WINDRUSH GENERATION

Dec. 9, 2018

In 2018, The Windrush scandal in Britain, concerning people who were wrongly detained, denied legal rights, threatened with deportation caused a lot of controversy.

Windrush generation:

  • Windrush generation refers to migrants from the Caribbean Commonwealth who had come to the U.K. at a time when they had the right to remain indefinitely in Britain, but had had their rights questioned under a toughened immigration regime.

  • The Windrush generation is named after one of the many vessels that ferried some half a million people from the Caribbean islands to the U.K. in the late 1940s.

Windrush scandal:

  • The Windrush generation, has fallen victim to a ruthless policy that stipulates annual net immigration objectives.

  • In its wake, people with cultural links to the region but who have lived all their lives in the U.K. are having to provide proof of residence for every year of their stay of up to 60-70 years.

  • Inability to furnish such evidence has been met with job losses, threat of deportation, withdrawal of welfare benefits and even denial of critical medical care.

Source : The Hindu