Mull farmer features in new Scottish Government campaign on diversity
A new campaign which tells the personal stories of people who have moved to Scotland from overseas and made their lives here features a farmer living on Mull.
Claire Simonetta, who moved to Scotland from Switzerland, is shown going about her daily life as part of the Scottish Government’s We Are Scotland campaign, which celebrates the contribution people from overseas make to Scotland’s communities, economy and culture.
Claire came to Scotland in 2010 accompanying her mother to a conference organised by the Highland Cattle Society.
She said: ‘I absolutely loved it and spent all my holidays thereafter in Scotland. A local farmer suggested that if I liked it so much, I should come over and do work experience. So 18 months after my first trip to Scotland, I quit my job and moved here permanently.’
Claire has worked her way through different agricultural and veterinary placements across Scotland and Wales, before applying to study agriculture at university.
She has now settled in Mull and works on a traditional hill farm, with cattle and sheep, with her partner, Iain, as well as doing part-time agricultural consultancy for other businesses.
‘My favourite thing about living in Scotland has to be the people. Everyone is very genuine and hospitable, and I absolutely love the Scottish sense of humour.
‘When I first came over, I have to admit I really struggled with the accent. When I met my partner, I didn’t understand a single word he was saying! Scottish is just so different from the English I learned at school.’
There were around 378,000 non-British nationals living in Scotland in 2017, about seven per cent of the population (NRS, May 2018), reflecting the attraction of moving to Scotland to study and work. The Scottish Government estimates that EU nationals alone contribute around £4.42 billion a year to the economy.
Western Isles MSP and Minister for International Development and Europe Alasdair Allan said: ‘Migration is crucial to the development of Scotland as an inclusive, fair, prosperous and innovative country ready and willing to embrace the future.
‘It is essential to our economic prospects and our demographic sustainability that Scotland continues to attract the level and nature of migration it needs.
‘People from overseas who come to Scotland to live, to study, to work or to raise their families are our friends, colleagues and neighbours. They strengthen our society and we welcome them.’
According to the National Records for Scotland (NRS), the country’s population growth is dependent on migration.
The We Are Scotland campaign message is that ‘we all stay here’, emphasising that, no matter where people come from, they have a valuable contribution to make.
The campaign film and information can be viewed at https://onescotland. org/ campaigns/we-are-scotland/.