It's easy to feel powerless in the face of hate, says Emma Hutton, but we must stand firm
As the long hot summer of 2025 begins to fade, we’ve been reflecting at JustRight Scotland on the year since last summer’s hate-fuelled racist riots.
It’s just over 12 months since the far right whipped up hate across the UK, leading to violence against some of Scotland’s most marginalised communities and a horrifying ramping up of racist rhetoric. Like many other organisations working on the frontline of the immigration and asylum system, we were forced to close our offices briefly, enact emergency security measures, and consider how best to respond to a real and present threat to the safety of our clients, staff and community partners. All while trying our best to ensure continued access to rights and justice for the people who need our services.
We know that the far right is not going away. We are still seeing harassment and violence towards refugees and people seeking asylum in Scotland. We all need to continue to rise to these challenges. So I asked my team for their reflections on the experiences of the last year and what we can all do – together – to stand in solidarity with refugees across Scotland.
For one of our lawyers, our Rights Reps project has been an important practical example of support for people housed in hotels while they are seeking asylum. This project started a couple of years ago as an attempt to fill the void of human rights information desperately needed by people who have no other way of accessing advice - at a time when they need it most. With support from the Independent Human Rights Fund for Scotland, it has recently expanded into the North East.
Our solicitor reflected, “Through Rights Reps we have heard about how people seeking asylum in Scotland experience racism and prejudice. However, we have also seen communities across Scotland provide support to help them feel at home in Scotland. For example, the volunteers who support the Rights Reps to come to Glasgow to attend the meetings.”
She continued, “We have seen how worried people were when the riots last year happened, and how impacted they were when they heard of hostile law and policy changes (such as the Rwanda plan). But we have also seen how keen people are to get accurate information, not just for themselves but to pass on to others. At the last Rights Reps meeting, where we discussed the often incredibly confusing and demoralising asylum system, one of the reps attending for the first time said to me how important it was to have this information he could pass on to other people in the hotel as lack of information causes so much fear. He talked about how important it felt to have a group where they can discuss the issues they are facing and discuss what they might do about them. Even if big changes are very difficult.”
One of our caseworkers reflected on what it means to make the value of inclusion a reality in practice. "Inclusion is arguably a core value of Scottish society at large and it rests on the bedrock of active solidarity — standing with marginalised communities when they are under threat. There are few more marginalised in Scottish society than people caught up in the asylum system, especially those who are stuck in hotels and banned from work, isolating them from the wider community. We have seen how they can be too easily “othered” to the point where the far right can use their mere presence as evidence of threat. Solving the 'problem' here will not be achieved by sowing division. We need to counter the narratives of the far right and allow those seeking safety from persecution to begin the rest of their lives in peace. Solidarity means standing with those who are being targeted by misguided and bullying protests."
Finally, one of our back-office team reflected on the choice we can all make in the face of far right hate. “As someone who doesn’t work on the legal frontlines, I often think about the importance of what it means to stand alongside people seeking safety in the UK. Every time I see someone from our team working with a refugee or someone seeking asylum, I’m reminded that solidarity isn’t just a legal principle — it’s a human one. I’m proud to be part of an organisation that refuses to look away or stay silent in the face of injustice. The far right wants us to feel afraid or powerless, but what I see instead is communities refusing to be divided, and people from all walks of life saying, ‘You are welcome here.’ That’s the message I think we should share: that we choose unity, and we stand Together With Refugees.”
It's easy to feel powerless in the face of hate but this last year has underscored the importance of standing up to those who seek to divide us. As one of our solicitors said, “Although we have seen the rise of the far right including marches on the streets in Glasgow, we have seen many more people come out in counter protest, including massive representation from other groups that are facing deepening marginalisation such as LGBTIQ+ communities.”
There are more of us who believe in love than hate, more of us who believe in community than division. Standing in solidarity with each other is an active choice we can all make.
If you want to take your own action, you can join JustRight Scotland and many others in adding your support to the Together With Refugees campaign here: https://togetherwithrefugees.org.uk/
Emma Hutton is Chief Executive of JustRight Scotland, a human rights legal charity based in Glasgow.
