'Living hell' for asylum seekers

A number of asylum seekers have been attacked

A Glasgow GP has warned it is only a matter of time before an asylum seeker is murdered in the city.

Some 90 racially motivated attacks have been reported to the police already this year and the situation is said to be at boiling point.

There are around 4,500 asylum seekers in Scotland and most of them are in Glasgow.

Dr Von Kaehne, speaking on BBC Scotland's Frontline programme, said he has to treat refugees for a variety of injuries sustained in the attacks in the Sighthill area of the city.

He said: "I probably see every second day a casualty sheet saying that someone has been assaulted and has attended a hospital in Glasgow.

The asylum seekers have been housed in Sighthill

"These casualties have been assaulted and have injuries such as broken bones and broken noses.

"They come to me with bruises and injuries to their eyes where they have been hit, and sometimes even bigger injuries.

"Fortunately so far I have not had any major lasting injuries here but I think it is only a question of time the way it is going, and I'm very, very worried."

Dr Kaehne, who works at the city's Fernbank Clinic, said the asylum seekers living in Sighthill were now too scared to leave their flats.

The plight of the Saada family - who sought refuge in Scotland from the conflict in Palestine - is highlighted on the programme.

Brothers Haitham and Iyad Saada have been forced into hiding because they fear for their lives after being assaulted a month ago.

Haitham Sadda's young daughter Reen is now too scared to go to school and refuses to leave the family's Sighthill flat.

Life in Sighthill for many of them is a living hell

Dr Von Kaehne

He said: "The punches and kicks we got were out of hatred and bitterness. The people, they looked at us with deep hatred."

In another incident, Shwan Kareen Saeed - who fled Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq - said he was stabbed in an unprovoked attack.

He said: "About 15 Scottish teenagers came for me when I was outside my flat.

"There were two or three knives and they stabbed me in the stomach."

Dr Von Kaehne said Sighthill locals were victimising the refugees.

The doctor said: "These people are restricted to their flats. Life in Sighthill for many of them is a living hell."

Strathclyde Police has put more officers on the beat in the area, along with interpreters, in a bid to make the area safer.

Some asylum seekers have decided to leave

Chief Superintendant Allan Burnett said: "Some of the people in Sighthill are carrying out racist attacks but that is the tiny minority.

"The huge majority of people in the area want to enhance Glasgow's reputation."

But as the number of asylum seekers in the area has grown, so has the resentment among local residents.

Glasgow City Council, which will get £100m from the Home Office over five years to house and support the asylum seekers, has been attacked over its handling of the situation.

A number of refugee groups have criticised the lack of resources and support available and say there was not enough preparation before the houses were let to refugees.

Some residents believe the asylum seekers, who come from across the globe, are being given better treatment than they are.

Some asylum seekers have gone into hiding

They allege that the asylum seekers are being given extra funding and perks such as satellite TV.

One woman said: "My windows are nailed shut and nobody is listening to me. These people are getting everything in their houses and I'm sitting in a house that's falling apart."

Council spokesman Archie Graham said some residents did not understand why the refugees were being housed alongside them.

He also admitted the council could have done more to ease the situation, saying: "We're prepared to learn lessons and we're prepared to improve communications, there's no question about that."

Frontline Scotland is being broadcast at 2200BST on BBC Two on Tuesday.