THEY were seven ordinary Scottish schoolgirls who achieved extraordinary things.
And now, seven years on from their impressive battle with immigration authorities, the Glasgow Girls are to be immortalised - in a musical.
In 2005, the Glasgow Girls, then aged 15 and 16, became the most vocal and powerful pro-refugee campaigners in the country, appearing in two television documentaries and winning numerous awards.
They girls were Amal Azzudin, originally from Somalia; Agnesa Murselaj, a Roma girl from Kosovo; Roza Salih, from Kurdistan; Ewelina Siwak, a Polish Roma gypsy; and Emma Clifford, Jennifer McCarron and Toni Henderson from Drumchapel, Glasgow.
Cora Bissett, writer and director of the award-winning play Roadkill, decided to take on the story of the Glasgow Girls. A sneak preview of the musical will be unveiled at the Tron Theatre this week as part of Refugee Week. The full musical will run from October 31 until November 17 at the Citizens Theatre before moving on to London.
Emma Clifford, who now works in radio, said the thought of seeing part of her life set to music was bizarre. "We were worried it would be really cheesy. We couldn't imagine how you could write a song about what happened to us and what we did.
"But when we travelled to London to see the rehearsals for the show we were reassured. It was very, very funny but also extremely emotional. It brought back a lot of memories."
The school friends took a stand against the treatment of asylum seekers following a dawn raid on Agnesa's family.
Although some of the girls involved hardly knew Agnesa, they saw the effects of what had happened to her family and the impact it had on their school and decided to take action.
The campaign, which kicked off in March 2005, led to the fifth and sixth-year pupils twice visiting the Scottish Parliament and winning Best Public Campaign at the Politician of the Year awards. TV and newspaper interviews followed and, in 2008, Agnesa's family were allowed to remain in Scotland.
Bissett said: "The more I read about the Glasgow Girls, the more I felt that this wasn't to be just a sad tale of injustices in a system. For me, there is something incredibly inspiring and life-affirming in this story too. I also want it to be a show that reflects our evolving multi-cultural Scotland and the way in which Glasgow, in particular, is adapting to that. But it's about any place dealing with a new generation of migrant people."
Emma, now 23, is to be played by actress Frances Thorburn, who most recently played Marilyn Monroe in the musical Marilyn.
Emma said: "It seems odd because it was so long ago and, although we worked together for several years, we haven't been active for at least the past three years."
But the girls haven't left their campaigning roots too far behind them, with several yesterday joining 500 or so protesters on a pro-refugee march in Glasgow's George Square.
Members of the Scottish Defence League staged a counter demonstration. A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said four males were arrested for breach of the peace and public disorder offences.
Gary Christie, of the Scottish Refugee Council, said: "We hope that the show inspires other young people to take a stand against social issues they see in their community."
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