Claims by a Midland academic that Shetland is the worst place to live in Britain has caused quite a stir in the islands. This is the Shetland Times response to the Birmingham Post article...
An English newspaper has branded Shetland "the most depressing place in the British Isles", dismissing it as a bleak, windswept outpost plagued by suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse and domestic violence.
The article in The Birmingham Post contains claims that:
* More than a quarter of us exhibit symptoms associated with mental illness
* We suffer "emotional poverty"
* Parts of the islands are locked in a time warp of 50 to 60 years ago
* We live in the Arctic Circle
* We celebrate the Uphellgyja festival
People in Shetland who have seen the story reacted with anger and dismay that such a distorted picture had been passed off as fact.
Roger, Erdington:"I've just heard about the hoo-ha over the Shetland Isles - whether they are or are not depressing. I've lived in Erdington since 1981, and we went to Shetland for our holiday last year. "We thought it was terrific - I would recommend it to anyone who loves beautiful scenery, hill walking and bird-watching. You don't see many people though, and there wasn't much in the way of night life, so it wouldn't suit everyone." David Holbeck, Birmingham: "If the Shetland Isles really is such a terrific place, why is the local college starting a new course to train professional counsellors in the first place?" Esther Black, Edinburgh: "Shetland over Birmingham any day - and even more so now. You have done your city a disservice. Get with it." Geoff Hutton, Lerwick, Shetland:"And what exactly does Birmingham have on offer? I have visited the city on several occasions and your city can't exactly be crowned the jewel of England. Your apology will not be greeted well in Lerwick. Your journalist should be sacked!" Sarah McBurnie, Unst, Shetland:"Let me tell you some facts about Shetland. Living in a place that feels as if you've turned the clock back 40 years is no bad thing. You don't need to lock your front door or your car. Nobody here burgles people's houses. "We have had no murders in the last 13 years, in fact it could be 20 or more years. Our old or vulnerable people have care facilities second to none. No one dies here and isn't found until the smell is unbearable. All children are given the opportunity in school to learn to play a musical instrument of their choice and then lent the instrument until they leave. "We have eight swimming pools in leisure centres, three of them on outer islands. Shetland has just hosted the Island Games. Drugs problems don't translate into robberies, drive-by shootings or crime waves generally. Crime clear-up rates are so high it's a wonder there is any 'cos we all know if we do something wrong it's only a matter of time before we are found out. We have one-and-a-half hours less daylight at midwinter (9am to 3.30pm) than Birmingham. "We can see all the stars in the sky and the Northern Lights. It doesn't get dark at all either side of Midsummer's day, golfing at midnight is a 'must do' by visitors. I have never felt threatened or at risk in my 13 years here, have always managed to find employment and would never think of moving back to mainland Britain." Jo Tonkinson, Sandness, Shetland:"As someone who escaped Birmingham's rising crime and filthy streets over 16 years ago to a much better life in Shetland, it makes me very sad when The Post prints untruths about the place, written by someone who has never even been here. "I think they take the comments of Roger Casemore out of context. If being able to leave your door unlocked, leaving the keys in your car, leaving the kids free to roam and play is living in a time warp, I'll drink to that (as it seems we all have a drink problem too!). Most of us who live here like the isolation, we love the wild scenery; the wild weather in winter leaves you knowing you are alive. "I do not think your statistics on mental health are accurate, and at worst the whole article is a bit too light on such a serious subject. I would like to see a serious article about the islands written by someone who knows them well and knows the people and area." Leona Phillips, Dunrossness, Shetland:"I am outraged by the narrow-minded article needlessly published about our lifestyle in Shetland, that I felt a few things should be mentioned. How can Mr Naqvi have the nerve to print what he did, and on the back of it, admit he'd never set foot on the island? He's right - he probably would get skelped straight back off! And as for Roger Casemore - no-one told him to walk along the beach in the middle of a force eight gale. "Does he think we're in the middle of the Pacific? We might not have that many trees but we do - believe it or not - have sunlight . . . every day! We're on top of the Earth's axis - so what do you expect when the seasons change? We may be a bit behind the times but at least we have a safe place to bring up our children who don't have guns, don't hear about killings, rape or robberies every day or have the misfortune of hearing regular emergency sirens." Ivan Mouat, Cumberland St, Glasgow:"I am from Shetland and I think that your excuse for a report on the'Shetland Life' is complete rubbish. You can't give an opinion on the true Shetland life if you haven't been introduced to it. You obviously need another trip up to see the beautiful place it is. Get a grip." |
Lerwick man Mark Wylie, who was sent the article, said: "It was quite shocking to read it. It's a very negative impression. They were obviously not wanting to mention any positive things about Shetland."
He was alerted by his sister-in-law, Kate Bond, who lives in Shropshire and was herself amazed by the impression that people in Birmingham were being given.
Mr Wylie queried the figure quoted for illness, which would mean that one member of almost every family in Shetland had mental health problems. And he thought the claim that there was a plague of social troubles was exaggerated.
He said: "I can't imagine Shetland is that bad. It definitely does have problems with drugs, and it is an alcohol culture and the rate of suicides is quite high for the population. But is Shetland any worse than anywhere else?
"What the guy obviously fails to point out in speaking about Shetland is the fact we've got superb education, fantastic leisure facilities, friendly Shetlanders, spectacular views, wildlife and a safer environment for children. Compare that to where The Birmingham Post is based and you think about their gun culture, the shootings you hear about on the news."
He could see the funny side of such gross mistakes as the reference to Uphellgyja, but did not consider it fair to call Shetland a "bleak, windswept outpost".
"Well, maybe in the winter," he laughed. "But I think there's a bit more to it than that."
Why, he wondered, were so many people from places like the Midlands choosing to move to a new life in Shetland? He said: "Generally I would say we live in a friendlier, happier and safer place than Birmingham."
SIC councillor Drew Ratter said the article was "horrible", not least because he felt it trivialised mental illness. He said: "This just shows you what happens when you get really bad quality journalism applied to a serious matter."
Of particular interest to him is the fact that much of the misinformation in the piece was supplied by an academic called Roger Casemore who helped set up a course in counselling at the Shetland College, where Mr Ratter is board chairman.
Mr Casemore spends some time in Shetland each year when he presents certificates to students who have passed the course. He is a director of counselling and psychotherapy at the University of Warwick.
According to The Post, one of the aims of the course is to "equip the community with the skills they need to help them overcome the psychological problems they face".
Mr Casemore told the newspaper the oil industry in Shetland had collapsed. Along with the collapse of whitefishing and the loss of airforce bases it had resulted in "a feeling of decline in the community". Understandably, he said bad weather was another reason for low moods.
Mr Ratter is taking the matter up with the college and he looked forward to a discussion with Mr Casemore the next time he is up.
He said some of the points and advice about depression that Mr Casemore had given in the article were "perfectly valid and sensible, but this guy is putting it in a ludicrous context".
Dismissing the description of Shetland as "a lot of sensational nonsense", Mr Ratter said he did not believe the statistic that a quarter of islanders "exhibit symptoms associated with mental illness".
"That is such a slippery statement," he said, explaining that it could mean just "being a bit fed up".
He said: "Of course the weather and the climate affect how you're thinking about things, and your temperament. It would be ridiculous if it didn't."
The councillor also attacked journalism which propagates the same old urban stereotypes of rural people in Scotland.
Mr Casemore appeared to go to ground this week after being contacted by The Shetland Times. When made aware of the nature of the inquiry, he said he was in a meeting and agreed to call back. He didn't, and repeated phone calls to his office went unanswered, despite a woman at his home insisting that he was still at work. Messages were left on answering machines at both addresses but Mr Casemore failed to respond.
The story appeared first in the daily broadsheet on April 14 and is still accessible on The Birmingham Post's own website, now carrying the less extreme headline 'Roger's mission: to cheer up the Shetlands'. It was written by the newspaper's education correspondent, Shahid Naqvi, who sourced most of his information from Mr Casemore. Other details were gleaned from a 1999 Health and Lifestyle survey.
Based on what he gathered, Mr Naqvi wrote: "Shrouded in darkness half the year and unable to escape sunlight the other six months, the people of the Shetland Islands are plagued by high rates of suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse and domestic violence."
The story is riddled with other errors that have gone unchecked despite the world having internet access at its fingertips. When told in detail the errors and insults, Mr Naqvi was taken aback and apologised if he had caused offence.
Good Shetlands * Fresh sea air * Community spirit * Safe and secure * Knowing lots of folk * Spending our oil millions * Sports centres and all that * Drink culture (for the party people) * Soothmoothers bringing new ideas * Reasonable selection of take-away restaurants * Returning after a trip away Bad Shetlands * The nine-month winters * Eyes are on you * Expensive to travel * Malicious gossip * Wasting our oil millions * Too many sports centres * Drink culture (for the sober) * Soothmoothers taking over * Lack of high street shopping and no cinema |
He said: "Phew, that's quite an onslaught! Seem to have touched a raw nerve. Mind you, I imagine people here would be equally up in arms if someone labelled Birmingham the most depressing place in Britain."
Indeed, Birmingham probably is somewhere many people in Shetland would regard as one of the worst-possible places to live in Britain.
It has been voted 55th best city in the world, but the pollution and crime associated with such a major city is not what islanders generally hanker after.
Nor is there much attractive about the rise of far-right political parties in the city, seeking to fan racial tensions in its industrial suburbs, like Tipton and Dudley, where levels of unemployment, low wages and social deprivation soar way above those found in Shetland.
Mr Naqvi said: "The amount of anger the article has provoked suggests a great amount of pride among the people who live in the Shetlands which must be testimony to the positive feeling people have about the place."
* Have you ever visited the Shetlands? We'd love to know what you thought of the place - get in touch by email, messageboard or send a web letter to the editor *
