PA says Scotland must do more to stop discrimination
headlines involving black and ethnic minority people. You can get told to go back home and you are obviously intimidated if it is a group. You cannot confront it – you just get your head down or you might get beaten up.”
Char – short for Charmaine – was born in 1974 and was one of f ive children who grew up in a “very happy and loving” home in Grangemouth with parents Matt, a paramedic, and full-time mum Audrey.
She said: “We didn’t realise we were the only multiracial family at the time but we stood out like a sore thumb. We were all picked on for the colour of our skin.
“From the N word to the P** i word to others l ike ‘ darkie’. All those really terrible, horrible names. I suffered so much racial abuse as a child, I tried everything I could to try to blend in. I wanted to be white. I used to buy talcum powder and rub it in to make me paler.
“I was called P**i at primary school and told I was dirty. No one would hold my hand or pick me for teams. People always had a best friend but I didn’t. You would latch on to someone else who was getting bullied for some other reason and be friends with them.
“One time a boy punched me in the face because of the colour of my skin. He broke my glasses and chipped a bone in my nose. Mum was angry and upset and went to the school but I do not recall what happened to that boy.
“It would have aggravated it anyway so I just shelved it in my brain – but I have kept the glasses as a reminder of what happened.”
Char, married to Watch Commander Neil, added: “The boy had called me P**i. The thing is, I wasn’t Pakistani. My heritage is Indian and I am Scottish. It was clearly an ignorance with his parents because kids are not brought up to be racist.
“But I felt sorry for himm as I had really good parents who ho dried my tears and told d me I was amazing and beautiful, so I’m proud of who I am.”
As a teenager, Char went on to triumph in athletics, training six x nights a week with the he Falkirk Victoria Harriersrs in long jump, sprintingsprin andd hurdles.
HerH dad was a coach h and encouraged her into the sport aged eight. She said:said “I loved it – it was a com comfortableenvironment. The odd time you would hear hea someone say, ‘ You can beat the P**i.’ I would tell tellm my dad and he would say, ‘ You run… run harder and run faster – and you beat them.’”
Char Ch sa id ra c i sm continues conti to cast a shadow over her life. She added: “When Lewis Hamilton came into F1 and was doing well, a lot of people were against it because he was mixed race. “I remember going into Howgate shopping centre in Falkirk and there was a bunch of girls who made monkey noises at me because that’s what folk were doing to him. “I even got a call from my brothebrother about the Covid DeltDelta strain to say he hophoped no one would blblamea it on me becbecause I’m Indian.” CChar is sti l l not conconvinced racism is beinbeing tackled head-on. She said: “Racism is sti llll a big problem in Scotland. I ddon’t think you will ever eradicatedi it.i Education is the best place to start. The younger you can get children to understand we are all different but we are all the same, the better.
“I feel happy and safe at work. In the Fire Service you are embraced, not treated differently.
Char’s boss Liz Barnes said: “We need to continue to highlight these issues so people like Char can feel free to go about their daily lives without having to consider the impact her skin colour may have on others.”
I was told at I was dirty school. primary ld No one wou hand or hold my for pick me teams