The public apology by British Prime Minister Theresa May last week for the pain and trauma caused to the Windrush Generation, issued to Caricom representatives at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in London was welcome news, for the thousands of affected lives in the UK, for the people of the Caribbean, and also for the hundreds of thousands of us living in the diaspora.
It is regrettable that May and her government allowed such a Windrush ‘degeneration’ to occur, for so many lives to be threatened by this sad state of affairs, particularly in the wake of what were ongoing reports in the UK, and concerns raised by the regional governments, about the uncertainty that was being faced by thousands of affected British citizens of Caribbean extraction.
One wonders how these reports could have gone unheeded for so long – until it reached a boiling point last week, depicting the trauma being suffered by Windrush citizens who after contributing so much to Britain, were either now being fired from their jobs, or who having retired and after living and paying taxes in the UK for decades, were now being detained like criminals, made homeless, denied benefits and National Health Service treatment, because they had been backed into a bureaucratic corner through having to struggle to prove they arrived in the UK before 1973, and were bona fide British nationals.
Speaking to Caricom leaders last week, May finally was unequivocal and contrite, saying: “I want to apologise to you today… we are genuinely sorry for any anxiety that has been caused.” She added: “I want to dispel any impression that my government is in some sense clamping down on Commonwealth citizens, particularly those from the Caribbean. Those who arrived from the Caribbean before 1973 and lived here permanently without significant periods of time away in the last 30 years have the right to remain in the UK. As do the vast majority of long-term residents who arrived later, and I don’t want anybody to be in any doubt about their right to remain here in the United Kingdom.”
Such a dire situation came about due to new immigration rules May herself introduced as Home Secretary. These rules now require employers, NHS staff, private landlords, and other bodies to demand evidence of people’s citizenship or immigration status. Said May: “This has resulted in some people, through no fault of their own, now needing to be able to evidence their immigration status.” However, she noted “the overwhelming majority of the Windrush generation do have the documents that they need, but we are working hard to help those who do not”. What she did not disclose was last week it was discovered the Home Office had destroyed thousands of Windrush landing slips, making it difficult for these British citizens to prove their arrival status.
The first group of Caribbean nationals journeyed to Britain in June 1948 on the SS Empire Windrush. Many more arrived in the following years, among them children who often traveled on their parents’ passports, and who were never formally naturalised. Today, it is estimated close 50,000 people face the risk of deportation if they did not formalise residency status, making arrival difficult to prove, now that the documentation has been destroyed.
Last week May promised a formal team assigned the task of assisting Windrush descendants to obtain necessary documentation proving their British citizenship, which would protect them from deportation, and open access to State and other services. Home Secretary Amber Rudd was also on the defensive, conceding, “I am concerned that the Home Office has become too concerned with policy and strategy and sometimes loses sight of the individual.”
That May and her government are finally recognising Britain’s Windrush generation as individuals is welcome; however, one wonders why the situation deteriorated to such a sad state of affairs in the first place.