Woman with an Arabic father and Scots mum slams ‘far-right racists’

She faced an almost daily gauntlet of sickening racism since she was just two-years-old.

Khaleda Noon was born and raised in Perthshire before moving to Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire. Her mum was Scottish and her dad was a pilot from Kuwait.

She said Scotland’s racism problem runs deep but people like Connor Ward need support and investment in their lives rather than just condemnation to avoid future generations falling prey to the simplistic hate of the extreme right.

She said: “Racism means that I don’t belong in certain places, that I don’t feel safe in other places, and that I can’t express myself the way I might want to express myself.

“Beyond the everyday instances and events that we might see, and the fact that racism has posed a danger to my life and livelihood, racism alienates me from the people around me, my cultural background and heritage, and tells me that I’m not worth as much as other people.

“These are all things that are still happening in Scotland, and things which are having a severe effect on young Black people and young people of colour.”

Khaleda used her experiences to launch Intercultural Youth Scotland, a charity for young Black people and young people of colour.

She added: “The internet and social media breeds simple, polarised opinions on matters that are often complex and multi-faceted.

“We need to provide positive, communitydriven, grassroots alternatives. There is huge underinvestment in the lives of Scotland’s youth, and young, mostly white, people are especially susceptible to the simple extremities put forward by far-right fascists.

“We need to ensure that young people are given a sense of community, connection, and value.

“While young white people might not be alienated due to their race, there is still a need to invest more in their lives and offer an alternative to the ahistorical, God-like, and often masculine narratives of white supremacy and fascism.”

Previously she described her experiences of racism, saying: “My father left when I was one year old, I didn’t know him, don’t know him, and I never got the opportunity to understand my Arabic culture, faith or identity.

“I have a white mum, a white big sister and big brother, white cousins, aunties and uncles. I was the only brown one. The black sheep of the family or ‘the black pudding’ as I was affectionately’ called.

“I was different. I only needed to look at the faces of my own siblings to see that. I wasn’t reflected in their image. And in Auchenblae, a tiny wee village in those days, I stood out.

“The result was that I hated my colour, my name, my thick eyebrows, black hair. I hated me.”

Khaleda Noon was born and raised in Perthshire.

Khaleda as a young girl.