Nadia el-Nakla, the wife of Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf and a Scottish National Party (SNP) councilor, said that her extended family trapped in Gaza was brought to Türkiye with temporary protection status as she called on her country to launch a resettlement scheme similar to the one for Ukrainian citizens fleeing war.
El-Nakla, who is Palestinian-Scottish, told Britain’s The Guardian daily that her brother and his family, including his wife and four children, were trapped in Gaza amid Israel’s attacks. She noted that she attended a summit hosted by First Lady Emine Erdoğan in Istanbul, demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, and spoke with the Turkish first lady.
Emine Erdoğan hosted a meeting of first ladies from around the world last month in Istanbul for solidarity with Palestinian civilians under the constant bombardment of Israel. The first lady also champions efforts to evacuate orphaned Palestinian children in Gaza and voices her support for the Palestinian cause on every occasion.
Türkiye then submitted the names of her family members to Israel, but the latter removed the name of el-Nakla’s brother from the list.
Her sister-in-law and her children, aged between six months and nine years, were then brought to Türkiye and she wants to host them in her own country.
Noting that she’s grateful that her family is safe, el-Nakla said her brother keeps thanking her, but she expressed frustration that they cannot be resettled in Scotland.
“I feel like a second-class citizen in my own country because I don’t have the right to bring my brother to stay in my own home. I can see people across the street hosting Ukrainian families, and rightly so. But I can’t host my brother; to me, that feels beyond upsetting ... I was born here. I pay my taxes. I contribute to society. And yet the government supposed to represent me is doing such a poor job.”
