Empire. Among the many Scots settled in Zambia during the colonial era was the family of the former president, Guy Scott. Another well-known Scot in Zambia was David Livingstone, an explorer and naturalist originally from Blantyre.
Scottish Zambians run SCOZAP - an organisation that hosts traditional celebrations and Independence Day anniversaries. The brightly-coloured clothes with African prints worn on special occasions come from shops here or are brought in from visits to Zambia. African shops in Glasgow offer nshima, a staple food in Zambian cuisine. Have you tried it?