A special blog by Angelique Retief

Monday 22nd June marked the third year of Windrush Day, a day which honours the Caribbean community and the half a million people who travelled to the UK after the Second World War – a commemoration which Patrick Vernon had been campaigning for since 2013. The Windrush generation is the name given to these people who moved to the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries. Some arrived on a ship called the Empire Windrush and in 1971, were told they could stay permanently. The government did not however ensure that a full record of everyone who had arrived was kept and after a change in immigration law in 2012, many of them were told they lived in the UK illegally and they faced being deported.

Windrush Day was instated to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants and… [Britain’s] diverse multi-ethnic democracy”. However, the hostile environment policies which led to the Windrush Scandal continue to wreak havoc on the lives of many. In 2018, British citizens, mostly from the Caribbean, were wrongly detained, deported or threatened with deportation, despite having the right to live in Britain. Without any official record or paperwork, many were unable to prove they had the right to live and work in the UK. Some people were taken to immigration detention centres, some lost their jobs and homes and were denied access to healthcare and benefits. The treatment of the Windrush generation has been described by the Deputy Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission as "a shameful stain on British history". As Yasmin Alibhai-Brown notes, “the empire ended long ago, but Albion’s perfidies go on”.

While naturalised UK citizens born outside of the UK are easily able to pass on citizenship to children and grandchildren born overseas, convoluted legislation applying to former colonies dictates that those who received British citizenship from these colonies under the 1971 immigration act are not able to pass on citizenship. As a result, those who descended from their people who came to rebuild Britain are systematically deprived of their right to inherit British citizenship.

In response to the Windrush Scandal, the compensation scheme was launched in April 2019. People whose lives had been impacted by not being able to demonstrate their lawful immigration status, and their families, were told they would be compensated to “right the wrongs” for their suffering. These pay-outs ranged from a mere £250 to £10,000 although this has relatively recently been updated. Although, the minimum payment has now risen from £250 to £10,000, and the maximum from £10,000 to £100,000. Still, these payments do make up for the fact people have lost homes, jobs and been denied access to free healthcare as a result of the threats. Last year, the most senior Black home office employee in the team responsible for the scheme resigned after describing it as systemically racist and unfit for purpose.

Despite the pledge by government, many still await compensation and restorative justice. More than two years later, many claimants are still waiting for pay-outs and over 20 people have died before receiving compensation and many Windrush descendants are still being hurt by the hostile environment policies which led to the scandal in the first place. The National Audit Office discovered that massive delays and back log of outstanding cases which many have been not being resolved in the last two years. They also found there were only 6 full time case workers to support over 15,000 potential claims. The latest home office figures show that, to date, only 687 claims for Windrush compensation have been paid out while 2000 claims remain outstanding (National Audit Office, 2021).

The scheme, is as its name suggests, meant to compensate for the abuse of Black British citizens and other commonwealth citizens, but due to the complicated application process has instead provided very little support for victims. Over 150 eligible applicants have been told that they are not entitled to payments because their claims have not demonstrated that they had been adversely affected by the scandal, many more have been rejected on eligibility grounds.

The Fix the Windrush Compensation Scheme petition started by Patrick Vernon OBE is calling on government to:

1. Make the compensation scheme process easier by considering independence and accessibility.

2. Put a substantial amount of funding into the scheme to support grass roots and voluntary sector services that run outreach and support programmes for survivors in the UK, Africa and the Caribbean on legal assistance, advocacy and emotional well-being.

3. Include a full apology letter with every single compensation letter.

As described in the petition, the compensation scheme has caused grave damage and distress for many for such as Paulette Wilson who died in July 2020. Her daughter Natalie Barnes said,

“Home office still operate the hostile environment policy which contributed to the death of my mother. Before she passed, she was struggling with the forms and lack of support and respect from the Home Office. The scheme needs to be moved so there is proper justice to families like mine”.

Stephanie O ‘Connor is still mourning the loss of her mum Sarah who moved to the UK in 1967 and died in July 2019.

“For my mum the compensation scheme has come too late, and I am so disappointed that it is still taking this long for people to get what is owed to them. I just hope that people get compensated fairly for everything that they have been through”.

The Windrush generation (and their descendants) have had to endure decades of uncertainty and disregard, despite their overwhelming contributions and impact on Britain’s social cultural and economic life. This last year is testament to that, with British-Caribbean communities supporting the nation through their contributions to the NHS and many other parts of public life. If you are to walk through the streets of the country’s cities, it is obvious that “diversity is not an anti-British incursion, a ‘woke’ menace, or liberal Trojan Horse, but an identifiable characteristic in the nation’s DNA”, as proven by death of the African Roman emperor who died in York, Septimius Severus; or the ancient skeleton of an African woman found in Beachy Head in 2016. As Yasmin Alibhai-Brown argues, “Twenty thousand Black people were recorded in Georgian London. Indian magicians, peddlers, scholars, lawyers, spice merchants, servants, and sailors lived in the metropolis and other big cities in Victorian times. Vast numbers of Black and Asian soldiers joined allied forces in the two world wars”. Black trumpeters in the courts of Henry VII, a black female footballer in 1897 – these are facts which allude most in Britain and why commemorations such as Windrush day or Black History Month are so important to tackle the lies perpetuated by white nationalists who ‘want their country back’.

Our colleagues at The Ubele Initiative are part of the 2021 Windrush Caribbean Film Festival, which brings audiences from across the world to celebrate contributions of the Windrush Generation and its legacy. The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival is a unique space for everyone to connect and learn about the voyage and experiences of the Windrush Generation.

The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival (WCFF) aims to engage and educate audiences in cinemas and art venues across the UK about the contributions of the Windrush generation and its impact on the country through screenings, talkbacks and micro-cinema challenge that will take place in cinemas, schools and community centres across the country. WCFF will include films whose themes are centred around racism, colonialism, immigration, and cultural contributions, with the goal of airing, discussing and celebrating this iconic generation.