“The Bodies of West Indians may have been in the Caribbean but their heads were in British Clouds. Though they’d never left the West Indian Islands, they’d bought into the idea that the colonies were an extension of England. To pack your bags and book a passage on a steamship to England was to journey to the centre, like Dick Whittington striking out from Lancashire to London.” Colin Grant
The Windrush generation are people who travelled to the UK from Commonwealth countries in the 1950s and 60s. As British subjects, the Windrush generation was free to permanently live and work in Britain.
But with the creation of the ‘hostile environment’ against migrants coming into force in 2012, members of the Windrush generation who had lived and worked here legally for decades, were being detained, denied their rights and even deported.
“Nothing promised was what it seemed…” Roger Robinson
In 2018 these stories were picked up in the media. The Windrush scandal saw the Home Secretary lose her job, and many, many promises to right the wrongs.
But 3 years on, thousands of people are still waiting for justice. Their lives were put on hold, they lost their jobs, their life savings were wiped out and they built up debt. The government owes them compensation, but the scheme is too slow and the payouts are too small, to make up for what has happened.
“Members of the Windrush generation whose lives have been devastated, still wait for compensation, despite the many promises made” Martina Laird
We’ve launched an emergency appeal to support members of the Windrush generation who are still waiting for the government to right its wrongs.
Every penny raised will help people struggling with health needs, debt resolution, paying bills, buying food, clothes and basic necessities or helping families through a difficult time.
Please donate now if you can
BackChat
What we’ve been watching: David Olusoga’s documentary “The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files” opens secret government files to show how the Windrush scandal and the ‘hostile environment’ for black British immigrants has been 70 years in the making. Shown last June, the one hour programme will be available for another 4 months. We’d also recommend this lecture from Amelia Gentlemen, the award-winning investigative journalist behind the Windrush exposé. In this video, Gentleman discusses her conversations with Windrush generation immigrants, and the Home Office’s slow response in the years since the scandal. Her lecture is followed by a discussion with David Lammy, MP for Tottenham and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice. Mr Lammy has campaigned for justice for those affected by the scandal.
What we’ve been reading: Roger Robinson’s “A Portable Paradise” & Colin Grant’s “Homecoming”. A huge thank you to both of these authors for giving their time and words to support this appeal. You get a little taster from the video but we cannot recommend these enough. Roger’s poem “A Portable Paradise” has stayed with me since I first saw it on one of the few times I was on the tube last year, a moving, truly beautiful poem.
What we’ve been listening to: You can also hear more from Colin on the History Extra Podcast where he talks more about his book “Homecoming”. Available on Spotify.
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