Was Mercy’s death misconstrued?
OPINION writers reflected on the tragedy of Mercy Baguma, the Ugandan asylum seeker found dead this week in Glasgow, the recent GERS figures and the impact of experienced SNP MSPS stepping down at the next Holyrood elections in May.
Sunday National
Andrew Tickell said Mercy’s experience showed the “indifference” with which large swathes of Britain’s population – especially older voters – regard asylum seekers.
“It is encouraging to read reports her wee boy is ‘thriving’ in the care of relatives. You’ve got to snatch any thin reed of hope you can. We don’t yet know the full circumstances which led to this terrible scene. In a sense, they don’t matter. Their experiences are a commentary on the inhumanity of the UK’S immigration and asylum systems, and the destitution and hopelessness to which people can be reduced by bureaucratic systems built on suspicion and hostility, rather than understanding and compassion – with the enthusiastic backing of a large part of the British public and almost all of its media.”
The Scotsman
Dani Garavelli said the young woman’s case has been used to suit differing agendas.
“The treatment of Mercy – by charities and journalists
(including me) – gradually began to make me uncomfortable. It felt as if there was – amongst those of us who hope for, push for change – a temptation to hijack this 34-year-old’s fate to our own agenda; to weaponise it against the forces of xenophobia and hate.
“We all know some stories – some people – are more likely to attract public sympathy than others. And Mercy had it all – the youth, the vitality, the baby. While male asylum seekers are often stigmatised as “at it”, this is less true of young mothers fending for their children.
“But Mercy was more than just a symbol of the barbarity of the state. Like all of us, she had strengths and flaws and baggage. As the week wore on, some of those around her began to rebel against the way her story was being plated up and served to a public predisposed to consume it.
“For a start, there is no real evidence her death was linked to destitution; it seems more likely underlying kidney problems were to blame.”
Meanwhile, also in The Scotsman, Euan Mccolm said the latest GERS figures could no longer be “seized upon” by anti-nationalists.
“Scottish Labour leader
Richard Leonard said that separation from the UK would see Scotland ‘thrust into years of savage and unrelenting austerity’, while the Conservative finance spokesman, Murdo Fraser, said the GERS figures were a ‘hammer blow’ to the SNP and a ‘massive setback’ to their independence plans.
“This is the sort of stuff that used to, as they say in politics, cut through. SNP politicians would be thrown into panic by figures that appeared to undermine their case.
“It was for very good reasons that much of the 2014 referendum campaign saw nationalist politicians expend most of their energy on assuaging the fears of those Scots who feared that a Yes vote would have a catastrophic impact on the economy.
“Unionists can, I think, no longer rely on this line of argument...
“The case for independence may lack detail, it may not have the numbers on its side, but it is full of romantic notions of liberation and anti-establishment heroism. And if the economy grows weaker, mightn’t that seem more attractive?
“Sure, the impact of coronavirus on public spending might give some voters pause for thought but others – just as Brexiteers did – might well think that they have nothing to lose by voting to leave the UK in a future referendum.”
The Sunday Post
But Mandy Rhodes notes that nearly a quarter of current SNP MSPS are planning to step down amid splits and controversy over Alex Salmond.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that some SNP supporters are not as bullish as the polls would suggest they should be and are instead a little fearful of what faces their party in the months ahead.
“And just when Sturgeon needs wise heads with institutional memory and loyalty rooted in the journey, the veterans are leaving... if independence is truly within reach, this exodus of experience, and the prospect of what motivates those that want in, does nothing to bolster confidence that this is a government preparing for it.”