A mother's point of view on Megrahi

So the debate over the Megrahi release goes on. For all the furore I think I've had 2 emails complaining about it and 3 commending it. It is true of course that "anti" folk will always be louder than "pro" folk and the impression is that everyone's up in arms about it. But I'm finding that is not the case. A number of people I would have expected to be against the early release have surprised me. None moreseo and none more important to me than my mum.

MY MUM

I was varnishing her window frames for her today and didn't dare mention it because I was 100% certain she'd be outraged. I slipped up when she asked why I wasn't in Manchester as I'd planned to be (visiting my sister) and I said because I had to go to parliament on Monday. That reminded her and I got ready for an earbashing.

But no, she said she understood both sides of the divided opinion but believed, on balance, that this was the right decision. I nearly fell out the window in shock.



She'd 3 reasons for reaching that conclusion and I'll quote where possible.



1) "The man's dying Anne, he's got the worst possible sentence, what purpose would it serve keeping him in jail?"



2) "I don't know if he's guilty or not, I think he probably is but his poor wife and children are not. Imagine your dad had done that - think how horrified you'd be but you'd still love him and it would be terrible to know he was dying and you couldn't look after him. No, I think for the sake of his innocent children, Kenny MacAskill did the right thing. They keep talking about compassion but those children have had a terrible life and they deserve compassion too."



(NB My dad had no criminal convictions! She was using it as an example.)



3) "I'm glad the SNP Government didn't let the Americans bully them. I'm fed up with them thinking they run the world. It's fair enough for the families to express an opinion but the American government has got no right to try and tell this country what to do."

RESPECTING OTHERS' OPINIONS

I am amazed and pleased and very proud of my mum. And she said something that I think she has in common with all those who agree with the decision but with none of those who are against it. She said she could understand opposing opinions and she could respect them. That's the thing - everyone who agrees it was the right thing to do is being incredibly respectful and sensitive to everyone else. Those who are against it are being, on the whole, blinkered, even hysterical and in many cases, downright rude. I exclude from this those families of victims who don't agree - they have a different perspective and no-one can blame them for being emotional about it.

It's those who have no personal link who are vitriolic and even abusive to others simply for disagreeing with them.



I would end by asking you to spare a thought for someone who is very much involved in all of this. Before I do, let me tell you I have been thinking a lot about the families of the victims over the last few days and I will continue to do so.

MEGRAHI'S MUM

But the person I'm asking you to spare a moment to think about is Megrahi's mother. There was a photo of him with his family in some of the Sundays today. And there she was, his 80 plus mother, hugging him, so happy to have her boy home. She doesn't know he's about to die.

Just like the families of those who died in the Lockerbie bombing who could not have dreamt that they would never see their loved ones again, she is completely ignorant to the fact that in the next month or so, he'll be gone again - this time forever.

And just like the families who were completely innocent, so too is she.

She is simply a mother who loves her child and who, very soon, will watch him die ahead of her. Thank God she got to spend some last days with him. That, to me, is what true compassion is all about.

England regain the Ashes

Congratulations to England on regaining the Ashes. They look pretty happy in this pic and rightly so. I'm not a major fan of cricket but I do like to watch it the odd time. I find it quite relaxing. And of course when I was working in Sri Lanka, I passed Galle Cricket Ground every day. Not that I actually managed to see a game but I did meet Sanath Jayasuriya - there's a test of my spelling! Anyway congratulations to England once again and it's even better news for me because when I arrive in Manchester at the home of my sister tomorrow evening, I'm thinking my brother in law will be in such a good mood he'll be wanting to buy us a few drinks to celebrate. Not that this influenced my thinking in any way, shape or form :-)

Happy Days - X Factor is back

I know it's wrong but I can't help it, I LOVE the X Factor. I love the drama, the comedy, the cringing. I used to be unable to watch it because I couldn't bear to see people who had set their heart on something having their dreams crushed. I don't know what happened to me but I got over it and, like I said, I love it! Who needs a social life when Simon Cowell and the crew are around?

I never got a part in Taggart but ....

I went out with the community police in the Southside of Glasgow last night. Will blog more fully later but thought I'd post this pic because I reckon I make quite a convincing plain clothes polis here!

It was an interesting night and I'm thinking that it's something I need to do on a semi regular basis because I picked up a lot of information about problems in the area. The guys pictured here were brilliant and I'm not just saying that because they told me to (although they did)! More later.

Lockerbie bomber goes home to Libya

It must have been incredibly hard for relatives of those who died in the Lockerbie bombing to watch as that plane took off from Glasgow Airport yesterday. Even for those who agreed with Kenny MacAskill's decision, that had to be tough. But for those relatives who felt Al Megrahi should have died in Greenock Jail, it must have been like a stake through the heart. I can never feel how they do and I recognise how fortunate I am not to have suffered in the way that they have. But as I watched that flight take off with Mr Megrahi on board, it did occur to me that for some relatives, the sight of the plane taking off to deliver him safely to Libya when their families never got to complete their plane journey, it will have been a heartbreaking sight.

That said, I fully support the decision to release him on compassionate grounds. As Kenny said:

"In Scotland, we are a people who pride ourselves on our humanity. It is viewed as a defining characteristic of Scotland and the Scottish people. The perpetration of an atrocity and outrage cannot and should not be a basis for losing sight of ...who we are, the values we seek to uphold, and the faith and beliefs by which we seek to live."

The argument I've heard today that potential terrorists will think it's okay to bomb us because we'll let them go (when they're about to die don't forget) is just stupid. It's interesting how opinion is split between the relatives and just goes to show that you cannot please everybody.

My own view is that regardless of Megrahi's guilt or otherwise, and let's assume for argument's sake that he IS guilty, his family have committed no crime. And that is what compassion is all about. It's about understanding that his wife and children are innocent victims in all of this. Yes it's obviously harder to lose your father in a terrorist attrocity than for him to be jailed.

But that shouldn't detract from the devastation that was visited upon the lives of his children when he was arrested and subsequently imprisoned in a foreign country. And some may argue that HE was the one responsible for that but THEY, his children, had no say in this. And now, their father who they no doubt love (no justification is necessary here but I bet they believe he is completely innocent) is dying. Unless you believe that the sins of the father should, indeed, be borne by the sons, how can you argue against showing compassion to them?

I don't underestimate the pain this has caused to many of the relatives but their pain has been there since 1988 and it will be there till they too pass away. Kenny MacAskill couldn't undo what was already done. What satisfaction would they have got from Al Megrahi dying in Greenock anyway? He would have died and they'd have had no closure. They have none now. But perhaps Megrahi's children will get some. There is no answer to what happened on that horrific night that none of us will ever forget.

For those who are unhappy with Kenny's decision I just want them to know that he will not have taken it lightly and that those of us who support him 100% (as I do) do not feel any less sympathy for the relatives of those who were murdered. I feel for them and the pain they are going through. But I believe the decision today was correct.

Walking the streets

Last night was the ambulance shift, tonight was a shift with Govanhill Youth Project. They've an interesting approach in that they don't wait for young people to come to them but go out on the streets and talk to them as they hang around on street corners.

Govanhill is fairly unique in that it's always been a multi cultural area but moreso now that there are a number of residents from Eastern Europe.

We met a few young folk from Slovakia tonight. There was perhaps a dozen of them hangin around chatting, laughing and I asked if they had any Scottish friends. They said no, they only want to fight them. GYP has targetted the Roma community and has a number of other projects with them eg a music project on a Monday night (tried to get an audition as backing singer but they didn't seem too keen - must be the language barrier!) but they're aware that the next step is to get the various groups together.

To do that they need somewhere for people to meet and so far, they've been unsuccessful. But it won't just benefit young people to get rooms, it will benefit the entire community. As we chatted to the various groups of young people I was very very aware of the noise we were creating. They stand in groups of maybe a dozen, outside people's flats talking loudly, leaning on cars - doing absolutely no real harm to be honest but would you want it outside your window?

I know that after a long day at work, there's nothing I like more than to come home, put my feet up and relax in the peace of my own home. For the residents of Govanhill tonight, that would have been impossible. I could see why some people might feel intimidated but I can assure you I have no doubt these young folk were no threat to anyone, they're just loud. And I can understand how it would drive you mad having that noise outside your home but again, they were behaving normally and they've nowhere else to go.

As one of the youth workers pointed out to me when I questioned why they would want to stand in the pouring rain, many of them are living three families to one flat so being outside in whatever the weather, is often the better option.

Finding premises so that young folk have somewhere to go that isn't bothering other residents, and where they can mix with other "groups" within their community, is a priority to Govanhill Youth Project and I'll certainly be looking at how I can assist them with that. In the meantime I would just congratulate the guys who work on the project. In the photo you can see Jamie, Damien and Rowan - not sure why they're all laughing at me in the photo, probably cos I'm the only one with a brolly, wimp that I am!!. They all believe young people get a bit of a raw deal from the general public, the press and politicians and work tirelessly to turn around people's attitudes. I'll be seeing them again soon and looking forward to finding out a bit more.

A nationalist wedding

My friends Aileen and Fraser got married at the weekend - here's all the SNP folk who attended. It was a brilliant weekend and they both looked fantastic!