Negative Lithuanian Immigrants Experiences in Scotland Flashcards
They were seen as ‘strike-breakers’ by Scots as they would be employed during the Scots’ striking activities.
This meant that Scots didn’t respect them as much and didn’t like them as they didn’t support the stick action Scots were taking. They were diluting the effectiveness of the strike.
Some Scots politicians campaigned against Lithuanians staying in Scotland permanently
This meant that Lithuanians felt hey weren’t welcomed or included into Scottish society. They were rejected by people with influence and made them feel unwanted.
Most Lithuanians that came to live in Scotland were escaping extreme poverty.
This meant that Scots saw them as unclean or that they dragged down they wages as they would work for almost anything.
Many Scots disliked Lithuanians as there were prepared to work for less pay than the Scots
This meant that Scots blamed Lithuanians for the drop in wages and the amount of money a person could earn for a job. Scots lost their jobs to Lithuanians as they would work for less money.
They were devoutly Catholic in a Protestant land.
This meant that they had different religious beliefs and needed their own place to worship. People associated them with the Catholic Irish that can come to Scotland.
Lithuanians were routinely referred to as “Poles” or “Russians”.
This meant that Scots were veryignorant to the Lithuanians as they referred to them as a nationality completely different to their own.
Lithuanian names that were difficult to pronounce were changed by Scottish government officials without permission.
This meant that Lithuanians lost part of their culture as a result of their names beginning changed. They lost part of their identities.
Lithuanian weddings and celebrations lasted several days.
This meant that Lithuanians needed more time off work for these events and Scots saw them as drunks and people who caused mischief.
Lithuanians were made to register as aliens during WWI.
This meant that Scots still didn’t accept them into society even during the war. They were separated from everyone else.
The Lithuanians were considered Russians to the British government, and as such, were liable for service in the Russian army and forced to join it rather than the British army
This meant that they were forced to fight for a country they weren’t a part of and sometimes fled, they couldn’t fight for their new home. They felt isolated from Scots.
After WWI many Lithuanians were forced to leave Scotland as the British government withdrew financial support for Lithuanian women and children.
This meant that they were abandoned by the government and made to uproot their new lives and move somewhere new, even if they didn’t have they money to do so as the government didn’t support Lithuanians anymore.
