A sad story

[JayFilomena]

My friend Ian is serving with me in Iraq. His family lives in Scotland. Good guy, born English and moved to Scotland not sure when. I was able to visit Scotland last year and had a wonderful week. Ian had me convinced that I could move to Scotland for a year. His wife would help my wife adjust, find a home and car to rent and just give our children the opprotunity to live abroad. Ian is one of the Baghdad 12, that commissioned the Operaton Iraqi Freedom: PSD tartan. Yesterday he informed me that he would be moving his family to Spain. His wife and children are being harrassed for being from England and with him in Iraq, its not worth fighting. I also herd that some 7 year old boy living in Scotland, was bullied for wearing a English football jersey. I knew America had its problems, and a few years ago, a man from Northern US would not fare to well moving to the Southern US but today...you know, it really isint like that. Its just sad.

[David Dalglish]

I find that difficult to believe, The Scots are a friendly people & would not harass a woman living on her own. The young lad would take a little banter for wearing an English shirt in Scotland, as it would be vice verca

[cessna152towser]

This sounds bizarre; I've never known anyone being harassed in Scotland because they are English or because they have a soldier in the family serving in Iraq, though I suppose it could happen in some of the remote Highland villages or in the most deprived areas of Glasgow or Edinburgh. The fact that the attack on the young lad wearing the England shirt in Aberdeen made national news headlines here showed that it was an isolated incident - anyone wearing an England football shirt here in Scotland can expect the occasional unwanted comment from the occasional idiot just as we might expect when wearing our kilts but the physical attack on the young lad was very ususual. I wouldn't decry a country or its people for the very occasional racist incident caused by some perverted oddball who gets his kicks from causing aggro..

[Riverkilt]

Bunch of drinking Louisiana folks on my boat trip yesterday...biker type look. They picked up on another guy's southern accent and asked where he was from. He told them North Carolina. They promptly began calling him a Yankee. Of course they were drunk, but the core is always "I'm better than you."

That is sad about your friend's family.

Ron

[BLAZN]

Sad information indeed.

Honestly, though... I'd STILL move to Scotland were I afforded the opportunity. I think it would be good for my family to live abroad for a little while, and I loved Scotland when I visited back in 2000.

[smaughazard]

Sorry to hear of your friend's family's harrasment. Moving the family to Spain seems an extreme response, however. I'm surprised that the family's friends and neighbors haven't stepped in to assist. The Scots are as friendly a people as any other; troublemakers are usually the "There's one in every crowd" sort.

Good luck to Ian and family, whatever their decision.

[Scottish Chi]

I was saddened to hear about Ian's wife and children. It is so difficult for the family to be separated from a husband and father when he is serving in wartime. An extra burdon like this should not have to be experienced. I hope their time will be more positive before they leave.

Cheers! Bill

[Hamish]

I too find this incredible, at least the fact that they are living in Scotland and are being victimised for being English. I know many English folk who live in Scotland and they have no problems at all. There has to be a lot more to this than that. Yes, the lad's England football shirt might just be a minor light-hearted problem, but most Scottish football supporters are behind England in the World Cup since they are not represented as a separate nation this time. I suspect this has more to do with the husband being in Iraq - there are strong anti-Iraqi war feelings in the UK - but even then, the treatment his family are receiving seem to be extreme.

[GMan]

I am at a loss of words on this. All I can say is why can't people just get along and accept that we are all different?

[Rab Gordon]

This story is very sad. I've noticed that the media seem to be trying to stir up bad feeling between the Scots and English lately but hopefully this will subside a bit when the World Cup is over.
Where I live the English are probably as accepted as Scots from other parts of the country.

Rab