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There was the bitingly cold weather, frigid winters, the dank and grim landscape of Manchester and then there was the chilly reception, undisguised racism and the hostility of the Whites around them. Mrs. Jones’ mother, grandparents, grand-uncles and other family members, had answered the call of the British government after World War II to leave their home countries and help the ‘Mother Country’ rebuild after the devastation of the war. They landed in 1961-62.
“My people were proud to be here to rebuild,” the Manchester resident told The Final Call. “But when they came, they couldn’t find a place to stay because nobody would rent to them. So they got together and lived in one house.”
In addition to signs that said “No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs,” Mrs. Jones said her family and the thousands of Caribbean people from the Windrush generation had great difficulty securing employment because of the color of their skin.
Mrs. Jones is referring to a months-long scandal that has engulfed the May government after it was revealed that the Tory government has been denying that some members of the Windrush generation—most in their 70s and 80s—are British citizens, barred them from returning from trips abroad and detained others.
As a part of the celebration, Prime Minister Theresa May invited Windrush survivors and their progeny to an event at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister official residence. And the government invited 2,000 special guests to a service of celebration at Westminster Abbey.
David Lammy, Tottenham’s Labour member of Parliament, has been an outspoken critic of the government.
He told The Guardian that plans to commemorate the day are complicated by the fact that the recent deportations scandal had left many British-Caribbean people feeling like second-class citizens.
“I think it’s a moment to celebrate the people who gave so much and took so little, but it is a little bittersweet,” he said. “The Windrush scandal has left a very nasty taste in the mouth and there will be many Britons who feel sad that that has happened.”
Jasmine Linton-Vaughan said she is horrified and offended by the many stories of the government’s abuse and disregard for her fellow Caribbean residents. She said Windrush residents have lost jobs, homes and pensions because of what she described as the government’s callous disregard for Caribbean residents.
“It’s despicable how we’ve been treated, but I’m not surprised,” said Mrs. Linton-Vaughan, whose parents emigrated to England from Jamaica in the 1950s. “There are people who have been here 30, 40, 50 years who came over and thought they were British citizens and found out that they’re not. They worked in the system, on the railway, hospitals, whatever.”
“There is a man who had prostate cancer and they wouldn’t treat him. The government policy is if people don’t have a passport, they have to reapply but without citizenship, they can’t be employed, take advantage of health services or collect their pension or benefits. This is an attempt to lower immigration. They lumped everyone together. They didn’t look at who they invited here.”
It is precisely that point— that people living in British territories and who were British citizens when they arrived up until 1962 were invited here— which really angers her, Mrs. Jones said. And after generations of dedication and service to England, she added, the government disregarded those sacrifices and classified thousands of Caribbean-born, long-time British residents as illegal immigrants.
Mrs. Linton-Vaughan and Jones said people are understandably angry that after working for decades, being good citizens and paying taxes, they are now being told to prove they are citizens or face expulsion from in many cases is the only country they know.
The angry demonstrations and rallies at 10 Downing Street and elsewhere have subsided, but they, like other critics, are demanding that the government do much more, including compensating the injured, scrapping the racist provisions and treating these British citizens justly.
Academic Gus John crystallized the disgust and resentment the government’s actions have engendered. Prime Minister May, he said, has redoubled the government’s efforts to create a hostile environment for immigrants.
He sent her a scalding dismissal of an invitation he received to attend festivities at the prime minister’s residence.
“In my book, Prime Minister, the policies of your government, the incitement to racial hatred that they undoubtedly represent and the denial of fundamental human rights and the right to life itself to citizens of the Windrush generation, who devoted all of their adult years to the development of Britain are enough to make you no less a pariah in the eyes of the Commonwealth and of the freedom-loving world than those whom your government over time has sought to ostracise,” said Mr. John, a Grenadian-born activist and equality and human rights campaigner.
“In July 2013, with you as Home Secretary, your government’s own vans were running around London boroughs with a large ‘immigrant’ population and displaying huge billboards targeted at ‘illegal’ immigrants and telling them to ‘Go Home or Face Arrest.’”
“(You are) condemning long-retired workers of the Windrush generation to uncertainty, misery, physical hardship and denial of the same life-saving health services for which they had paid throughout their working lives,” he continued.
“I do not believe that you are entitled to the magnanimity of those misguided folk who might well be happy to receive your invitation and to attend your Windrush anniversary celebration. As far as I am concerned, I stand with those who suffered detention, deportation and mental ill health, some of whom even now face an earlier death as a result of being denied access to health services on account of your ‘hostile environment’ regime.”
Barrington Salmon is a London-born Jamaican whose parents settled in Tottenham, London, in 1950. He is a proud member of the Windrush generation.