Trading Kenya for Glasgow to tell a story

WHEN I first visited Glasgow’s iconic Red Road flats my breath was taken away as I gazed up at the towering structures. I found myself counting – “One, two, three, four…” – Eventually I got to 27 and stopped. “Wow,” I thought to myself.

The eight blocks and slabs – as they are fittingly called – of this man-made mountain range have between 24 and 27 storeys each. They do not make high-rise flats quite that tall in Kenya, where I am from. But Kenya is looking to build high-rises to alleviate the problems of the slums, in a plan similar to the one Scotland tried in the 1960s. But is it the answer?

Britain, the former colonial master, is viewed with admiration as a country of great opportunities, a superpower and all good things associated with great nations. Kenya looks at the UK as the yardstick of development. Every moment of my 12 weeks in Scotland and in the UK has been a wonderful experience.

Amid the fond memories is, however, a nauseating experience at the Red Road flats where families are living in pathetic conditions. My tour of Red Road in Glasgow is a view, not just of Scotland’s past, present and future, but also how it accommodates people from all over the world who come here seeking refuge.

Demolition in Red Road is already under way but is a slow process, as asbestos in the buildings needs to be made safe before they are torn down. In the meantime, hundreds of residents, many of whom are asylum seekers, continue to live in this bleak environment.

By comparison, across the city, the refurbished Kingsway Court, which Glasgow Housing Association is keen to show off, provides tenants with a good standard of affordable housing, with attractive high-rise buildings and plenty of green space and play parks for children.

The tower of flats seem to be mainly occupied by immigrants, asylum seekers and the lowest people in the society. It sparks memories of the squalid living conditions in Kenya’s largest slum, Kibera.

Red Road flats resemble Kibera slums in many ways – among them the towering buildings, poor sanitation, dirt and filth. Kibera has been touted as the biggest slum in East Africa, with deplorable living standards and infested with crime. High-rise buildings of up to seven floors have been put up in this area as part of the government’s long-term plan of phasing out the slum.

I approach Red Road from the west and walk along a path between two high rises that leads to the centre of the complex.

One of the slabs beyond has been gutted so the asbestos can be removed, and daylight shines through its grid of former homes. Banks of debris lean against the flats.

Dozens of plastic bags are screwed up and stuffed between the railings like wallflowers and the rubbish scattered all over the concrete includes a broken cricket bat, a toilet seat, shattered glass, beer cans and a soiled nappy.

Not surprisingly, there are no children in the playground at the centre of the block. You cannot help but sympathise with children in this neighbourhood. They don’t have any recreation facilities. The dirty environment presents an image of a lurking disease outbreak to the residents.

Old metal bars are some of the signs that there once existed a playing ground for children here. The area around the place where children once enjoyed is now a dumping ground with bags, broken wood, stones, metals and overgrown grass. At its peak around 5,000 people lived in Red Road. Now Glasgow Housing Association, which took over management of the site in 2003, has just 300 tenants there. It becomes clear to me while I wander around that asylum seekers are the largest group of tenants. In my home country I report on the actions of Kenya’s tough criminal gangs. Red Road may look as though crime would be rife, but a lot of work has been done to tackle offending and antisocial behaviour among local young people. Police say racially motivated crime is no higher than in other parts of Glasgow, while Operation Reclaim has tackled youth antisocial behaviour by setting up football matches and dance classes. Inspector John McBride, who is in charge of policing in the area, says: “Operation Reclaim goes back a few years now when Glasgow started taking on asylum seekers both in Red Road and Coatshill.

“What we found when we spoke to parents was that they were not happy about children playing outside in street gangs, which were becoming involved in turf wars. We had dedicated officers to go down to football pitches and youth clubs and, through publicity, highlighted that kids are safe to come down here and play football.

“If any kids gets into trouble they’re suspended from taking part for a week or two – that has a big impact on them.”

McBride meets me at Baird Street police station and takes me to a briefing room, where on one wall hangs a week-by-week chart of different crimes in the area, with some rising, but most falling, compared to levels last year.

For me, this is in stark contrast to police attitudes in Kenya, where I have to work against police, and all information is kept tightly locked. Such openness about crime figures and policies is as alien to me as a deep- fried Mars bar or a can of Irn-Bru, and I am impressed by the impact it has had on Red Road.

Red Road and Kibera present a face of dejection in the two countries, but the two are also different. While Kibera is crime-infested, Red Road is a peaceful environment and minimal crime is reported.

This is backed up by the people I speak to as I walk around the estate. Naggi Nedaine, 32, an asylum seeker from the Ivory Coast, waits at the bus stop with her four-year-old daughter. She lives on the 24th floor and, like Kamore, was shocked by the building’s height, but does not complain about her living standards.

“It’s fine, but it is too tall,” she says. “I left home to escape family because I was pregnant and I was afraid. When I left I saved my life. There’s no bad crime here.”

Murahi Lotchemanan, 36, from Malaysia, has been living in a two-bedroom, 25th-floor apartment for the past three years after fleeing what he describes as “political persecution” in his own country. He talks happily as the gulls swoop and land on the rubbish dump just yards from his block.

“It’s OK here,” he tells me. “But there is a lot of rubbish and we have problems with some people who are drinking, and shouting, and breaking bottles. But I feel safe and I am happy to walk around at night without any fear.” A third resident – Sue Jiam He, 24, who has fled China and speaks little English – does not seem bothered by the pile of rubbish she walks past on her way towards me. It is not easy to know if these residents were driven by desperation to live in the flats or if they are simply content living here.

However, while my faith in the colonial master has been knocked by Red Road, in east Glasgow, it is restored by a tour of Kingsway, in the west. Glasgow Housing Association representatives meet me and promise to look into the sanitation issues at Red Road. They say the final demolition will take place in 2016 and the remaining tenants will be removed two or even three years before then.

Kingsway Court, they insist, is the long-term future of housing association accommodation in Glasgow. Kingsway is built on the same model and design of Red Road, but gives you a totally different impression.

Healthy babies and smiling mothers cuddling their young ones are gathered outside their 19-storey block, while a group of men and boys enjoy a game of football as women also tend to children on the swings. They all give an impression of one happy family.

The Kingsway flats are home to hundreds of people from all walks of life – immigrants, asylum seekers and other Scottish residents. Unlike Red Road, Kingsway is well maintained with well-tended grass and a big recreation centre for the children. The area is surrounded by well-manicured trees and there is a good view of the city in the background. Each block has 114 flats with 456 in total across the entire scheme.

Robert Jardine, housing manager, says: “These flats were built in the 1960s, but there have been some improvements recently. We have made internal improvements as well and improved the flats’ fuel efficiency. This is a very mixed community, from all different backgrounds, who are all integrated well.” GHA is responsible for the communal areas around Red Road, but does not benefit from an on-site housing manager in the way that Kingsway Court does. “If any of that was happening here I would have my men on it straight away, cleaning it up,” Mr Jardine says.