Leith Open Space

Time to involve the minority

“I have found out that there is still a gap that needs to be filled. At the local level, there is an immense need to involve the minority community.�

Doris Koyabe reflects on what she has learned from Opening Doors.

Why did I join the shadowing scheme?

There were three simple reasons. First of all, politics affects everything we do from the water we drink to the things we buy. Why should we leave matters relating to our well being in the hands of politicians? I have always been interested in knowing how politicians and policy makers come to a consensus since they affect each one of us on a daily basis. Given that policies and the politics of a country go together, I thought this was the best way to experience exactly how decisions are made.

Secondly, being part of the minority community I felt that we are not well represented in the policymaking arena. I wanted to know what mechanisms have been put in place to involve the minority community in politics but even more so in decision making.

And thirdly, I wanted to know what we as the minority community are doing in order to get ourselves involved and recognized as one voice when it comes to integration and implementing policy.

I was delighted to shadow Councillor Dougie Kerr not only because he is involved with issues relating to equality and discrimination in areas such as employment, gender and race. But also because I got the opportunity to see how politicians connect with local government and how local government connects with people in the community.

Councillor Kerr gave me a tour of the council building, explained what happens at the council and gave me a glimpse of the councillor’s daily routine schedule. As I shadowed him at different meetings, social gatherings and the full council meeting, I gained a better understanding of policy making.

What did I learn?

The image I had of politicians was a misconception. They have very busy lives and responsibilities that never seem to end. They have to go from one meeting to another and wherever they are – whether it is a business meeting or a social gathering – they are confronted with issues regarding decision making. Anyone can approach them and ask about anything and however trivial it maybe a lot of factors have to be considered. Basically it is very demanding and challenging and one has to be on top of things in order to succeed.

It may not seem significant to many people but now I know what newspapers to read in order to know what’s happening in the political scene – to find out what I would call “political gossip�. If I need to adopt the political culture of this country, then I have to know where to get the information. This is not to say that the press is always right but it gives an insight into what each party is doing, positive or negative. At the end of the day it’s up to an individual to decide what information to take from the media because it can be used to build or destroy the party’s image.

Most of all I have found out that there is still a gap that needs to be filled. At the local level, I feel that there is an immense need to involve the minority community. When I went to the full council meeting, my main concern was to see how the minority community would be represented in the meeting. I was surprised to see that they are so under represented.

For the future?

There is need to build up the participation of the minority community especially the blacks in this area. One may argue and say that the government is doing a great deal to integrate the minority communities in the system. But communication seems inadequate. How is information being transmitted to the minority community? Why is it that some minority communities are represented and not others? Who speaks on behalf of the minority communities in policy implementation? I feel there is a great need to examine inclusion of the minority communities in all aspects of policy implementation.

Women empowerment needs to be reinforced as well. Women are working hard in voluntary and community development projects but they also need to be directly involved with the policy makers.

But as much as I felt the minority are isolated, I also felt that we are not all working in unity with all minority communities to be one voice. United we stand and divided we fall.

Add comment February 20th, 2007

A helping hand

My aim is to encourage Sikh women to be more involved in politics. I wanted to be able to show how we can help to influence decisions that have an impact on our lives.

It’s a cold winter day but a warm and spicy smell greets you as soon as you open the door. Wednesday is curry day at Dr Bell’s Family Centre in Leith and that is why Asha Devi Singh suggested meeting here for lunch.

Over a delicious plate of chick pea and potato curry with poppadom and coriander relish on the side, Asha explains why she decided to take part in the Opening Doors Shadow Scheme. “My aim is to encourage Sikh women to be more involved in politics,� she says, “I wanted to be able to show how we can help to influence decisions that have an impact on our lives.�

The venue for this interview therefore makes perfect sense. Our food is brought to the table by two volunteers from Sikh Sanjog, the Edinburgh women’s group who are taking part in a pilot scheme to provide Wednesday lunches at Dr Bell’s for a month. As one of the founder members and current Chair of Sikh Sanjog, Asha clearly enjoys bringing together the two cultures that shape her family life.

“As a Scottish Sikh woman I can see both sides of the coin,” she says, “and having three generations of my family, I have an understanding of issues affecting both young and old.”

Community involvement comes naturally to Asha who was born and brought up in Glasgow. “Both my grandfather and father were always helping others. I suppose you could say it is in our genes.� Because Asha’s mother could not speak English her seven children quickly learned social responsibilities outside the home, moving effortlessly between two cultures.

“As soon as I came home from school I would start making chapattis on the griddle. At weekends I went with friends to the City Mission, singing Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore. There was never any sense of, ‘No you are not allowed to do that’, from my parents.

“Being a Scottish Sikh does raise some problems for me. We are not asylum seekers or immigrants. We were born and raised in Scotland but what is our identity? I think that is something we have to address.

“I don’t think difference should be a problem. Look round this room, we are all different, we all have our own individuality. But it’s the bigots who mind differences that we should feel sorry for. They are the real minority.�

Asha is one of six people taking part in the Opening Doors shadow scheme which aims to encourage greater ethnic minority representation in both local and national government. Like Subash Punn and Celina Mbwiria (you can read their reports by clicking on Journal of the Week), Asha decided to join Opening Doors after completing the Get your Voice Heard programme run by the Centre for Human Ecology with City of Edinburgh Council.

“What I have discovered is that it is not all that difficult to get your voice heard. At first it seems like something out of your reach, you sit in meetings and don’t like to open your mouth because you don’t think what you have to say is all that significant. Then someone else says it and you think ‘I should have said that’. But once you start to get involved you find that other people are willing to listen to you.”

During the Opening Doors scheme Asha has shadowed Councillor Gordon Munro and now hopes to develop what she has learned by exploring the work of community councils.

Meanwhile, the pilot scheme at Dr Bell’s has been such a success Wednesday will continue to be curry day for the foreseeable future (see more in Out to Lunch in Leith).

[Asha was talking to Fay Young co-ordinator of Leith Open Space Group]

Add comment February 10th, 2007