Picturing Black Lives in Scotland - Najma Hussein Abukar (2024)

The answer we got from the questionnaires. We interviewed roughly around 300 to 400 people. From that result of that survey we decided, we are gonna go for food! So, we started the business by sourcing food first from England. The biggest challenge was, we had to keep on making road trips with the van to and from England just to pick up stuff. I remember, the first 2 to 3 years we made a hell of…a lot of road trips, back and forth between here and London just to source food.

My hair business journey is a very interesting one. Again, how did it start? It started from an experience of how challenging it was to actually find a hairdresser; one which was affordable, and one which could actually do the authentic African hairstyles. And because we understood the African trend, we were new, we had just come from Africa. We understood the hairstyles in Africa, we understood the language of the clients that they wanted their hair done the way it would’ve been done if they were in Africa. We took it onboard, and we served the clients according to their needs and that meant that the business grew very fast, and we became very, very busy in here.

And I believe because also, the community, the African community was just beginning to grow in Glasgow. So, what would naturally happen is people had a tendency of kind of bonding. So, when they come to the salon it was also a bonding time; so, we made a lot of friends. I can say I have clients who are like two, maybe going to three generations now. Because I started doing their Mum’s hair, and then I did their children’s hair and then their children have gone ahead and gotten married and now they are bringing their children to do their hair! So, I’ve got mum, daughter, and granddaughter. Three generations coming to do their hair here because of the bonds we made.

So, it went beyond, it went beyond just doing hair. And again, what motivated me to try and go beyond is because I want to be very specific to say that. I am amongst the most privileged African shops because I owe the African people a lot. Because they supported this business a thousand percent. When we started this business, the African community was all behind us. They supported us wholeheartedly, they made sure they came here; they shopped, they did their hair, they had their functions they shopped here. So, I had the privilege of being the first African shop in Glasgow owned by a Black person. And I felt, and I still feel I owe the African community to give back. Because I do acknowledge how much they have actually put in making sure that this business has actually stood the test of time 20 years down the line. We have stood the test of the first credit crunch, then there was the second one; then we have had the pandemic, and we are still here.

So, the privilege we had of being the first people on the market in the African community, and the goodwill we have received from the African community in Glasgow we always feel that we need to give back! And that is why we are not only a business, we are here offering encouragement, we are here offering support, we are here encouraging people to go into businesses, we are here giving advice to people, we are here encouraging the young ones to go into careers. We put a lot of effort into the community. And our joy right now is to realise that what we wanted to see in Glasgow has actually happened. We wanted to see many African shops, many African businesses, many African enterprises coming up in Glasgow. And to be very honest there has been such a rapid growth of that happening. And for us is a great joy.

The first experience when we came here (having a shop/business on Paisley Road West) it might not have been the best. It could have been better. But I always don’t like dwelling on the negativity. Because, when we came here, we knew what we were doing. We knew the market was there, we knew we were the second shop (catering to the Afro-Caribbean community) in town. And we knew that we would create the traffic. We were sold-out to the idea. So, nothing whatsoever was gonna hinder us. But does it mean that the things which tried to stop us did not happen? Yes, they did happen. When we first came here, the first shocker was I remember somebody walked in here, of Asian community (south Asian descent.) And they said to us: “Why have you put an African shop in this area? If you look around here, there are no Africans here. This is an Asian dominated area, so why would you bring your shop here?” I could see the dismay on their face. I remember the other challenge we had was…I think, sometimes when people are not used to a different community, seeing a different community engaging in activities, and especially when they are the young ones is because of lack of knowledge and ignorance. We had young crowds of young people wanting to misbehave, wanting to come and throw stones in the shop, and we got the police involved.

I want to say that the police have done a tremendous job in this place. Because, we were an African shop, we were located at the home of the Rangers and the first thing we were told was when you come here you must support Rangers! But luckily enough for us, we found a friend! A Scottish man, a very wonderful friend. He became a family friend. He was the one advising us on how to live in harmony in this place. What to say, what not to say; what colours to display on the shop and what colours not to display. Which I think is important, because you don’t want to go into an area as a businessperson and start upsetting. I know we are diverse. I know people should accept people as they are, but sometimes you just don’t want to cause unnecessary uneasiness among people and among businesses. So, the best thing we wanted was to fit in, and we wanted to serve the community in the area we were.

I always tell my children that they should never forget that they are African children. That they have their African heritage. And for me it is very important that we raise them up knowing and acknowledging and respecting our culture. Does that deny them to fit in in this community and in this culture? Absolutely not. I can say that, yes, they are African children, yes, they appreciate our culture. They do not have a culture clash. The Scottish culture, there’s nothing wrong with Scottish culture. It’s a good culture, it’s a very good culture.

I can say that Glasgow has been good to me. It came with a lot of challenges yes. One day I came from my house, and I was walking down the street, and a little boy (just four years old) came, and he throw rotten eggs (four of them!) on me, I was on my way to college, you know. Four rotten eggs, in the morning; and I’m like should I go back home to change? I can’t go to college smelling of rotten eggs. Can you imagine? A four-year-old boy, you know? You get angry, but you feel sorry because he’s just an innocent child. It can’t be his mind; somebody must have put it in his head. And I just said that it’s one of those things. They can’t deter you because life has to go on, and I wasn’t gonna make a judgment of a country, a nation, a city, a people just because of a child who’d done a silly thing in total ignorance.

My hopes and aspirations for the future in this country, in this city is to see as an African woman, and as a business entrepreneur in this city, I would like to see more African businesses thriving, growing. We need to go into every kind of business. Not only shops! We need to be in every other kind of businesses that we can think of. And for those who have gone the career road, we want to see them growing in their career. Getting to the best possible positions that they could ever get and actually realising their dreams. Because I wanted to open an African shop and serve my community. And I have been able to realise that dream of opening my own business, serving my community. Because, this city, this country Scotland it offers great opportunity. Because it’s a growing city and it’s a growing nation. We cannot say Scotland has reached a saturation point when it comes to business, when it comes to careers, when it comes to opportunities. This what we are here for, encourage one another, encourage the young ones to dare go out there because the market needs them, the country needs them.

There is a whole load of opportunities out there. Dare to dream and make sure that you put your foot forward and start living your dream. That is my aspiration for the community in Glasgow.

My name’s Veronica. I live here in Glasgow. I’ve been living in Scotland since 2002. I am originally from Burundi. When I came back then in 2002, I did find the place quite calm, and the population was quite a very small population when I came to Glasgow back then 2002. And it was very cold. Very, very cold. The city wasn’t really that much grown. There has been such a huge transformation between 2002 and now we are in 2024, it looks totally a different place.

I’ve had this shop since 2004. When we first came here, the experience we had about trying to access African food, African hair products and African body products. There was nothing available! There was only just that one place, which was in the west end and the shopping there…I don’t want to go into it because it was quite a horrific experience; and that is what really challenge me and motivated me to say NO! Because food is a necessity. When I saw how the African community was actually really suffering to access their food, which is a necessity I actually decided I’m going to do something about it. So, what we did, (me and my partner) we decided we were gonna conduct a survey. We did write questionnaires, and we went to Glasgow city centre. We had only two questions for them; the question was: If we were to open an African shop…would you rather go for:  (a) Food (b) Hair and Cosmetics?

And I can tell you 90% was food.

My name is Tony Adams and I'm a lecturer at City of Glasgow College. I have been lecturing here for the past 17 years. I like it, I like my job, I enjoy what I do. I like to inspire people, my students they will tell you that I push them hard. I teach English as a second or other language (ESOL.)

We teach four skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing. For me I focus more on their reading and writing skills because I think these are skills which are not only 21st century skills but they’re transferable skills and the skills they will need in whatever they want to do after their ESOL course, after college.

I spend a lot of time trying to find material for them to read, material that will engage them because most of my students are of Middle Eastern background, so I find texts that would engage them. Text that are culturally specific, that would keep them amused and entertained.

I moved to Scotland in 2006. The main reason for coming here was my uncle. My uncle lived here for like 60 years. He come to Scotland when he was 18. Primarily, that was the reason for me coming to Scotland, and in 2006 he passed on. And so, I came to Scotland to look after his estate.

In Scotland I have been teaching for the past 17 years. What else do you want from a teacher? You want a teacher who inspires you, who encourages you, who provides feedback for you. I’m committed to them.

I’m there to make a difference in their lives.

I like Scotland. I like being here. I did say when I was leaving London, I said I was coming to Scotland to retire. And that’s exactly what I have done. I’ve been teaching for the past 17 years and I’m soon to be retired. I’m 64 now, one more year and that’s me! But even then, I still have plans to continue teaching. Because for me, teaching is a way of giving back. If you have knowledge, it’s no use if you cannot impart it. Knowledge needs to be imparted. Imparting knowledge is something that I love.

Writing is my second love. Since being in Scotland, I’ve written four different book reviews for the Scottish Left review. I also did a piece for the Anti-Racist Educator. For me culture is important, because if you know about a person’s culture you would understand them more. You would be able to deal with them on more productive bases. A cultural dialogue.

Having that dialogue, having those interactions between groups, and people of different cultures helps to make Scotland a better place, I think. Bringing people all together and doing the best for the communities we live in.

I hope that the work that I have taken as a purpose in my life will continue to grow. Educating people, and also developing myself; reading and learning as a I go on. Keep organising. We can make Scotland a better place for all of us to live in. Scotland is for us. One country, many voices.