‘Bittersweet’ Windrush seventy fifth anniversary marked
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ommemorations and celebrations are going down throughout the nation to mark what has been described as a “bittersweet” seventy fifth Windrush anniversary.
The King will attend a service for younger folks in Windsor, a carnival procession will happen in Brixton the place lots of the Caribbean group settled, and the Windrush flag will likely be flown in places together with on the Houses of Parliament.
A commemorative service can even happen at London’s Southwark Cathedral on Thursday, whereas occasions will likely be held on the Port of Tilbury the place the Empire Windrush ship – the primary to hold employees from the Caribbean who had answered Britain’s name to assist fill post-war labour shortages – docked on June 22 1948.
(It is a) bittersweet second, tainted by the injustice of the Windrush scandal
Patrick Vernon, convenor of the Windrush 75 community, mentioned the occasions are an opportunity to “celebrate the diversity of modern Britain” and to “acknowledge the legacy of those first Windrush pioneers, the challenges they overcame and the contribution they made to Britain”.
But he mentioned it’s a “bittersweet moment, tainted by the injustice of the Windrush scandal”.
In 2018, it got here to gentle that many British residents, largely from the Caribbean, had been threatened with detention and deportation regardless of having the precise to stay within the UK.
Many within the Windrush technology, who arrived from the Caribbean between the late Forties and Nineteen Seventies, had no document of their standing and located it challenged underneath the Home Office’s so-called “hostile environment” coverage which was supposed to focus on unlawful migrants.
It additionally emerged that 1000’s of touchdown card slips recording the arrival of Windrush-era immigrants have been beforehand destroyed by the Home Office.
Then-home secretary Amber Rudd apologised in 2018 to members of the Windrush technology, and a scathing report printed in 2020 discovered the scandal to have been “foreseeable and avoidable” and that victims have been let down by “systemic operational failings” on the Home Office.
Despite establishing a compensation scheme for these affected by the scandal, the division has continued to face criticism for its dealing with of the scenario – accused of being sluggish and inefficient.
But the Home Office has insisted it’s “absolutely committed to righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal”.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been criticised for dropping three of 30 suggestions from the 2020 report, however mentioned her division is “exposing ourselves to heightened and incredibly rigorous levels of scrutiny”.
She rejected requires the scheme to be moved to an impartial physique, telling ITV News that it’s “right that the Home Office maintain ownership over the scheme because to do otherwise would cause delay and needless bureaucracy”.
The newest Government figures for May present £75.0 million had been supplied underneath the compensation scheme, with £62.7 million of that paid out.
But a whole bunch of individuals have been within the system awaiting a declare end result for at the least a yr.
Lee Rowley, communities minister on the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, mentioned: “Today is a celebration of the Windrush generation and the wider Caribbean community’s contribution to British society.
“The events taking place today and all this week are a chance to reflect upon and recognise those who have done so much to strengthen the life of our nation.”
The Brixton procession is considered one of 45 group tasks the division mentioned had been funded by the £750,000 Windrush Day Grant Scheme together with cricket matches on the Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club.