Humza Yousaf on Under Fire
Thursday 8th October, 7.30pm
St Mark's Church, St Mary's Place, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9UY
6.50pm
7.30pm
Humza Yousaf on Under Fire
We welcome Humza Yousaf to St Andrews for an intimate account of how a son of immigrants grew up to become the first Muslim leader of a Western European country as well as documenting his in-laws' escape from Gaza.
When Scotland's First Minister, Humza Yousaf, got a call from Gaza on the morning of 7 October 2023, he feared the worst. His wife's parents, Elizabeth and Maged, had been visiting the Palestinian territory to see Maged's sick Palestinian mother. Now, after the Hamas terrorist attack, they were caught in Israel's furious onslaught.
Under Fire tells the story of Yousaf's month-long nightmare as he tried desperately to get his in-laws out of Gaza and back home to Dundee. With the British government ignoring his pleas for help, he had to coordinate with other countries to get Elizabeth and Maged across the Rafah border into Egypt. While supporting his wife and children as they waited for daily updates from Elizabeth on her battle for survival, Yousaf also had to lead the whole of Scotland - as well as reassure the nation's traumatised Jewish community. All while responding to online attacks.
Humza Yousaf was the First Minister of Scotland from 2023 to 24, the first Muslim leader of a Western European country and the youngest First Minister in Scotland's history.
He was appointed as Minister for External Affairs and International Development in 2012, and later served as a Minister for Europe, Minister for Transport, as well as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Health & Social Care. First elected as an MSP for Glasgow in 2011, he was elected in 2016 to serve Glasgow Pollok, becoming the first ethnic minority Member of the Scottish Parliament to be directly elected to a constituency.
Outside politics, Humza has been involved in community work, from youth organisations to charity fundraising for most of his life. He also volunteered for community radio for 12 years and founded a charitable project providing food packages to homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow.