MORE than 300 protesters gathered in Glasgow's George Square to demonstrate against racism following Britain's decision to quit the European Union following a referendum on membership.
Organisers said the demonstration opposed the unleashing of "a torrent of racism" during the referendum campaign.
They say the want to show solidarity with migrants and “defiance in the face of racism”.
They claimed "xenophobic hyperbole" has dominated the entire campaign, with migration being "defined as a 'problem', or 'crisis' with bigotry being stoked up against migrants". They said EU citizens living in Scotland were "systematically denied a voice".
Others gathered just to talk following the shock of the Leave victory.
George Square right now! pic.twitter.com/zhaVDIKI4w
— KeelDrum (@KeelDrum) June 24, 2016
Laurie McIntosh, 26, of Pollokshields said: "It's better being here than crying at home."
One group held a huge banner saying "End London Rule" while others dusted off Yes flags from the Scottish Referendum campaign to wave them.
Scottish Green Party co-convener Maggie Chapman, the rector of the University of Aberdeen, who spoke at the protest said she was "angry over what she described as the "racist" campaign of the EU referendum.
"It has been xenophobic. It has been used to stoke up hatred and fear," she said.
"The campaign has peddled myths and lies about immigrants, blaming people who don't come from Scotland for causing the economic crash. Blaming people who are not from here for causing the jobs crisis, the housing crisis.
"Worst of all the way immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers have been scapegoated is completely inhumane and barbaric and we have to fight that.
"It is so important that we can at this time we can come together, show each other that we are not alone and show the rest of Scotland that we are not alone."
Deacon Blue pair Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh both used social media to organise a meeting of like-minded people in George Square who were upset that Scotland having voted in favour of staying in the EU could be dragged out with the rest of Britain.
Ross, said he had gone to bed early believing "the bookies were going to be right" and that there would be a Remain vote and woke up "very shocked" to find his assumptions were all wrong.
Speaking one hundred yards from a memorial to murdered MP Jo Cox at the foot of the Walter Scott monument said he was concerned about the xenophobia stirred up during the campaign.
He said: "It's tragic. Here you have the memorial to Jo Cox and then you have this man [Nigel Farage] saying we have left the European Union without a bullet being fired. That's a shocking shocking shocking thing to say."
"It was nice to come down and meet people because we were just so depressed. It looks like we are being pulled out of the EU even though we voted to stay in.
"No local authority in Scotland voted against it [the EU] so where's the democratic will. There's a problem right there."
McIntosh, a Yes voter during the Scottish Referendum said she wanted to meet people after reading on Facebook about people "feeling really lost and upset" about the EU referendum decision.
"I was thinking, here we go again, the whole country voted one way and it seems absolutely incredible that we are going to have to leave the European Union. My whole adult life I was part of it. It feels like a birthright that has been taken from me and I am not going to let it go easily.
"And I think we have to have our voices heard. And I think the time has come when we have to stand up and say, no, we are Europeans and we want to be in this together.
"I think your vote has to mean something, and I don't think it's enough to say that most of England wanted to leave the EU so out you go Scotland. It's not good enough anymore. The consequences for the country, the prospect of Boris Johnson coming in and being our Prime Minister is just too depressing to contemplate."
The protest was organised by National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts Scotland, Scotland Against Criminalising Communities and Scottish Labour Young Socialists among others
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