In a new weekly interview feature, the Glasgow Times will speak to people with prominent roles in the city with a story to tell. Today Stewart Paterson talks to Sabir Zazai, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council.

When Sabir Zazai first arrived in the UK, in 1999, he was a young man in the back of a lorry fearing he was about to be “ripped apart” by police dogs.

Having successfully crossed several borders on the journey from Afghanistan, it came to an end when police opened the truck doors not long after arriving in England.

Now, 24 years later, Sabir is a husband and father and has forged a life and a career that brought him to Glasgow as the head of a refugee charity, work that has earned him an OBE.

In the office of the Scottish Refugee Council, in Glasgow city centre, he talks about what current asylum seekers and refugees face when they arrive here.

But his own experience is not far from his mind.

He said: “The dogs barked at each one of us individually and scared the hell out of us. In Afghanistan, we have stray dogs and I just thought those dogs were going to rip us apart.

“It was a tough, tough moment.

“Sometimes we just look at these people arriving and just think of all these young, fit men arriving in the back of a lorry or in a boat.

“But it makes me think, these people who talk about them in headlines, they don't understand, you could be a young fit man and still be vulnerable.

“You arrive and the only thing that meets you is fear. Sometimes I dream about arriving.”

That experience still drives him to work towards a better life for people in his shoes, decades later.

A Home Office decision to accelerate decision-making and then give people as little as seven days to get out of their accommodation is, he said, making the situation even more difficult.

“How," he asks, “without having the right to work, without having any income, can someone find a home to rent, in that timescale?"

He describes the situation they face as a “perfect storm” and many end up seeking the help of the SRC.

Sabir said: “We've seen an 84% rise in referrals from newly granted refugees in need of integration support in the last three months compared to the three months before.”

What he and others are witnessing is a “deeply concerning increase in the number of families and individuals presenting to our officers as homeless”.

He adds: “And you know, sometimes we do get bogged down into numbers, but these are people.

“People like you and I, people with hopes and aspirations.”

The SRC is aware of people, families, forced to sleep in police stations and bus stations.

Sabir is clear on where responsibility lies.

He said: “The UK Government's approach has created this situation, which is a perfect storm for people.

“Even despite being granted status, which is a big, big thing for people to then be part of our society, they find themselves homeless and destitute on our streets.

“And these are people from conflicts like Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Eritrea and many others where we know what is happening in those countries and despite those people submitting successful asylum claims, they face destitution.”

The people arriving in Glasgow are the latest in a long line of new arrivals stretching back several decades and beyond.

A wall in the SRC offices charts the history of people seeking refuge from conflict coming to Glasgow.

Glasgow Times:

Most people will find a connection somewhere along the timeline from Jewish people in the early 20th century, then from after the Second World War, to Vietnamese boat people in the 1970s and up to the last 20 years and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Sudan...

Sabir said: “From Jewish people from Russia and Eastern Europe right through to Kosovans, they all played a big part in Glasgow society, they all contribute.”

People migrating to Scotland is not new, Sabir said, it is how it is portrayed that changes.

He said: “Basically, our society is led to believe that we're doing something new, but we've got a history here of people arriving from all backgrounds.

“The Refugee Convention (of 1951) that the UK played a founding role in establishing has given us so much.

“Friendships, colleagues, families, and we all come from somewhere.

“It's not where we come from, I think, that’s important. It's where we are going as a society.

“But I think where the government is taking us now is a pretty grim place.”

Immigration, especially asylum, is a huge political issue, and views can be polarised and politicians labelled as either ‘tough’ or ‘soft’ on migration.

Sabir said the language used matters.

He said: “We don't need senior politicians to determine in a media interview who is legal and who is not legal.”

His fear is we are creating a system of non-people, as he questions a system that can provide refuge and then leave people to be destitute.

He said: “In some of the countries that are mentioned, there is no approved visa route for these people to come to the UK, so people do resort to some really treacherous, dangerous journeys.

“And when they arrive here and even ultimately, once they have been through the complexities of the asylum system and are granted status, they end up on the streets. That is not helping them.”

When the 20 year-old Sabir Zazai arrived in the UK it was the end of a long and dangerous geographical journey but the beginning of another long social journey, which he says he is still on.

He said: “There is the experience of the conflict itself. Then the separation of family and the treacherous journey.

“And then going through complexities of the asylum system and proving yourself to the welcoming host, the adopted home, that you are an active citizen.

“I'm on that journey constantly.”

The UK Government is still pursuing its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda despite a court ruling stating it is not a safe country.

He said: “Instead of wasting money, time and resources on things like Rwanda and barges, let's focus on creating a functioning, humane, effective and efficient asylum system by involving the voices of people with lived experiences, like myself and many others.

“There are many people who can tell you how that journey could be better.”

In Scotland, Sabir sees a more welcoming and practical approach to asylum, despite powers ultimately lying at Westminster.

Sabir said: “I think one thing that is positive in Scotland that I see, still as a relatively new person, is that our politicians, thankfully, do not capitalise on this issue compared to politicians in Westminster.

“I think we need to celebrate that and I think maybe, acknowledge there's almost like cross-party support for certain things in Scotland.”

The  journey he is on, he said is “from stranger to citizen” and is one he hopes to enable others to emulate.

Sabir Zazai is Chief Executive of the Scottish Refugee Council