ELL: Gaelic Campaign Update

[David Wilson]

Dear List Members,

    Thanks to everyone who has responded to the Gaelic Officer Campaign.
Your emails are beginning to make a big difference and the Council is slowly
beginning to ameliorate its stance. They are still refusing to answer the
questions posed, but are showing signs that they might soon. Keep those
emails coming and keep the pot boiling !

    In the past, Councils have acted as if they lived in their own goldfish
bowl, refusing to respond to matters of public concern, and lumping GME in
with flower basket and park maintainance. The evasions and distractions
given by the council have been rather touchy and childish at times. I'll not
embarrass any Councillors by quoting some of their replies here, tempting
though it is ;-). Should you receive anything similar, the best way to deal
with these is to remain polite at all times, stay "on message", and simply
restate your position, asking again for an answer.

    I would also like to take this opportunity just to clarify some points.
I would like to add that no-one is questioning the dedication, commitment or
abilities of a non-Gaelic speaking replacement. However, in this instance,
the broad concept of such things as "support" or "goodwill" needs to be
refined, dealing as it does with the specialized requirements of GME. Having
a Gaelic speaker within the Child Care Team has integrated Gaelic within the
Team as part of the Council and failure to find a replacement would leave it
one step removed.

    As I said, keep those emails coming. Following successes in Perth and
other places, Councils are now beginning to realise that they can't barter
Gaelic services away. Not only that, but every campaign highlights the
situation and puts pressure on the Scottish Parliament to legislate and give
Gaelic the Secure Status it needs.

    Since our interests and concerns are with "endangered languages", I
would urge anyone interested in this campaign to write in their own
language. This may have a far bigger impact than writing in English.

Moran taing / many thanks

David Wilson.

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