SITTING down for a cuppa and a chat is the best way to tackle discrimination, according to a refugee support project. 

The inter-faith group Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees (SFAR) works across the country to help people settle in their new communities and challenges rhetoric in politics and the media which demeans refuges and asylum seekers. 

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This includes arranging coffee mornings in the local community to bring people together. 
SFAR works closely with Refugees Scotland, a network of local faith-based projects committed to working for a culture of dignity for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants locally, nationally and globally.

And speaking to The Gazette, SFAR’s David Bradwell says face-to-face contact goes a long way to breaking down barriers. 

He said: “Can you meet someone and have a cup of tea with them and realise they are not the bogeyman? 

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“We have a duty to care for one another and to never forget that we are a nation of both in-migration and out-migration. 

“The contribution of others who have come to Scotland have enriched our lives and culture.

“People often think they are 100 per cent Scottish and then discover they have a rich, mixed heritage.” 

Read our special report into modern day racism in Renfrewshire here 

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