In 1962 Anthony Bryan’s mother accepted the invitation to come to the UK to work for the NHS as part of Windrush. They don’t tell you why they are holding you and they don’t tell you why they let you out.
The name Windrush refers to the ship MV Empire Windrush, which docked in Tilbury on 22 June 1948, bringing the first workers from the Caribbean to help fill post-war UK labour shortages. Those who took up the offer were automatically deemed British subjects and in 1971 were given permanent right to remain. In the decades following the war people from the Caribbean were invited to work and live in the UK. Many Caribbeans fought for Britain in the war. It’s the stuff of nightmares, but, between 20, for at least 850 people from the Caribbean it was a reality.ĭuring World War 2 the Caribbean was still part of the British Commonwealth. And on top of the exhaustive stress of the false accusations leveled at you and the complete lack of any explanation for them from the authorities, you suffer the offensive indignity of having your kids described as your “alleged children”.
The threat of deportation still hangs over you. The wealth of documentation you provide to prove your residency is never enough. No reason given for why you were detained or why you were released.īut still it isn’t over. Two and a half weeks later, they release you. Then early one morning Immigration Officers arrive, thumping on your door before you’re even properly awake, to arrest you and take you to a detention centre, 154 miles and a three-hour drive from your home. You have to report to an immigration centre every two weeks, where they tell you nothing. Your employer receives a letter from the Home Office saying they must cease to employ you immediately or face a £10,000 fine because you’re an illegal immigrant, so you lose your job. It’s one man’s story of social injustice that happened on a huge scale that only came to light after hundreds of people had suffered in what became known as the Windrush Scandal. Sitting in Limbo (new to Netflix May 1) is the true story of Anthony Bryan. The events this powerful drama recounts from the perspective of one man’s story happened between 20. In these days of #BlackLivesMatter we cannot watch Sitting in Limbo and be thankful times have changed for the better. There is no historical distance to cushion the blow of the systemic governmental racism here.
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