For immediate release
Thursday 3 December 2025
Standing With Glasgow's Multilingual Children Against Farage's Bigotry
Responding to Nigel Farage's claim that Glasgow's multilingual pupils are "not diversity" and instead represent the "cultural smashing" of the city, Robina Qureshi, CEO, said:
"To every multilingual child in Glasgow and beyond, we say bravo. The evidence is clear that growing up with more than one language is linked with cognitive strengths in attention, flexibility and problem solving. We need more multilingual children, not less. And don't take notice of the bigotry and prejudice of grown adults who should know better but clearly do not.
"No child should be used as a political punching bag. Farage's attack on Glasgow's multilingual pupils is a coded attack on the children of people of colour and of refugee or immigrant backgrounds. It is harmful and dangerous.
"Speaking more than one language is a huge advantage. Targeting migrant children, in a climate where racist abuse is already a daily reality for many, is another deliberate dog whistle and a disgrace.
"Farage is also mired in fresh controversy over detailed allegations from former classmates and a teacher that he used racist and antisemitic language throughout his school years.
Farage played this game with Brexit by stoking fear of immigrants and he is doing it again. His racially coded attacks on Glasgow schoolchildren follow a well worn pattern.
He is not getting away with it this time, it is time for decent people of all colours to unite and push back on his racially coded and dangerous rhetoric."
ENDS
Notes for editors:
Positive Action in Housing is a Scottish refugee homelessness and human rights charity based in Glasgow. Through our Room for Refugees programme—the UK's longest-running refugee hosting scheme—we provide safe shelter for refugees and asylum seekers in crisis, including Palestinians.
Website — https://www.paih.org
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