Tag: Eorpa

BBC ALBA airs Eòrpa, Gaelic Census Special

2022’s Census saw the first increase in those able to speak Gaelic since 1971. The numbers were up from 57,375 to 69,701 – a 21% increase.

While the national data is welcome news for a language which has seen a long downward trend in speaker numbers, the picture is not as positive in the language’s heartland of the Western Isles.

There, Gaelic is now a minority language with 45% reported being able to speak it in 2022, compared to 52% in 2011 – a 7% decrease.

In this latest episode of BBC ALBA’s current affairs programme, Eòrpa, reporter Eileen Macdonald visits the Western Isles where she hears how depopulation and housing challenges are impacting traditional Gaelic-speaking communities.  In Glasgow Eileen hears the challenges faced by Gaelic speakers in Scotland’s cities when it comes to opportunities to use the language.

The northwest of the Isle of Lewis has traditionally been one of the areas in Scotland with the highest proportion of Gaelic speakers. There, Eileen met Kirsty and John, both plumbers and both part of a younger generation on which any improvement in the fortunes of the language depends.

Kirsty, a Gaelic speaker, told Eòrpa: “Not many people use it. If your parents or your gran or grandad have it, then you’ll probably speak it. But if your parents don’t have it, any the people you speak to regularly don’t either, then you won’t”.

John, who grew up with the language but rarely uses it, added: “I think if you’re not speaking it home, it’s definitely going to die down and I think less and less young people are out less and so they are not interacting with people who have Gaelic and they don’t know about it as well.”

Responding to the 21% growth nationally in Gaelic speakers, and sharp growth in parts of the the country with comparatively few Gaelic Services, Emeritus Professor Wilson McLeod of the University of Edinburgh said: “In places like Edinburgh and Glasgow, there are Gaelic schools and these places have always attracted Gaels from the islands for work and study.

“But in other parts of the mainland, there isn’t very much being done. Despite that, the biggest growth is seen in places like Aberdeenshire, Falkirk, Dundee and similar places where not much is happening in terms of Gaelic.”

Indeed, encouraging those able to speak the language to use it regularly remains a challenge. The Census tells us how many people in 2022 reported being able to speak the language, but not how many actually do.

In the Scottish Government, the responsibility for Gaelic is part of Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes’ brief.

Asked if she thinks Gaelic is in crisis, the Cabinet Secretary remarked: “You can be happy about the numbers that have gone up. People would always ask how best to provide more support for learners, and we’re seeing progress there. That’s good news.

“But a language has to be alive, like English is alive. Gaelic is alive in the traditional communities, but it’s bad news that the numbers there are falling. People ask if Gaelic is in crisis.

“I’m prepared to say “yes it is”, but that’s not going to make any difference if all it is is words. We need the right policies, as well as money and funding.

Reporter Eileen Macdonald: “Having visited communities, and met campaigners, experts, and poilicy-makers, it’s clear there are positives and negatives to take from the state of Gaelic today.

A national rise in speakers is good news, with Gaelic Medium Education continuing to play a large part in feeding that growth. However, there’s real concern about the decline of Gaelic in its heartlands and the fact that it is now a minority language in terms of speakers in the Western Isles.

“The challenge persists too, of how to make sure those able to speak it actually do.”

Eòrpa is BBC ALBA’s flagship current affairs programme, covering a range of domestic and European stories, ranging from the plight of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, to the impact of mass tourism in the Canaries, and the issue of gender-based violence in rural Scotland.

The new episode of Eòrpa: Suas leis a’ Ghàidhlig? premiered on BBC iPlayer and BBC ALBA at 9.00pm on Wednesday 28 August (in Gaelic with English subtitles).

Watch on demand: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b006mvwb/eorpa

New series of BBC ALBA’s flagship current affairs programme premieres with special on Nagorno-Karabakh

In September 2023, Azerbaijan retook the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan, until recently much of it was under Armenian control as the Republic of Artsakh.

Armenia had captured the territory during a war in the early 1990s. After Azerbaijan’s recapture of the enclave, most of its Armenian-majority population fled, and are now living in Armenia.

In this latest instalment of BBC ALBA’s European current affairs programme Eòrpa, Annabel Maclennan meets several of those displaced, as well as representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Governments who are currently involved in talks to formally set their respective borders.

Scottish Government External Affairs Secretary, Angus Robertson MSP, also sheds lights on Scotland’s connection to this decades-old conflict. Mr Robertson facilitated talks in Edinburgh and Moray between the two sides in 2003, and sees a role for Scotland in helping resolve tensions today.

He said: “If it comes to the Scottish Government which can help in the hosting of events, academics and experts who could share their expertise, and NGOs who have expertise on the ground in different parts of the world and have been involved in peace and reconciliation processes elsewhere.

“If we recognise that we have all of these resources here, these are things that we can offer to places like the South Causasus. So when the time is right for them, if they want, it’s up to them. If they want to come here, they would be very welcome.”

Viktorya Balayan’s husband, Sevak, was killed when defending Nagorno-Karabakh. She was left to tell her daughter, Maria (six), that her father would not be coming home. She said: “I sat her and explained to her that Sevak had died and he is a star now, and he will always be with her, he sees her from the above and is very proud of her.

“One time we noticed that Maria couldn’t be found anywhere. We found her on the balcony, speaking to the stars: “Mom, look, Dad is the biggest star.”, I said, “Yes, he is the biggest star.”

Elin Suleymanov is Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He says those who fled Nagorno-Karabakh are welcome to return: “Of course, anybody who can come, who wants to come back, can come back.

“But they need to prove that if they want to be citizens of Azerbaijan.”

Reporter Annabel Maclennan reflects on her time covering this issue, on those she met, and why what happens in Nagorno Karabakh and the Southern Caucasus matters.

She comments: “The tragic human stories and powerful testimonies we heard in Armenia left me in no doubt that this is a situation to which we should be paying attention.

“That, coupled with the current situation in neighbouring Georgia, as well as the wider geo-political situation of the Southern Caucasus, bordering Russia, Turkey and Iran, highlights the significance of this conflict and the importance of peace in the region.”

Eòrpa is BBC ALBA’s flagship current affairs programme, covering a range of domestic and European stories, ranging from the impact of fires and flooding in Greece, to gender-based violence in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

The new series of Eòrpa will premiere on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer weekly, on Wednesday evenings at 9pm (in Gaelic with English subtitles).

Watch live or on demand: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mvwb

Two people from Edinburgh feature in tonight’s Eòrpa about Assisted Dying

Two people from Edinburgh feature in the next episode of European Current Affairs programme, Eòrpa, which is about the proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and will air on BBC ALBA tonight (Thursday, November 18) at 8.30pm.

Dr Donald MacDonald – from Edinburgh – practiced as a doctor, and as a minister, for many years, both in the UK and in India and he’s had MS for almost 40 years. He is against the assisted dying Scotland Bill because it goes against the age old medical ethic of not ending a life deliberately. He’s concerned that people would feel like a burden on their family, friends or caregivers and due to this they might opt for ending their life via assisted suicide or euthanasia.

And Leighanne Baird-Sangster from Edinburgh. In May 2020, her wife Gill was terminally ill with melanoma cancer and when she reached the end-of-life stage they had a very difficult 10 days before she died when she suffered a lot of pain. Leighanne supports the Assisted Dying Scotland Bill, so that no one else goes through what her wife did.

Assisted dying has always been a divisive, and deeply controversial topic. Those in favour may see it as a compassionate way to end suffering. Many people come to support it due to their own personal experience. But on the other hand, many of those against changing the law see it as gravely immoral, and as something which could be used to undermine the rights of the most vulnerable in society.

Any new change in the law in Scotland would not make it easy for someone to go through the assisted dying process. Anyone who wishes to go through with it must have a terminal, incurable illness, and must be deemed to be near the end of their lives. Although the proposed bill currently contains no recommendation on exactly how long someone might naturally have left to live.

Spain is the latest country to pass an assisted dying bill, giving people the option to end their lives when they choose. From March this year, those living in Spain who suffer from incurable illnesses can begin the process to end their own lives.  

In Spain, a doctor can administer the final drug – something which would not be allowed were the law to change in Scotland.

Other Contributors include: 

Dr Gordon MacDonald, Chief Executive Care not Killing, believes it would put people who are vulnerable in a very dangerous situation, that they would come under pressure to end their lives prematurely and rather than that we should be investing in proper palliative care.  

Ally Thompson, Director – Dignity in Dying – says the current blanket ban is unfair and unjust, and causes so many dying people and their families to suffer needlessly. He believes legalising assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, would be better.

Liam MacArthur MSP for Orkney Islands – he thinks people have increasingly come to the conclusion that having this choice of an assisted death is compassionate, it’s what a progressive country ought to aspire to,

Rev Domhnall Michael Macinnes – he believes that passing this Bill would open Pandora’s Box and we should be encouraging life for people because it’s a precious gift from God. Mr MacInnes, who is minister of Gairbraid Church in Maryhill, Glasgow, is originally from Lewis. He is also a former minister at St Columba’s Church in St Vincent Street, Glasgow.

Javier Serrano Martin from Spain – was the first person in Madrid to die under the new assisted dying legislation. He suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and spoke to Eorpa shortly before his death.