Honouring the Windrush Generation

IT WAS HEARTENING to witness the noble gesture of the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines a fortnight ago to honour the contributions of what is known as the “Windrush generation”. A flag-raising ceremony was held at the main ministerial building in Kingstown at which there were addresses by our Prime Minister and representatives of this “generation”.

For the benefit of the younger folk and those not aware of what this “Windrush” ceremony was all about, the Windrush generation is used to describe the first wave of mass migration from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom just after the Second World War. Just over 1000 migrants arrived on the ship, MV Empire Windrush at the Tilbury docks in London on June 22, 1948, most of them being Jamaicans.

They had been recruited by the British government because of a grave labour shortage in Britain which had lost more than 750,000 deaths- soldiers and civilians- and hundreds of thousands gravely wounded in the war posing a huge problem for the recovery of its economy. These migrants were recruited because they belonged to what was then called the British Empire since Britain ruled most of the Caribbean.

There was no need for visas or immigration controls and these first migrants set in train an almost weekly trend of ships arriving and offloading tens of thousands of immigrants, not just from Jamaica but from the entire “British West Indies”. They went on to make an invaluable contribution to the recovery of the British economy especially in areas such as public transport, the health services, security and the armed forces, as well as menial jobs. They were an integral part of the rebuilding of Britain and their offspring, as British citizens, despite racial discrimination, went on to excel in education, in political life and even represented Britain in major sports such as the Olympics, football, cricket, netball and boxing.

Yet such was the innate racism in British society that they had to struggle ten times harder than

white migrants such as those from Australia and New Zealand, to succeed. Yet thousands of the earlier migrants, the Windrush generation had come to believe that given their years of service they were automatic British citizens.

A rude awakening came 70 years after the first arrivals.

In 2018, on the orders of the British Home office, hundreds of the Windrush generation found themselves rounded up, detained and even deported because they were not regarded as “British citizens”. This after helping to build back Britain, having distinguished themselves, and raising families who knew no home but that country. It set in train a battle which continues up to this day.

The battle for equal treatment and respect for the Windrush generation has become part and parcel of the demand for reparation for victims of racism, colonial plunder and slavery suffered by the people of the Caribbean. The ceremony and welcome extended to the representatives of the Windrush generation is therefore an important step in the pursuit of reparatory justice. Not only must it be supported but we must also ensure that our youths and children are taught about our history and contribution not only to rebuilding Britain but also in similar efforts in the USA and Canada.