Sometimes events happen that none of us should let go without question. In this instance it’s The Windrush Generation and my question, “Why not us”?
Photo credit Wikipedia
My Bajun Papa
They came from all over
To help us re-build
Our houses, our roadworks,
And jobs needed filled
They gave of their blood
their sweat and their tears
Their home they called Britain
for most of their years
Yet sadly they’ve found out
Through no fault of their own
This country they’ve lived in
Is no longer their home.
How could this have happened
I hear you all ask,
Whoever’s responsible
Must be taken to task.
Yet the day’s they go by
And still nothing is clear
Are they allowed to reside….
In their Country so dear,
When our friends and our Neighbours
Are treated this way
We must pile on the pressure
To help them to stay.
My Papa was Bajun
He called Britain his home
A passport was given
So freely he’d roam
Not once was it questioned
This travel he did
For his Great British bosses
He did as was bid
At customs they’d nod
And then wave him through
The might of his passport
All covered in Blue
Has this horror touched us,
And what is our plight,
So far of course not,
but then….we are white!!
By Helen Armet
24 April 2018
Categories: Culture
Exactly, Helen – that is something which always gets me. It’s so easy, to point a finger when the bigots can see that someone is ‘different’. After one generation, Irish, East European – anyone ‘white’, the accent is gone, and they can’t tell the difference. Well, in fact, you can, if you know lots of people from different nations – it’s easy to recognize national characteristics, but it’s an awful lot easier to see a colour.
For that matter, even without an accent, different nations have different ways of talking – different ways of expressing themselves – and a good thing too – makes language more interesting. The bigots are usually too limited in their experience and outlook, to notice that, either.
I am trying to restrain myself from going off on one, as I have done so many times before.
Britain is made up of so many different peoples, through time – waves and waves – some can be easily recognized, some not.
And….now….this feckin’ government are, oh so graciously, saying to the West Indian folk, that they can have citizenship !!!!!!!! How can they give them, what they already had? The government took it from them, but, before that – they had it already!
Ok, I’ll stop now.
Good one, Helen. I hope a lot of folk get to read this, in TON.
Thank you Bernie, like you I have been angered by what is happening but because of my circumstances I have been also confused. My Papa’s brother was Knighted for services to the UK government and unless I am misremembering you need to be British to receive a Knighthood he wasborn n Barbados making him a British Bajun. My heart is breaking at what we are doing. H
PS, I am no poet but it did seem to fit how I am feeling. H
It’s another part of the whole load of non-sense which is Britain today. I’m hoping that there will be a vote of No Confidence in Monster May, an election ( I know, we had enough of elections at one time, but ‘needs must…..’). Then, hopefully we get a new, more human, humane leader, who will pull the plug on Brexit and as many other divisive pieces of legislation as possible. I am hopeful.
Meanwhile, Helen, please try not to let it break your dear heart – this particular non-sense is being sorted, and might even serve as an indicator of how much we need to pay attention to these rules when they are introduced in the first place. Not many folk (including myself) paid attention when Monster May changed the rules in her previous ……..manifestation.
Please don’t be too distressed – it is being sorted and might help to clear things up for the future.
What non-sense, though – hurtful non-sense, too.
And, as you say at the beginning of your poem, many of these people came to Britain, to help to re-build after the war!!!!!!! And did so – played their part.
I risk going onandonandon, so I’ll stop ….for now!