GLASGOW Girl Refugee Roza Salih has been elected as an SNP councillor for Greater Pollok.
The 32-year-old, who travelled with her parents from Kurdistan to Scotland when she was just twelve, said she could never have imagined
“Glasgow people have always welcomed me. I've never given up and now they've trusted in me. I'll work very hard with my colleague in Greater Pollok to make sure that we serve the community, no matter what party they have voted for, because that's what we're here for.
“As councillors, we have to engage with the community and serve the community.”
She added: “I can't believe it, you know 20 years ago, I came to this country as a refugee. And to think back like, you know, I would never imagine to serve my city.”
In 2005, the Glasgow Girls - a group of seven 15-year-old school friends - took a stand against the treatment of asylum seekers following a dawn raid on the family of Agnesa Murselaj, a Roma girl from Kosovo.
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.
In 2008, Agnesa's family were allowed to remain in Scotland.
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