Anger at council asylum moves

Angry residents walked out of the meeting

A meeting intended to ease tensions between refugees and residents in the Sighthill area of Glasgow has broken up with locals accusing the city council of treating them unfairly.

Some are angry at what they see is preferential treatment of asylum seekers.

However, the city council and refugee organisations are emphatic that asylum seekers - many of whom are fleeing persecution - are receiving no special privileges.

A Sudanese man needed hospital treatment last week after he and two others were attacked.

Brian O'Hara: "Many support asylum seekers"

The council pledged to make "every effort possible to tackle this racism and to make Glasgow a safe place for asylum seekers."

Some residents of the area believe that this amounts to preferential treatment.

One said: "There is so much agro going on and the people are not listening to the people that live here.

"They are only taking the one side of the story."

Another said: "They (the asylum seekers) get everything that is going - for nothing. There are people here who can't get the repairs.

Abuse 'epidemic'

Brian O'Hara, of Glasgow City Council, said: "In general there are many, many good people in Sighthill are only too keen to support asylum seekers until that happens.

"The people who turned up this morning, I would question if they are truly representative of Sighthill."

Extra police patrols have been put on and interpreters are going along with police to speak to refugees about their problems.

The Scottish Refugee Council has said the abuse against asylum seekers is at "epidemic" level.