Those of us old enough to remember the 1988 BT advert starring Maureen Lipman as over-supportive grandma Beattie, chatting on the phone to her grandson Anthony who has just failed all his exams, know that ‘It’s good to talk’.
And of course, we have it on a much higher authority these days. Pope Francis has said ‘If there is one word that we should never tire of repeating, it is this: dialogue. We are called to promote a culture of dialogue by every possible means and thus to rebuild the fabric of society.’
Every means possible?
I would suggest that using music can encourage dialogue, and I hope that everyone has heard ‘Welcome home’, written and sung by the Maryhill Integration Network’s Joyous Choir (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaCJgydF2Nw).
Who can forget the solidarity shown in Kenmure Street, Glasgow, back in May? ‘Welcome home’, was written to celebrate that solidarity, when hundreds gathered to prevent the Home Office from carrying out a dawn raid to take people from their homes.
The peaceful protest in itself offered the opening of a dialogue with the Home Office – the chant taken up in the song, ‘These are our neighbours, let them go’, stated the feelings of the local community but also far wider society in Scotland which has made it clear for many years that we welcome refugees.
The Kenmure Street raid by immigration enforcement officers was a bad strategic move on the part of the Home Office, of course. If they thought that this multicultural area of Glasgow was going to let this happen, they completely miscalculated.
But Priti Patel failed to enter into dialogue that could lead to peace and understanding. Instead, she went on the attack, stressing that ‘Immigration is a reserved matter for the Government here [in London]…Quite frankly it is pretty clear that when it comes to the nationalists in Scotland they would much rather have an immigration policy of open borders, no checks when it comes to criminals coming to the UK, and no border controls.’
She added that the Westminster Government was ‘…changing our laws and bringing in new legislation so the government can remove people that should not be in our country.’
In a further speech, she said the Glasgow immigration protesters were protecting ‘rapists and murderers’.
Criminals? Rapists? Murderers?
These are our neighbours. They are people seeking asylum, who deserve a safe home, just like the rest of us. The Joyous Choir’s song has been my earworm since I first heard it. I hope it may get into your ear, too, and that we sing it in solidarity with all of our friends and neighbours, near and far. We are, as Pope Francis reminds us, all part of the human family.
My prayer as someone working for peace is that the Church and Scottish politicians (like those who condemned the Kenmure Street raid) come together to offer to dialogue with Ms Patel, with the aim of reducing the hostility, toning down the rhetoric, recognising the neighbours that we would like to welcome home – rebuilding the fabric of a peaceful society.
Find Pax Christi Scotland at www.paxchristiscotland.org