An old friend asked me what right I had to be so vocal about Indy given that I live abroad right now. Here is my answer : You grew up a few doors away from me so I thought you would know the answer to that. When I was a kid, Westminster decided Britain didnt want most Scottish Manufacturing even if it was still competitive. My dad worked in the steel industry and was unemployed most of my school days. He never really got over losing his job the 3rd time. My whole family relied on my mums wages as a nurse for years. Many ppl will be able to relate to this if they think back. It was an awful waste of talent and I was never going to let it happen to me! But I left school at the height of Thatcherism. The gov. seemed to hate Scotland. I was one of the lucky ones who got a job but it wasnt a career. I went back to uni but found even less opportunity. I was NOT the only person who worked as a manual labourer who had a degree. Its an insulting waste of Scottish ppl who are talented and have very few opportunities. Its funny I passed the time back then by making up algorithms in my head that I recalled years later to help me build the $1bn software infrastructure of Melbournes transport system that I helped design so it turned out I was an asset all along and didnt know it just like you or your children might be if given opportunity in an independent Scotland. We suffered because of Westminsters disregard for the needs of Scotland being different from the needs of Britain. Many companies I worked for went bust despite my working crazy hours, including Xmas day and never being there for my family growing up. I feel angry thinking about how difficult it was to support my children and pay the mortgage. I was forced to move abroad for work and sadly my family decided not to join me after a year. I made a very difficult decision to continue working abroad on my own. I wish I could have had the opportunity to be a success in Scotland but its NOT too late for my children. When they were kids I told them they could be anything they wanted if they tried hard but in the back of my mind I knew I was lying to them. There is a sense of hopelessness in my home town. Half the shops closed down but not the pound store and Macdonalds. Many children grow up without a sense of opportunity. The politicians with the posh voices on telly spin the same empty promises as do the good old boys pushing the status quo. We can now make Scotland better. We can have governments that work for us. A dynamic small EU country like Scotland can open up and produce for the world in an agile fashion. The greatest commodity it will produce is opportunity and for a lot of ppl not as lucky as you it will deliver hope for the first time. Even supposing we dont see much tangible fiscal benefit for a decade, our children will feel the benefit now, they will grow with a spirit of possibility that we never had. Its up to us. We only have one chance and its now! In answer to your assumption That I have no intention of returning l have been doing the same job here abroad that I did in Scotland but the opportunities have been endless. I would like Scotland to be like that and it can be if it could govern itself. Scotland should be able to harness its talent by making its own decisions and creating its own opportunities in Europe. Id love to return to an independent Scotland. For many of us this prospect is so exciting. Wouldnt you want self determination for your kids even if u feel a bit scared about it right now? Please vote yes to freedom and we can make Scotland work again.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 05:42:19 +0000
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