Glasgow Girls (2014) s01e01 Episode Script
Episode 1
1 Immigration! Do you speak English? English? Is this it? What's he going to do if he doesn't pass his exams? That's a good question.
But don't worry, there's plenty of time.
You're so busy trying to get the weans that cannae speak English to pass their exams, you're forgetting about the others.
Sometimes decisions are taken by people elsewhere.
It's bad enough round here as it is without dumping half the world on us.
And here we are on the ground, trying to deal with the situation.
These asylum seekers don't even come from civilised countries.
Oh, come on, this is hardly the Garden of Eden, is it? You and me together, we're going to try and bring civilisation to Drumchapel.
It'll be a hard old slog, but I think we can manage.
They'll be bringing knives in.
Who, your son's pals? Eh? I'm just saying there's a lot of media scare stories, you know? It's very important for you and me to be on the same side, though, Mrs McVey, that's the only way we're going to go forward - together.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
"Good morning, Mr Girvan!" Tired, Toni-Lee? You need to get to your bed earlier, pal.
OK, bring it down, everybody.
Shh, shh, shh! Hey Miss Azzudin, hello.
Welcome to Drumchapel High.
Amal here is from Somalia, via London.
Who would like to show us on the map where Somalia is? Jennifer? No, thanks.
What do you mean? Sir, I cannae.
Why? Eh football injury, metatarsals or something, doctor says I'm not meant to stand on it unnecessarily.
Can I do it, Mr Girvan? Yes, David Attenborough, come on down.
Very good, Roza.
Now, where in the world is that? Africa.
Africa, that's right.
Thank you, Roza.
Which means that Amal, like many of you, has come a long way to be here.
So let's give her a big warm Drumchapel High welcome.
OK, everybody.
Get your pens and paper out, because I, you, we, he, she, it and they dive head first into the exciting world of subjective pronouns.
Yes! You love it, you love it, you love it.
Are you in the high flats? Mm-hm.
That's where they put most of us.
And you came to London first? Mm.
Cool, us too.
My mum, OK, she sees Scotland on the TV and it was snowing and she's like, "Imagine if they take us there!" And then, like, the next day, the guy at the hotel was like, "You're going to Scotland.
" And she's just like, freaking out, like, "What? Really?" How's your flat? We hardly have anything.
What are you missing? Music.
Definitely.
Mad asylum seekers, eh? Tidy, innit? All right, ladies? Oh, that is pure severe, man! She's got a baldy.
Don't do that, idiot! What are you going to do, sex bomb? Don't touch her.
Don't touch her! What are you doing?! Why are you touching her?! Why are you touching her?! I was only playing.
What?! Calm down, man.
It's OK, Amal, let go.
Keep your hair on.
Dick! Don't worry about those boys, by the way.
They're harmless.
They are till they aren't.
"Calm down, man, I was only playing.
" So where's your father? He couldn't come with us.
There.
That's better.
Home is what you make it.
You don't mind me having all of these things? No, keep it.
The stereo, too.
It's yours.
Really? Oh, wait.
Wait, I love this one.
Do you like dancing? Yeah, you do.
Come on, you do.
Come on.
# What would you do to get to me? # What would you say to have your way? # Would you give up or try again? # If I hesitate to let you win # Would you be yourself or play a role? # Tell all the boys or keep it low? # If I say no, would you turn away # Or play me off or would you stay? # Oh, if at first you don't succeed # Dust yourself off and try again You can dust it off and try again, try again Tupac.
Tu-pac? Tupac.
Back away from the door! Elvis? Hello.
Asima? Here.
Roza? Yes, sir.
Ewelina? Here.
Jennifer? Jennifer? Aye.
Praise be! Toni-Lee? Here.
Agnesa? Roza, Ewelina, you see Agnesa this morning? No, Mr Girvan.
She must be sick.
She'd rather be sick than be here.
That's not like her.
Agnesa? Hello? Agnesa? Agnesa? Where are they? Agnesa's family's asylum claim has been turned down.
And what does that mean? It means that they're going to be taken back home.
Home? Yes, Roza, home.
They'll be deported, they'll be sent back to Kosovo.
By who? By the Home Office.
The Government.
They'd been here four years.
My family don't have our papers, either.
Neither do we.
Amal? No.
Well, what are they going to do? Do they have a home to go back to? No, she said their home was burnt.
It just isn't right.
They've been taken to a detention centre, a place called Yarl's Wood in England.
England! As if it wisnae bad enough.
Very good, Jennifer.
They're going to be detained there until they're flown back to Kosovo.
Now, I'm trying to get a contact number to reach them I'm sorry, I'm afraid there's not much else we can do.
OK.
Your exams are approaching so open your books at page 32, act two, scene one.
Come on, open your books.
What's going on? We're going on strike, Mr Girvan.
Right.
Yes, right.
This is wrong.
I'm not going to carry on as if nothing has happened.
And we are, too.
What? Aye, we all are.
Very good, Jennifer.
I'm not really sure I would know the difference, you know, but, um, good on you.
Put your book down, Toni-Lee.
Et tu, Elvis? Aye.
If we want to get her back, we're going to have to be proactive.
Get the community involved or something.
Nobody round here's going to help.
Why are you saying that? Folk have got enough to worry about.
Come off it, most folk don't want them here.
Jennifer! I'm just saying, that's how it is, but.
It's not my opinion.
Ho.
This isn't a library.
Is it not? I didn't realise.
You going to buy that? Yeah, what about it? And you? Mind your own business, we're not criminals.
Leave it, Emma.
Bawbag.
I heard that.
Nathan, come on.
Seven o'clock in the morning.
It says here that the family were hysterical.
They could be coming for me and my family, too.
Take one of these and sign them.
What's this? It's a petition.
What's a petition? It's how we get things done.
It's a list of names of people that agree with us.
What use is that? We need to fight.
There must be a reason why they were removed.
Home Office obviously thinks it's safe for them.
See? People don't want us here.
I never said that.
Look, Agnesa was my friend and I'm a Glaswegian.
There are people here who care about you and people who have signed this.
I just don't get it.
Why would she not want to go home? It's not safe there.
Jennifer.
What? It's a free country.
That's right, it's a free country, this is a democracy.
We're all entitled to an opinion, we're all entitled to express that opinion.
Maybe you could do me a one-pager on what it means to live in a democracy.
Emma has suggested the petition.
What's your suggestion? What's your suggestion? Roza? Amal? Ewelina? Anybody? Anybody? OK, so we're all agreed.
Give me that.
I'm getting the door! What do you want? Hi, sir, I'm here with a petition for the release of my school friend Agnesa.
Petition? What's it about? Is it about the rubbish getting blocked up in the chute? No, sir.
They've been putting fucking bikes down that chute.
That's why it's all overflowing, it's ridiculous.
It's not about that, sir, it's about my friend Agnesa.
Her and her family, they were taken, kidnapped.
Kidnapped? No.
No, I cannae help you with that.
Look, phone the police, doll.
If your pal's been fucking kidnapped, you better phone the police.
Can you sign, please? No, they're taking our jobs, our houses and our women.
Who told you that? My dad.
People here can't even get a tin of soup.
Old people that fought in the war, and yous have got washing machines and microwaves coming out of your ears, do you know what I'm saying? No.
See, as far as I'm concerned, it's another less mouth to feed.
What is it? My name is Roza.
Who? Roza.
Oh, thank Christ, you nearly gave me a heart attack, hen.
I wanted to ask you to sign a petition for my friend Agnesa.
She and her family were taken by the Home Office.
The Home Office? Oh, that's terrible.
Course, hen.
Give it here.
Stop what you're doing! We've made the local press.
What, seriously? Is it front cover? No, it's It's in here somewhere.
Oh.
What does it say? It says, "Drumchapel High School students" ".
.
are calling on the support of friends and neighbours to overturn "a Home Office decision to remove a family of illegal asylum seekers.
"An outcry over the perceived ill treatment of Agnesa Murselaj "and family has led to the students petitioning "and writing letters of concern to the UK Government.
" Perceived ill treatment? They make them sound like criminals.
Right-wing pish.
I telt you.
What? Nothing.
What? I says, I telt you.
It's obvious, innit? Why would you expect people to help? We can't even take care of our own problems.
Jennifer.
No, I'm serious.
Loads of folk think yous are stealing everything - school and education and that - fae us.
This is problem we're going to face.
How can we expect YOU to understand? Eh? You don't understand anything.
You have easy life, everything provided on plate.
Hang on a minute No, we have nothing.
No home, nothing.
When was the last time you were scared? Don't know.
What? The pictures, or something.
'Hello?' Hey! Hey, how are you? 'Hi! Oh, my God, you guys.
I'm OK.
' How is it in there? 'Yeah, you know.
'They give you what you need - food, a bed.
'My brothers want to go out, but the doors are locked.
They can't.
' Listen, we're talking to the press, to the media.
'Really? The press?' Yeah, the press, so you have to tell us exactly what happened, do you understand? 'Well '.
.
to start with 'they came for us in the morning, you know, it was, like, still dark, 'like 6am, or something.
And they came right into my bedroom 'and told me to get up and get dressed.
My mum was crying 'and my dad was yelling, and they put him in handcuffs.
'I tried to help Mum, and they told me if I went near her, 'they would just put me in a different van.
' So, you're all together now? Agnesa? Agnesa? 'Yeah, sorry.
'I miss you guys.
'Two other girls and their families were removed yesterday.
'Taken to a flight to be deported.
'They're gone.
' We're going to do everything we can to get you out, OK? 'What about my exams?' Eh? 'I started my application for college, Mr Girvan.
' That's good, that's really good.
Agnesa.
Agnesa, it's Elvis.
I miss you.
My mornings are so dull without you here.
'Oh, my God, Elvis, you never give up.
' Agnesa, you've got to be strong, OK? We promise we won't leave you there.
OK? We won't.
Agnesa? She sounded scared.
I understand that, but you have kidnapped and imprisoned one of my pupils, and I want to know when you plan to force her onto a plane and dump her in a dangerous country where her safety and her future cannot be guaranteed.
No, I keep telling you, I'm not a solicitor, I am her teacher and I think I have the right to know when a pupil of mine.
Damn it! What do you want? I want to speak to Mr Girvan.
Jennifer.
How can I help? Here's that essay.
Oh.
I forgot about that.
Yeah.
Very good.
Look underneath.
Well There must be a couple of hundred signatures there.
What's going on? I was walking and it hit me.
How would I feel if the police came and locked up my family? I'd have to do something.
Fight.
I want to help, I do.
But I just think, who the hell's going to listen to a bunch of wee lassies from Drumchapel? What's wrong? What is it? Oh, come off it! Surely me offering to help isn't that upsetting? I'm sorry.
Well, what's wrong? We found out our claim has been rejected, too.
It won't be too long for us.
I'm sorry, Roza.
Jennifer, you've been protesting all your life.
You just never had a good outlet until now.
So if you want to help, get out there and do it.
How did you manage this? All right, everyone, quiet.
Come on, bring it down.
Quiet! All right, everybody.
Thanks for coming.
We wanted to bring yous all here because something's been happening and it's not right, and we need to do something about it.
This is Roza.
She's an Iraqi Kurd but she's all right.
OK, first, thank you all for being here.
Going to speak up, hen! Oh, sorry.
Thank you all for being here.
We just wanted to say that what this Government behaves is doing wrong.
Eh? The dawn raids.
The Home Office is taking asylum-seeking families from home and deporting them.
Aye, and they're not doing it fast enough.
We know that some people around here think it better that we hadn't come but my uncles and grandfather were shot by regime in Iraq.
My family, we came here, because my father's life was in danger.
He was teacher, but here he cannot work.
I have a question.
Do you think anyone should be allowed to come and live here? If they live in trouble, yes.
What if they're a criminal? Yes, also then.
A murderer? A rapist? Well, no.
No.
No, OK, so we're all agreed, we cannae just have an indiscriminate open border.
We need rules and regulations and we need people to manage those rules, to man our borders.
We're not talking about murderers, criminals or rapists.
We're talking about kids here.
We're talking about students at my school.
I understand that, Euan.
So, what you're saying is, people with kids should be allowed to stay, so long as they're not criminals? No, you don't understand.
It's more complicated than that.
And what about folk having weans just so they can get a passport? What will that lead to? Happy families? I don't think so.
My family are good people and so are Agnesa's.
We fled for fear of our lives.
Look, you shouldn't be able to come into someone's house in the middle of the night and drag them away.
It's wrong.
Well, what time of day should they come, then, darling? Should they make a wee, convenient appointment that fits their schedule? Listen, I like you girls, but you're so naive it's a joke.
Maybe it was naive to think that people would want to help us.
But that's what you do, isn't it? When you're scared you ask for help.
Well, we're scared.
We're scared because the Home Office is coming in the middle of the night to take people like us away.
And we're scared because if we get sent back to where we come from we don't know what will happen to us.
We're scared because every day we go to school and we say goodbye to our friends, we don't know if it will be for the last time.
We're a part of this community, too.
And we need your help.
Because we're under attack and we need your help because we can't defend ourselves alone.
That was fucking brilliant.
Well, what about? I think you've made your feelings clear enough, Kenny.
Now it's somebody else's turn.
I didn't come here to be told our Government doesn't know how to run the country.
I could have told you that myself.
What I want to know is, what exactly it is you think we can do about it, girls? They're here.
Looks like they're going into to your flats, Jean.
Aye, got it.
Hello, Jean.
I'm up, I'm up.
Come on, let's go, we got to go, we got to go.
Come on, hurry up, hurry up.
Can you move out of the way, please? Eddie.
Wee Eddie.
You were in one of my classes at school, aye? Aye, Mr Girvan.
Listen, no disrespect, but you're going to need to move out the way, we've got a job to do.
A job? Aye.
And what kind of job is that, eh? Helping them to drag weans out their beds.
What kind of job is that, Eddie? They're breaking the law.
Time to move, please, Mr Girvan.
All right, then.
Stand away from the door! Flat is empty.
Repeat, flat is clear.
Mission accomplished.
Same time tomorrow? Aye.
'Power to the people.
' You better believe it.
No border, no nation, stop deportation! No border, no nation, stop deportation! 'Hundreds of campaigners joined a protest today 'outside the Home Office Immigration Centre in Brand Street.
'They were acting in response to a spate of dawn raids 'by immigration officers on local asylum-seeking families.
'Campaigners have condemned the tactics of the early-morning raids, 'which they say cause unnecessary trauma 'to already vulnerable children.
' There you go, Billy, sign up.
Thank you.
Thanks, Billy.
OK, wee man, let's go.
Hi, how you doing? Thank you.
Thank you.
This is immense.
Immense.
And you've nailed every student in the school.
Pretty much, apart from the odd numpty.
Who'd have thought it? Not bad for a couple of lassies fae the Drum, eh, Jennifer? Amal? Mm? I don't know, Mum! I can't stop, Mum! I can't.
You should know this.
End child detention now! End child detention now! Power to the people! The people got the power! Power to the people! The people got the power! We want to thank neighbours in our community and of Greater Glasgow for coming out today to support us.
We want to put an end to the inhumane children's detention by Government and we ask for answer from Home Office to our campaign.
Free Agnesa Murselaj! Free Agnesa! Free Agnesa! Free Agnesa! Me and Eva and Amal don't have our papers, either.
We're scared that the Home Office is going to pull us out of our beds in the middle of the night and this for us means death.
But the Home Office says it's safe to return Agnesa home.
This is her home now.
It's not safe in Kosovo.
She's a Glasgow girl.
We all are.
The Glasgow Girls, I like that.
Cheers, girls, and good luck.
You know, the United Nations had peacekeepers in Kosovo and as far as I'm aware, they still do.
If the situation there is safe, why do they need peacekeepers on the ground? Now, that's a question worth asking.
It's from the Home Office.
"Thank you for your letter about Mr Murselaj and family.
"You have stated that there is a real risk if this family return to Kosovo "they would face persecution.
"As Mr Murselaj and his family are from the Peje region, "I am satisfied that there are no substantial grounds for believing "that this family would be at risk on return.
" Shit.
"The Murselaj family has exhausted all their appeal rights "and have no right to remain in the United Kingdom.
" A plane's been chartered to take them back to Kosovo.
They leave tomorrow.
I'm so sorry, girls.
We've lost.
# So # So you think you can tell # Heaven from hell # Blue skies from pain # Can you tell a green field # From a cold steel rail? # A smile from a veil? # Do you think you can tell? Did they get you to trade Elvis? Here.
# .
.
Your heroes for ghosts? # Hot ashes for trees? # Hot air for a cool breeze? # Cold comfort for change? # Did you exchange # A walk-on part in the war For a lead role in a cage? Jennifer? Aye! # .
.
How I wish # How I wish you were here # We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl # Year after year # Running over the same old ground # What have we found? # The same old fears Wish you were here Mum.
Something happened.
What? You not answering your phone? What you up to? I've been looking into something.
We've been worried about you.
Ewelina's a wreck.
The letter, Jennifer, from the Home Office, there's something in it.
"I can tell you now that this family's removal will only be "effected once the United Nation's mission in Kosovo "has accepted the removal.
" But that's just standard, innit? Yeah, but Wait, look at this.
Come here.
"The United Nations believes "that despite the fact the security situation in Kosovo has improved, "Roma families are still at risk of persecution.
" Look, even though the war is over, there has still been revenge attacks against Roma families.
The United Nations Refugee Agency agrees with us.
Roma families aren't safe there.
Where did you get that? It's on their bloody website, it's there in black and white.
Why hasn't the Home Office checked that? Are you sure? It's all here.
This is dynamite.
She's coming back.
Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back! Agy's back, Agy's back! There you are.
Hey, you made me jump.
I wondered where you had gone.
Good to be home? So, it's home now, is it? Yeah, it's home.
And don't leave it again.
What was it like when they said that you could go? Amazing.
We were like, "Yeah, bye, then.
" It was hard saying bye to the other families, though.
I made some good friends there.
I got some good news whilst you was gone.
Yeah, what is it? Um Wait.
Yeah? Tell him to wait.
Yeah.
You know, Dad's buying a huge lock for the door tomorrow in case they're coming again.
Maybe it would be handy for keeping Elvis out, too.
They're not going to come again.
They might.
So, tell me.
Hm? Your good news, what's up? Oh it's nothing.
Doesn't matter.
It's just good to have you home.
Come on.
'All morning, we're talking about the Glasgow Girls, 'a group of local girls from Drumchapel High 'who are making headlines and taking on the Home Office.
'And it seems they're going from strength to strength 'with the news that they've been invited for a meeting 'with the First Minister of Scotland himself, Jack McConnell.
' I'm shitting myself and I don't care who knows it.
Girls.
First Minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell, pleased to meet you.
So, girls, let me just start by saying, you know, I agree with you.
Kids that are living here happily, doing their exams, getting their education, should be left alone.
So, you're going to help us, then? Well, what I will say is, you need to work out what your aims are.
I, of course, have been very impressed with your campaign.
You've been making a lot of noise, people have been listening and sitting up, taking notice.
But what is it that you want? Hm? The dawn raids have to stop.
We want an apology from the Government.
And we want everyone who's been taken from our communities to be brought back, and no more deportation.
Do you want my advice, girls? You have to figure out what it is you really, REALLY want.
You've got to be realistic.
I mean, it's wonderful to have ideals, but politics requires compromise and, well, an end to deportation, it's, you know, it's just it's never going to happen.
So, what, you're not going to do anything? I, personally, am going to be calling for a protocol.
What's a protocol? A protocol's a set of changes, a set of changes which mean the UK Government can't just grab families any more without telling us.
And that doesn't mean that everyone can stay in every case, of course not.
It just means handling the situation more sensitively.
A more caring system.
Does that sound like something you can get on board with? These changes, do you promise it? Promise to try.
In politics, that's as good as it gets.
Immigration, open the door! What's going on? What's happening? Sh! We have a warrant.
Just do what they say, OK? We'll be OK.
Your last chance! Elvis, what's going on? Open the door! Open the door! This is your last chance, we have a warrant.
Open the door! Put your hands behind your back! No! No! No! Calm down, sir.
You're scaring your children.
No! No! No! Come on, let's go! No! No! No! Morning, troops.
"Good morning, Mr Girvan!" Anybody seen Elvis today? No, he's left the building.
No? You see him over the weekend? No.
When's the last time anybody's seen Elvis or any of the Fukajes? Anybody? Wait here.
What's happening? He must have got taken.
I'm so tired, Mum.
Tired.
Hey, where have you been? Aye, there's a protest for Elvis and his family at Brand Street on Sunday.
We need to round up the usual suspects.
We're going to get Elvis back, too.
Listen to this.
Yous have been nominated in the Scottish Politician of the Year Award, for the best public campaign.
What, you're kidding? No, seriously.
Brilliant.
What's up with her? Hey.
Hi.
What's up? My papers came through.
What? I have leave to remain.
That's brilliant, Amal.
Why didn't you tell us? I can't keep protesting.
Nothing we're doing is changing anything.
The Minister, he let us down.
I'm not doing it any more.
So let's go and tell him we haven't forgotten.
Let's go and tell him he needs to listen.
We have to keep going.
Sorry.
I want to get on with my own life now.
I don't want to celebrate.
I got a message from Elvis, by the way.
They were flown back to Albania.
He's gone.
'There will be no protocol with Scotland 'on the issue of dawn raids.
'That's the clear message from the Home Office.
'Jack McConnell faces a humiliating climb-down 'after immigration officials rejected his calls for enforced removals 'to be handled more sensitively north of the border.
Amal 'And now the weather' Huh? Do you think she's going to show up? Look.
How he can show his face after what he's done I'd like to tell him where to shove his protocol.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards.
Hi, sorry I'm late, it takes me ages to get anywhere in this thing.
You look beautiful.
Well You're just in time.
I heard about the Fukaje family.
We tried our best.
Listen, girls, no matter what happens here tonight, you should be proud of yourselves.
You're girls, you're teenagers, you're not people that get listened to.
You're not old white guys in suits, you know? You're not supposed to change the world.
I love the fact that you never stopped long enough to realise that.
Here's to the Glasgow Girls.
I pity anybody who stands in their way.
Cheers Now comes the time to present the award for Best Public Campaign.
And the winner is .
.
the Glasgow Girls.
Get up there, girls, get up there.
Thank you so much for award.
This means a lot to us.
I'm really nervous.
This isnae just for us.
It's for our communities, people who understand where we're coming from, so really, we just want to thank yous and, like, this isn't just like a pat on the head for us.
We're going to keep going, we're going to keep going till we get our point across, because if something's wrong, you change it.
I also want to ask Jack McConnell one question.
Remember when you promised us the protocol? There are still asylum seekers getting deported to unsafe countries.
Yeah, we don't want your sympathy or your promises, we want you to act.
We want a new amnesty for people who have been here for more than three years, because they have life in here.
They have friends, they have education.
Scotland is our home now, and we love this country, we will do anything for it, but please return the favour.
Thank you again for this award.
How are we playing this? # .
.
Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # This time # I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in # This time I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in We're going to have to go back.
Not like this.
Not today.
# .
.
Not giving in # Not giving in Oooh Wrap it up, lads.
# .
.
Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # This time # I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in # This time # I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in
But don't worry, there's plenty of time.
You're so busy trying to get the weans that cannae speak English to pass their exams, you're forgetting about the others.
Sometimes decisions are taken by people elsewhere.
It's bad enough round here as it is without dumping half the world on us.
And here we are on the ground, trying to deal with the situation.
These asylum seekers don't even come from civilised countries.
Oh, come on, this is hardly the Garden of Eden, is it? You and me together, we're going to try and bring civilisation to Drumchapel.
It'll be a hard old slog, but I think we can manage.
They'll be bringing knives in.
Who, your son's pals? Eh? I'm just saying there's a lot of media scare stories, you know? It's very important for you and me to be on the same side, though, Mrs McVey, that's the only way we're going to go forward - together.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
"Good morning, Mr Girvan!" Tired, Toni-Lee? You need to get to your bed earlier, pal.
OK, bring it down, everybody.
Shh, shh, shh! Hey Miss Azzudin, hello.
Welcome to Drumchapel High.
Amal here is from Somalia, via London.
Who would like to show us on the map where Somalia is? Jennifer? No, thanks.
What do you mean? Sir, I cannae.
Why? Eh football injury, metatarsals or something, doctor says I'm not meant to stand on it unnecessarily.
Can I do it, Mr Girvan? Yes, David Attenborough, come on down.
Very good, Roza.
Now, where in the world is that? Africa.
Africa, that's right.
Thank you, Roza.
Which means that Amal, like many of you, has come a long way to be here.
So let's give her a big warm Drumchapel High welcome.
OK, everybody.
Get your pens and paper out, because I, you, we, he, she, it and they dive head first into the exciting world of subjective pronouns.
Yes! You love it, you love it, you love it.
Are you in the high flats? Mm-hm.
That's where they put most of us.
And you came to London first? Mm.
Cool, us too.
My mum, OK, she sees Scotland on the TV and it was snowing and she's like, "Imagine if they take us there!" And then, like, the next day, the guy at the hotel was like, "You're going to Scotland.
" And she's just like, freaking out, like, "What? Really?" How's your flat? We hardly have anything.
What are you missing? Music.
Definitely.
Mad asylum seekers, eh? Tidy, innit? All right, ladies? Oh, that is pure severe, man! She's got a baldy.
Don't do that, idiot! What are you going to do, sex bomb? Don't touch her.
Don't touch her! What are you doing?! Why are you touching her?! Why are you touching her?! I was only playing.
What?! Calm down, man.
It's OK, Amal, let go.
Keep your hair on.
Dick! Don't worry about those boys, by the way.
They're harmless.
They are till they aren't.
"Calm down, man, I was only playing.
" So where's your father? He couldn't come with us.
There.
That's better.
Home is what you make it.
You don't mind me having all of these things? No, keep it.
The stereo, too.
It's yours.
Really? Oh, wait.
Wait, I love this one.
Do you like dancing? Yeah, you do.
Come on, you do.
Come on.
# What would you do to get to me? # What would you say to have your way? # Would you give up or try again? # If I hesitate to let you win # Would you be yourself or play a role? # Tell all the boys or keep it low? # If I say no, would you turn away # Or play me off or would you stay? # Oh, if at first you don't succeed # Dust yourself off and try again You can dust it off and try again, try again Tupac.
Tu-pac? Tupac.
Back away from the door! Elvis? Hello.
Asima? Here.
Roza? Yes, sir.
Ewelina? Here.
Jennifer? Jennifer? Aye.
Praise be! Toni-Lee? Here.
Agnesa? Roza, Ewelina, you see Agnesa this morning? No, Mr Girvan.
She must be sick.
She'd rather be sick than be here.
That's not like her.
Agnesa? Hello? Agnesa? Agnesa? Where are they? Agnesa's family's asylum claim has been turned down.
And what does that mean? It means that they're going to be taken back home.
Home? Yes, Roza, home.
They'll be deported, they'll be sent back to Kosovo.
By who? By the Home Office.
The Government.
They'd been here four years.
My family don't have our papers, either.
Neither do we.
Amal? No.
Well, what are they going to do? Do they have a home to go back to? No, she said their home was burnt.
It just isn't right.
They've been taken to a detention centre, a place called Yarl's Wood in England.
England! As if it wisnae bad enough.
Very good, Jennifer.
They're going to be detained there until they're flown back to Kosovo.
Now, I'm trying to get a contact number to reach them I'm sorry, I'm afraid there's not much else we can do.
OK.
Your exams are approaching so open your books at page 32, act two, scene one.
Come on, open your books.
What's going on? We're going on strike, Mr Girvan.
Right.
Yes, right.
This is wrong.
I'm not going to carry on as if nothing has happened.
And we are, too.
What? Aye, we all are.
Very good, Jennifer.
I'm not really sure I would know the difference, you know, but, um, good on you.
Put your book down, Toni-Lee.
Et tu, Elvis? Aye.
If we want to get her back, we're going to have to be proactive.
Get the community involved or something.
Nobody round here's going to help.
Why are you saying that? Folk have got enough to worry about.
Come off it, most folk don't want them here.
Jennifer! I'm just saying, that's how it is, but.
It's not my opinion.
Ho.
This isn't a library.
Is it not? I didn't realise.
You going to buy that? Yeah, what about it? And you? Mind your own business, we're not criminals.
Leave it, Emma.
Bawbag.
I heard that.
Nathan, come on.
Seven o'clock in the morning.
It says here that the family were hysterical.
They could be coming for me and my family, too.
Take one of these and sign them.
What's this? It's a petition.
What's a petition? It's how we get things done.
It's a list of names of people that agree with us.
What use is that? We need to fight.
There must be a reason why they were removed.
Home Office obviously thinks it's safe for them.
See? People don't want us here.
I never said that.
Look, Agnesa was my friend and I'm a Glaswegian.
There are people here who care about you and people who have signed this.
I just don't get it.
Why would she not want to go home? It's not safe there.
Jennifer.
What? It's a free country.
That's right, it's a free country, this is a democracy.
We're all entitled to an opinion, we're all entitled to express that opinion.
Maybe you could do me a one-pager on what it means to live in a democracy.
Emma has suggested the petition.
What's your suggestion? What's your suggestion? Roza? Amal? Ewelina? Anybody? Anybody? OK, so we're all agreed.
Give me that.
I'm getting the door! What do you want? Hi, sir, I'm here with a petition for the release of my school friend Agnesa.
Petition? What's it about? Is it about the rubbish getting blocked up in the chute? No, sir.
They've been putting fucking bikes down that chute.
That's why it's all overflowing, it's ridiculous.
It's not about that, sir, it's about my friend Agnesa.
Her and her family, they were taken, kidnapped.
Kidnapped? No.
No, I cannae help you with that.
Look, phone the police, doll.
If your pal's been fucking kidnapped, you better phone the police.
Can you sign, please? No, they're taking our jobs, our houses and our women.
Who told you that? My dad.
People here can't even get a tin of soup.
Old people that fought in the war, and yous have got washing machines and microwaves coming out of your ears, do you know what I'm saying? No.
See, as far as I'm concerned, it's another less mouth to feed.
What is it? My name is Roza.
Who? Roza.
Oh, thank Christ, you nearly gave me a heart attack, hen.
I wanted to ask you to sign a petition for my friend Agnesa.
She and her family were taken by the Home Office.
The Home Office? Oh, that's terrible.
Course, hen.
Give it here.
Stop what you're doing! We've made the local press.
What, seriously? Is it front cover? No, it's It's in here somewhere.
Oh.
What does it say? It says, "Drumchapel High School students" ".
.
are calling on the support of friends and neighbours to overturn "a Home Office decision to remove a family of illegal asylum seekers.
"An outcry over the perceived ill treatment of Agnesa Murselaj "and family has led to the students petitioning "and writing letters of concern to the UK Government.
" Perceived ill treatment? They make them sound like criminals.
Right-wing pish.
I telt you.
What? Nothing.
What? I says, I telt you.
It's obvious, innit? Why would you expect people to help? We can't even take care of our own problems.
Jennifer.
No, I'm serious.
Loads of folk think yous are stealing everything - school and education and that - fae us.
This is problem we're going to face.
How can we expect YOU to understand? Eh? You don't understand anything.
You have easy life, everything provided on plate.
Hang on a minute No, we have nothing.
No home, nothing.
When was the last time you were scared? Don't know.
What? The pictures, or something.
'Hello?' Hey! Hey, how are you? 'Hi! Oh, my God, you guys.
I'm OK.
' How is it in there? 'Yeah, you know.
'They give you what you need - food, a bed.
'My brothers want to go out, but the doors are locked.
They can't.
' Listen, we're talking to the press, to the media.
'Really? The press?' Yeah, the press, so you have to tell us exactly what happened, do you understand? 'Well '.
.
to start with 'they came for us in the morning, you know, it was, like, still dark, 'like 6am, or something.
And they came right into my bedroom 'and told me to get up and get dressed.
My mum was crying 'and my dad was yelling, and they put him in handcuffs.
'I tried to help Mum, and they told me if I went near her, 'they would just put me in a different van.
' So, you're all together now? Agnesa? Agnesa? 'Yeah, sorry.
'I miss you guys.
'Two other girls and their families were removed yesterday.
'Taken to a flight to be deported.
'They're gone.
' We're going to do everything we can to get you out, OK? 'What about my exams?' Eh? 'I started my application for college, Mr Girvan.
' That's good, that's really good.
Agnesa.
Agnesa, it's Elvis.
I miss you.
My mornings are so dull without you here.
'Oh, my God, Elvis, you never give up.
' Agnesa, you've got to be strong, OK? We promise we won't leave you there.
OK? We won't.
Agnesa? She sounded scared.
I understand that, but you have kidnapped and imprisoned one of my pupils, and I want to know when you plan to force her onto a plane and dump her in a dangerous country where her safety and her future cannot be guaranteed.
No, I keep telling you, I'm not a solicitor, I am her teacher and I think I have the right to know when a pupil of mine.
Damn it! What do you want? I want to speak to Mr Girvan.
Jennifer.
How can I help? Here's that essay.
Oh.
I forgot about that.
Yeah.
Very good.
Look underneath.
Well There must be a couple of hundred signatures there.
What's going on? I was walking and it hit me.
How would I feel if the police came and locked up my family? I'd have to do something.
Fight.
I want to help, I do.
But I just think, who the hell's going to listen to a bunch of wee lassies from Drumchapel? What's wrong? What is it? Oh, come off it! Surely me offering to help isn't that upsetting? I'm sorry.
Well, what's wrong? We found out our claim has been rejected, too.
It won't be too long for us.
I'm sorry, Roza.
Jennifer, you've been protesting all your life.
You just never had a good outlet until now.
So if you want to help, get out there and do it.
How did you manage this? All right, everyone, quiet.
Come on, bring it down.
Quiet! All right, everybody.
Thanks for coming.
We wanted to bring yous all here because something's been happening and it's not right, and we need to do something about it.
This is Roza.
She's an Iraqi Kurd but she's all right.
OK, first, thank you all for being here.
Going to speak up, hen! Oh, sorry.
Thank you all for being here.
We just wanted to say that what this Government behaves is doing wrong.
Eh? The dawn raids.
The Home Office is taking asylum-seeking families from home and deporting them.
Aye, and they're not doing it fast enough.
We know that some people around here think it better that we hadn't come but my uncles and grandfather were shot by regime in Iraq.
My family, we came here, because my father's life was in danger.
He was teacher, but here he cannot work.
I have a question.
Do you think anyone should be allowed to come and live here? If they live in trouble, yes.
What if they're a criminal? Yes, also then.
A murderer? A rapist? Well, no.
No.
No, OK, so we're all agreed, we cannae just have an indiscriminate open border.
We need rules and regulations and we need people to manage those rules, to man our borders.
We're not talking about murderers, criminals or rapists.
We're talking about kids here.
We're talking about students at my school.
I understand that, Euan.
So, what you're saying is, people with kids should be allowed to stay, so long as they're not criminals? No, you don't understand.
It's more complicated than that.
And what about folk having weans just so they can get a passport? What will that lead to? Happy families? I don't think so.
My family are good people and so are Agnesa's.
We fled for fear of our lives.
Look, you shouldn't be able to come into someone's house in the middle of the night and drag them away.
It's wrong.
Well, what time of day should they come, then, darling? Should they make a wee, convenient appointment that fits their schedule? Listen, I like you girls, but you're so naive it's a joke.
Maybe it was naive to think that people would want to help us.
But that's what you do, isn't it? When you're scared you ask for help.
Well, we're scared.
We're scared because the Home Office is coming in the middle of the night to take people like us away.
And we're scared because if we get sent back to where we come from we don't know what will happen to us.
We're scared because every day we go to school and we say goodbye to our friends, we don't know if it will be for the last time.
We're a part of this community, too.
And we need your help.
Because we're under attack and we need your help because we can't defend ourselves alone.
That was fucking brilliant.
Well, what about? I think you've made your feelings clear enough, Kenny.
Now it's somebody else's turn.
I didn't come here to be told our Government doesn't know how to run the country.
I could have told you that myself.
What I want to know is, what exactly it is you think we can do about it, girls? They're here.
Looks like they're going into to your flats, Jean.
Aye, got it.
Hello, Jean.
I'm up, I'm up.
Come on, let's go, we got to go, we got to go.
Come on, hurry up, hurry up.
Can you move out of the way, please? Eddie.
Wee Eddie.
You were in one of my classes at school, aye? Aye, Mr Girvan.
Listen, no disrespect, but you're going to need to move out the way, we've got a job to do.
A job? Aye.
And what kind of job is that, eh? Helping them to drag weans out their beds.
What kind of job is that, Eddie? They're breaking the law.
Time to move, please, Mr Girvan.
All right, then.
Stand away from the door! Flat is empty.
Repeat, flat is clear.
Mission accomplished.
Same time tomorrow? Aye.
'Power to the people.
' You better believe it.
No border, no nation, stop deportation! No border, no nation, stop deportation! 'Hundreds of campaigners joined a protest today 'outside the Home Office Immigration Centre in Brand Street.
'They were acting in response to a spate of dawn raids 'by immigration officers on local asylum-seeking families.
'Campaigners have condemned the tactics of the early-morning raids, 'which they say cause unnecessary trauma 'to already vulnerable children.
' There you go, Billy, sign up.
Thank you.
Thanks, Billy.
OK, wee man, let's go.
Hi, how you doing? Thank you.
Thank you.
This is immense.
Immense.
And you've nailed every student in the school.
Pretty much, apart from the odd numpty.
Who'd have thought it? Not bad for a couple of lassies fae the Drum, eh, Jennifer? Amal? Mm? I don't know, Mum! I can't stop, Mum! I can't.
You should know this.
End child detention now! End child detention now! Power to the people! The people got the power! Power to the people! The people got the power! We want to thank neighbours in our community and of Greater Glasgow for coming out today to support us.
We want to put an end to the inhumane children's detention by Government and we ask for answer from Home Office to our campaign.
Free Agnesa Murselaj! Free Agnesa! Free Agnesa! Free Agnesa! Me and Eva and Amal don't have our papers, either.
We're scared that the Home Office is going to pull us out of our beds in the middle of the night and this for us means death.
But the Home Office says it's safe to return Agnesa home.
This is her home now.
It's not safe in Kosovo.
She's a Glasgow girl.
We all are.
The Glasgow Girls, I like that.
Cheers, girls, and good luck.
You know, the United Nations had peacekeepers in Kosovo and as far as I'm aware, they still do.
If the situation there is safe, why do they need peacekeepers on the ground? Now, that's a question worth asking.
It's from the Home Office.
"Thank you for your letter about Mr Murselaj and family.
"You have stated that there is a real risk if this family return to Kosovo "they would face persecution.
"As Mr Murselaj and his family are from the Peje region, "I am satisfied that there are no substantial grounds for believing "that this family would be at risk on return.
" Shit.
"The Murselaj family has exhausted all their appeal rights "and have no right to remain in the United Kingdom.
" A plane's been chartered to take them back to Kosovo.
They leave tomorrow.
I'm so sorry, girls.
We've lost.
# So # So you think you can tell # Heaven from hell # Blue skies from pain # Can you tell a green field # From a cold steel rail? # A smile from a veil? # Do you think you can tell? Did they get you to trade Elvis? Here.
# .
.
Your heroes for ghosts? # Hot ashes for trees? # Hot air for a cool breeze? # Cold comfort for change? # Did you exchange # A walk-on part in the war For a lead role in a cage? Jennifer? Aye! # .
.
How I wish # How I wish you were here # We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl # Year after year # Running over the same old ground # What have we found? # The same old fears Wish you were here Mum.
Something happened.
What? You not answering your phone? What you up to? I've been looking into something.
We've been worried about you.
Ewelina's a wreck.
The letter, Jennifer, from the Home Office, there's something in it.
"I can tell you now that this family's removal will only be "effected once the United Nation's mission in Kosovo "has accepted the removal.
" But that's just standard, innit? Yeah, but Wait, look at this.
Come here.
"The United Nations believes "that despite the fact the security situation in Kosovo has improved, "Roma families are still at risk of persecution.
" Look, even though the war is over, there has still been revenge attacks against Roma families.
The United Nations Refugee Agency agrees with us.
Roma families aren't safe there.
Where did you get that? It's on their bloody website, it's there in black and white.
Why hasn't the Home Office checked that? Are you sure? It's all here.
This is dynamite.
She's coming back.
Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back, Agy's back! Agy's back, Agy's back! There you are.
Hey, you made me jump.
I wondered where you had gone.
Good to be home? So, it's home now, is it? Yeah, it's home.
And don't leave it again.
What was it like when they said that you could go? Amazing.
We were like, "Yeah, bye, then.
" It was hard saying bye to the other families, though.
I made some good friends there.
I got some good news whilst you was gone.
Yeah, what is it? Um Wait.
Yeah? Tell him to wait.
Yeah.
You know, Dad's buying a huge lock for the door tomorrow in case they're coming again.
Maybe it would be handy for keeping Elvis out, too.
They're not going to come again.
They might.
So, tell me.
Hm? Your good news, what's up? Oh it's nothing.
Doesn't matter.
It's just good to have you home.
Come on.
'All morning, we're talking about the Glasgow Girls, 'a group of local girls from Drumchapel High 'who are making headlines and taking on the Home Office.
'And it seems they're going from strength to strength 'with the news that they've been invited for a meeting 'with the First Minister of Scotland himself, Jack McConnell.
' I'm shitting myself and I don't care who knows it.
Girls.
First Minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell, pleased to meet you.
So, girls, let me just start by saying, you know, I agree with you.
Kids that are living here happily, doing their exams, getting their education, should be left alone.
So, you're going to help us, then? Well, what I will say is, you need to work out what your aims are.
I, of course, have been very impressed with your campaign.
You've been making a lot of noise, people have been listening and sitting up, taking notice.
But what is it that you want? Hm? The dawn raids have to stop.
We want an apology from the Government.
And we want everyone who's been taken from our communities to be brought back, and no more deportation.
Do you want my advice, girls? You have to figure out what it is you really, REALLY want.
You've got to be realistic.
I mean, it's wonderful to have ideals, but politics requires compromise and, well, an end to deportation, it's, you know, it's just it's never going to happen.
So, what, you're not going to do anything? I, personally, am going to be calling for a protocol.
What's a protocol? A protocol's a set of changes, a set of changes which mean the UK Government can't just grab families any more without telling us.
And that doesn't mean that everyone can stay in every case, of course not.
It just means handling the situation more sensitively.
A more caring system.
Does that sound like something you can get on board with? These changes, do you promise it? Promise to try.
In politics, that's as good as it gets.
Immigration, open the door! What's going on? What's happening? Sh! We have a warrant.
Just do what they say, OK? We'll be OK.
Your last chance! Elvis, what's going on? Open the door! Open the door! This is your last chance, we have a warrant.
Open the door! Put your hands behind your back! No! No! No! Calm down, sir.
You're scaring your children.
No! No! No! Come on, let's go! No! No! No! Morning, troops.
"Good morning, Mr Girvan!" Anybody seen Elvis today? No, he's left the building.
No? You see him over the weekend? No.
When's the last time anybody's seen Elvis or any of the Fukajes? Anybody? Wait here.
What's happening? He must have got taken.
I'm so tired, Mum.
Tired.
Hey, where have you been? Aye, there's a protest for Elvis and his family at Brand Street on Sunday.
We need to round up the usual suspects.
We're going to get Elvis back, too.
Listen to this.
Yous have been nominated in the Scottish Politician of the Year Award, for the best public campaign.
What, you're kidding? No, seriously.
Brilliant.
What's up with her? Hey.
Hi.
What's up? My papers came through.
What? I have leave to remain.
That's brilliant, Amal.
Why didn't you tell us? I can't keep protesting.
Nothing we're doing is changing anything.
The Minister, he let us down.
I'm not doing it any more.
So let's go and tell him we haven't forgotten.
Let's go and tell him he needs to listen.
We have to keep going.
Sorry.
I want to get on with my own life now.
I don't want to celebrate.
I got a message from Elvis, by the way.
They were flown back to Albania.
He's gone.
'There will be no protocol with Scotland 'on the issue of dawn raids.
'That's the clear message from the Home Office.
'Jack McConnell faces a humiliating climb-down 'after immigration officials rejected his calls for enforced removals 'to be handled more sensitively north of the border.
Amal 'And now the weather' Huh? Do you think she's going to show up? Look.
How he can show his face after what he's done I'd like to tell him where to shove his protocol.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards.
Hi, sorry I'm late, it takes me ages to get anywhere in this thing.
You look beautiful.
Well You're just in time.
I heard about the Fukaje family.
We tried our best.
Listen, girls, no matter what happens here tonight, you should be proud of yourselves.
You're girls, you're teenagers, you're not people that get listened to.
You're not old white guys in suits, you know? You're not supposed to change the world.
I love the fact that you never stopped long enough to realise that.
Here's to the Glasgow Girls.
I pity anybody who stands in their way.
Cheers Now comes the time to present the award for Best Public Campaign.
And the winner is .
.
the Glasgow Girls.
Get up there, girls, get up there.
Thank you so much for award.
This means a lot to us.
I'm really nervous.
This isnae just for us.
It's for our communities, people who understand where we're coming from, so really, we just want to thank yous and, like, this isn't just like a pat on the head for us.
We're going to keep going, we're going to keep going till we get our point across, because if something's wrong, you change it.
I also want to ask Jack McConnell one question.
Remember when you promised us the protocol? There are still asylum seekers getting deported to unsafe countries.
Yeah, we don't want your sympathy or your promises, we want you to act.
We want a new amnesty for people who have been here for more than three years, because they have life in here.
They have friends, they have education.
Scotland is our home now, and we love this country, we will do anything for it, but please return the favour.
Thank you again for this award.
How are we playing this? # .
.
Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # This time # I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in # This time I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in We're going to have to go back.
Not like this.
Not today.
# .
.
Not giving in # Not giving in Oooh Wrap it up, lads.
# .
.
Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # This time # I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in # This time # I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in