It is with deep sadness that I share this. Tola, my 16-year-old daughter, has had her case dropped by the Children’s Reporter. For those of you who have read my book, you will be aware of this story and for those of you that haven’t, I’ve put Tola’s chapter from my book, Brown Girl in the Ring, on my website along with the void of any empathy and compassion, dismissively impersonal letter we received from the Children’s Reporter after nearly two years – 626 days since they received information from the police – advising us of their decision . . . and only because we emailed asking for an update the previous day.
Yesterday I was so angry, powerless and desperate. I’m in disbelief that this is happening to my youngest child. This incident was not the unconscious kind: this was aggressive, and still continues from one of the white boys involved. My disappointment at this decision is like a virus eating away at me, boring ever deeper into the internal wound that started 40 years ago. This virus has now found new hosts to make new wounds. My children.
So now I’ve decided to share with as many people as will listen – Scotland is racist.
I wrote Brown Girl in the Ring to bring awareness to the racism in Scotland and its effects. I did expect history to repeat itself, however I didn’t factor in the consequences of the Children’s Reporter dropping the case – that I would, once again, have to battle a racist Scottish system.
In 2007, the year after my children were taken from me and given to their white, known-to-be-racist father because of the colour of my skin, I was told that if I ever wanted to get them back, I had to stop talking about the institutional racism that had created this horrific situation in my children’s lives in the first place. I was scared and I needed my children back, so I walked away. I was silenced.
It wasn’t until after my book was published, and when my daughter was 16 years old, that I realised something about myself. A position I had accepted. A role I’d conformed to. It had not been a conscious decision. Subconsciously, I’d remained silent until my children were old enough not to be used against me.
But now that my daughter’s voice is being silenced while the racists have theirs, I’ve decided to use my voice. Writing gave me my voice back and I will never be silenced again.
The laws on racism in Scotland are not worth the paper they are written on and the systems in place to enforce the laws are broken.
Please read Tola’s story and share with as many people as possible.
For those of you who pray, please pray for me as I take on the Scottish system once again.