Iraqi refugee stands for Glasgow council elections to repay Scottish neighbours for their kindness

'I just want to be able to serve the people and make them proud. They welcomed me to Scotland and I really want to give back to them'

Salih is standing for election with the SNP, which is led by Nicola Sturgeon (Getty Images)

A refugee is running for election in Glasgow, to give back to the city which granted her safety.

Roza Salih, 27, fled Kirkuk, Iraq along with her parents and younger sister after her family was persecuted for speaking out against Saddam Hussein. They were granted refuge in Glasgow in 2001, when she was just 12-years-old.

She was one of seven school girls, known locally as the Glasgow girls, who were subject to dawn immigration raids and taken to a detention centre. However, she was soon released following a public campaign.

She now has leave to remain in Scotland and went on to study law and politics at Strathclyde University. She says she wants to give back to the community which has welcomed her.

She will be running as a candidate for the SNP at the upcoming council elections. She is standing in the city’s ward 13.

If her campaign is successful, it is thought that she would be the first refugee to be elected in the UK.

Speaking to the National, she said: “I feel like the area is part of me. I used to look down at the view of Glasgow. It was just beautiful.

“I started out having zero pence in my pocket as an asylum seeker. I didn’t have anything.

“I just want to be able to serve the people and make them proud. They welcomed me to Scotland and I really want to give back to them.”