The New Scots

It is by now a well known fact that there are eight Eritreans who came for the word cross, sought asylum and are now competing for Shettleston. Less well known is the fact that there are two running for Bellahouston Harriers, one of whom, Robel Nagash, won the Glasgow Men's Health 10K race recently. According to the Press they took five months to cross Somalia and another two to get across Libya.

Speaking to a very Senior Scottish coach about it recently he reckons that there are quite a few asylum seekers and people who have been granted asylum in many communities in West Scotland and his advice is to talk to the local schools and point out what the club has to offer them in terms of assimilation into the community, new friends, an outlet for their energies, etc, and both communities - the Harriers being the other one - can only gain.

It is another reason to have a local schools liaison officer who doesn't have to be a coach - just someone representing the club and paying visits from time to time so that the school has a known face to make contact with.