#Justice4Windrush video projected on White Cliffs of Dover ahead of UK election
“We arrived as British citizens, yet we are now treated as illegal immigrants"
A #Justice4Windrush video was projected onto the iconic White Cliffs of Dover ahead of next week’s UK general election. It was produced by the campaign group Led By Donkeys and projected onto the cliffs last Thursday.
In the video, Air Force Squadron Leader Sidney McFarlane, who served in the RAF for 30 years after travelling from Jamaica to England as part of the Windrush generation, delivers a message directed at Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer while projected onto the cliffs.
“We arrived as British citizens, yet we are now treated as illegal immigrants,” McFarlane states, highlighting the racism he has faced throughout his career, adding that he’s hard to work “twice a hard for the same outcomes”.
He stresses the contribution of the Windrush generation in rebuilding Britain after World War II and notes ongoing difficulties in accessing compensation. “We need an independent body to take away from a home office and the government to implement its own recommendations,” McFarlane continues.
It concludes with a plea to change the school curriculum so the public is more informed of the Windrush Scandal stating, “British colonialism is a big part of British history.”
The was created to support and spotlight the #Justice4Windrush campaign, which aims to educate the public about the history of the Windrush generation and urges the Home Office to address the Windrush Scandal.
The scandal involved hundreds of British citizens from the Windrush generation who were wrongly deported, had their rights stripped away, and were unlawfully detained. This occurred due to the government's 'Hostile Environment' policy, which aimed to make life in the UK “unlivable for undocumented migrants” by requiring institutions like the NHS, landlords, banks, and employers to enforce immigration checks.
Despite a subsequent review of the government’s migration policy and an allocated fund for compensating victims of the scandal, justice has yet to be delivered. More than 50 Windrush victims have passed away while awaiting their compensation.
Earlier this year, several British musicians, including Don Letts, AJ Tracey, Annie Lennox, and others, signed an open letter calling for a reform of the Windrush compensation scheme.
Revisit DJ Mag's feature on the children of the Windrush generation and their impact on UK dance music, club, and rave culture here.
