Nottingham Windrush Support Forum

‘Working for justice and celebrating the contribution of the Windrush Generations’

Supporting Awaabs Law

Nottingham Windrush Support Forum is supporting and advocating for safe and secure housing across the UK. Awaabs Law is at the forefront, requiring landlords to promptly address health hazards. Named after Awaab Ishak, a child tragically lost to mould exposure, this law is crucial. Your input matters. Participate in the Awaabs Law Consultation to shape UK housing policies. The deadline is 5th March 2024 Take the survey: Online Survey

Email your response: socialhousingsafety@levellingup.gov.uk or windrushnotts@gmail.com.

Watch the video by Nottingham barrister Christian Weaver Jr for insights.

Click Link here

Lets ensure everyone in the UK has access to safe homes!

Windrush News

Reverend Clive Foster receives an MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire- award from King Charles III for services to the Windrush generation

Reverend Clive Foster was presented with this award at Windsor Castle in December 2023.

Rev Clive said, “It was truly an honour and privilege to receive the MBE medal from King Charles III for services to the Windrush generation. It was really wonderful that members of my family were there to experience the occasion - I am sure my parents would have be immensely proud of this moment.

They came over as part of the Windrush generation with the hope of building a better future for our family and to make a much needed valuable contribution to the country. In fact, I had picture in my jacket pocket of my mom and dad so they were very much part of the special day.

For me the award is also recognition of the a great team of people that came together to help the Windrush generation. As a result of that work, many people have received their rightful citizenship, compensation and we have given visibility to the outstanding contribution of the Windrush Generation to the UK.

There is still lots to do and hopefully this recognition goes some way to keep the issue in the spotlight. The award ceremony will be an occasion that will live long with me with great humility and joy.”

Moments from Nottingham Windrush 75 Celebrations

Windrush Tea Party

Windrush Response Team Engagement Events

To acknowledge the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants to the UK on Windrush Day 22nd June 2020 Nottingham City Council lit up the Council House

Thank you to the Windrush Generation

Introduction

In the summer of June 1948, a large, steel-bound ship arrived at one of London’s major ports, Tilbury Docks, in Essex.

This huge, behemoth of a ship was named the Empire Windrush.

On this ship stood hundreds of people, eager to step off and onto this unfamiliar land. These people left from a part of the world very different to the one they had arrived to. Most of the passengers who stepped off the Windrush’s decks heralded from an area of the world known as The Caribbean. Stepping off this boat were men, women, children, mothers, fathers and young families. 

Many came for different reasons; some came looking for work, some came to discover adventure within an unfamiliar land; however, most came to England in order to support their families who were still back in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and many other islands within the Caribbean. 

These were the first of a generation that came to this country to help Britain recover from the debilitated state it had been left in after the Second World War. These were the factory workers, mechanics, cleaners, bus drivers and pastors along with a multitude of different other professions and became the foundation of hard-working Caribbean immigrants during the post-war 20th century.

This generation lived, worked and raised families in relative peace until recent times, when the country that had so desperately needed them 70 years prior, decided amongst themselves, that they didn’t. 

The Scandal 

In 2012, parliament began introducing an aggressive, immigration measure called the ‘Hostile Environment Policy’, in an effort to remove citizens who were deemed not to have the necessary requirements to stay in the UK. 

A champion of the bill, the then home secretary Teresa May, stated that she wanted to “create, here in Britain, a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants.” 

In 2013, the community heard of problems that had arisen in relation to the immigration status of local people. Reports were received that a growing number of Caribbean peoples had been targeted as ‘illegal immigrants’, many of these people had come from the Windrush generations who had first arrived on Britain’s shores in 1948.

One of the main problems causing this unfair treatment came from the fact many of them who arrived as children from the commonwealth were usually named on their parents’passports and they did not receive legal documentation for their own.  

Now, 70 years later, these victims were given letters informing them that they now had no right to be in the UK, many were told they were to leave the country at once. This resulted in the loss of jobs, homes and some even losing their healthcare and benefits.

After years of injustice behind the scenes, the story finally broke into the press in late 2017 to a national outcry. 

This was the turning point.

Once the nation saw the injustice of how these commonwealth migrants had been unfairly treated, the people rallied to their cause. 

Along with other foundations, The Pilgrim Church have devoted their time, effort and members of their congregation to finding help, support and justice to the victims of the Windrush scandal. 

Our duty is to not just give these people a voice, but to make sure their voices are heard. 

Testimonies

A victim of the Windrush scandal who came from Jamaica as a young boy has talked of the ‘heartache’ he felt at missing his own brother’s funeral because he was refused a passport. 

The man who we will call “Mr Morris”, as he asked not to be named for fear of discrimination, has lived in The Meadows  area of Nottingham since he was eight years old, and now has eight grand-children who all live around Nottingham. 

He says he had to fight the British authorities for 20 years before he was finally given a passport, despite coming to Britain legally. 

When he applied for a passport to travel back to Jamaica for his brother’s funeral, he was only offered a one-way passport. His other brother, who came with him from Jamaica at the same time, has still not been able to get his British passport, despite living and working in Britain for almost 60 years. 

Mr Morris said he still feels the heartbreak from missing the funeral, and seeing the anguish that the situation caused to his family. 

He said: “At the time I actually wept. We had to stay in London with some friends, because we were being told to go to and from the Jamaican and the British embassies all the time.” 

After being denied twice, it was only with a supporting letter from his employer citing the mental distress the situation was causing, that he was finally given a passport 20 years after he first applied. 

“When we came here, they said if you are here for more than two years then you would automatically become a citizen and get a passport. When I had applied, they said I was an alien and that I had no right to be here. It was heartbreaking, the lack of understanding.” 

“But I didn’t realise how many people this was affecting, I thought it was only me they were discriminating against.”

The 61-year-old moved to the UK in 1968 when she was 10 and has never left because she had never applied for a British passport and had no papers proving she had a right to be in the UK. She was classified as an illegal immigrant. Last October, she was sent to the immigration removal centre at Yarl’s Wood in Bedford for a week, and then taken to Heathrow before deportation to Jamaica, a country she had not visited for 50 years and where she has no surviving relatives. The former cook, who used to serve food to MPs in the House of Commons and has 34 years of national insurance contributions, was horrified at the prospect of being separated from her daughter and granddaughter. A last-minute intervention from her MP and a local charity prevented her removal. After Guardian publicity she has since been given a biometric card, proving she is in the UK legally but she will have to reapply in 2024 and is already worried about the process. She has had no apology from the Home Office. (The Guardian, Apr 2018)

The 60-year-old has spent a total of three weeks in immigration removal centres over the past two years, despite having lived in the UK for more than half a century. He worked as a painter and decorator and paid taxes for more than 40 years, and helped to bring up his children and grandchildren in London. He lost his job when Capita had wrote to him that he had no right to be in the UK, adding that his employer could face a £10,000 fine if it continued to employ him as an “illegal worker”. Last November, police and immigration officials arrived early on a Sunday morning at his home with a battering ram; a plane ticket was booked to take him to Jamaica, the country he left when he was eight and to which he has not returned in the past 52 years. He travelled to the UK on his older brother’s passport in 1965, and had no documents of his own to prove status, so struggled to convince officials he was here legally. After coverage of his plight in the Guardian, officials have acknowledged he is here legally but he is still waiting to be issued with a biometric card. He has spent more than £3,000 on legal bills and application fees. He has had no apology from the Home Office. (The Guardian) 

These people have felt forgotten about and are at risk of deportation. They feel that they been served an injustice by the very country whom they have served through contributing years of taxes, employment and simply where they have made a home and raised their families. Some people have directly addressed their MPs yet still, a considerable amount of these individuals (some who have been in the country since the 50s) are being told that their citizenship status is still questionable. 

Our Response To The Crisis

Here at The Pilgrim Church, our main goal through this turbulent time has been to assist and support the victims of the Windrush scandal and find effective ways of getting their stories and plight out to the public.  

Led by our own Reverend Mark Stewart and Reverend Clive Foster, we initiated a 2 year long, multi-pronged campaign to help the victims of this ongoing scandal. We have addressed this crisis head-on, with the intention of covering as many different areas in need of support as we can, which you can see below: 

Drop In Sessions   

One of the first issues we chose to combat head on was the lack of support victims were currently receiving in getting their documentation filled out for their legal citizenship. 

On the 22nd of April 2018, we launched our first Pilgrim Windrush drop-in session. These regularly held events were created with the idea of having a place where we could provide pastoral support and free legal advice for the victims and their families. Alongside this, it also gave us an opportunity to process our victims’ immigration information so we could further assist on their ongoing cases.  We have conducted 5 sessions so far, with nearly 200 individuals receiving support or advice, and our goal is to continue to help those who are in need of it.  

Events 

We have been actively involved in a wide range of diverse events in Nottingham and around the UK in support of the Windrush victims. We have also held meetings and conferences to discuss matters regarding the Windrush situation, where we have heard emotional testimonials from victims and provided vital information about the crisis to the community. 

The Government

The Church has fully engaged with the Home Office consultation process including the  government Windrush Taskforce and compensation schemes, to help obtain documents and applications for compensation for Windrush sufferers.  

We have also been asked to visit 10 Downing Street to converse with government officials in finding proactive means in dealing with this crisis as effectively as possible.  

News 

We have also made an effort to get the wider message out to the public.  

Our pastors have spoken on news networks, including Channel 4 News, Al Jazeera, BBC News and more. We have also spread the message through different forms of media, including speaking on BBC Radio and being featured in the Nottingham Post as well. 

Our Members  

Here at The Pilgrim Church, we are proud to have key members who have supported the ongoing Windrush effort.  

These are:  

Rev Mark Stewart 

Alongside his friend and coworker Reverend Clive Foster, Reverend Mark Stewart has been one of the predominant organisers of The Pilgrim Church’s response to the effort. 

Rev. Mark Stewart has played a big and crucial hand in the creation and organisation of these events. With both his talks and pastoral support to Windrush victims and their families his work has been being vital during these challenging times.  

 Rev Clive Foster 

As mentioned, alongside Reverend Mark Stewart, Reverend Clive Foster has played a crucial part in our Windrush campaign. Being one of the predominant organisers of The Pilgrim Church’s response to the effort. 

He represented the church on major news networks such as BBC News, Al Jazeera and Channel 4 News, and has hosted events and conferences surrounding tackling the ongoing situation.  

Veronica Bell  

Veronica Bell from Nottinghamshire County Council’s Black Workers Group has provided strategic oversight during our Windrush effort. She has advised us on how to tackle complex and nuanced problems and furthermore added a cohesive structure to our overall campaign.  

Ankunda Joel Matsiko 

Ankunda Joel Matsiko played a very important part in our drop-in sessions. He is one of our 1st Call Immigration solicitors in Nottingham and has provided free, Pro-Bono legal advice to Windrush victims who have visited the drop-in surgeries.  

Luke Harris   

Luke Harris, a community worker in Nottingham has provided ongoing administrative support for the church during this campaign and has ensured that details and information have been kept secure.  

Esther Taylor 

Our dear Esther Taylor was a trained and qualified counsellor in Nottingham she sadly passed away in November 2023. Throughout the entirety of our campaign and especially during our drop-in sessions she provided vital counselling support to victims of the Windrush scandal and their families. 

Alongside these names, there are many others which we feel have been crucial to the successful nature of this campaign, and we thank them for their continued efforts.

Windrush Events and Conferences

The events we have organised, hosted and supported have been an effective method to connect with and provide vital information for our people in need.  

These have been such a brilliant way of providing information, spreading awareness and campaigning for these victims suffering from the ongoing scandal to be compensated.  

Windrush Day of Action 

On the 22nd of June 2019, we supported a massive national protest taking place in six English cities simultaneously, London, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Birmingham and Manchester. This was a national day of action, protesting the mistreatment of the Windrush Generation and demanding long-lasting justice for the victims. 

Conference at the University of Nottingham  

The Pilgrim Church joined this conference at The University of Nottingham. This was a highly productive and interactive session, in which students and people from our community attended to listen to national and local speakers speak on topics and answer questions related to the Windrush Scandal.  

At the conference, the panel discussed updates on the current crisis, heard first-hand the experiences of Windrush victims, and explored ways of ensuring the ongoing campaign maintained its impetus and coordination and achieves its goals. 

Windrush March supported by Windrush Movement UK 

Supported by Windrush UK, which is an UK organisation devoted to helping the victims of the ongoing Windrush Crisis, we held a demonstration in the Nottingham city centre for the Windrush victims. This was a demonstration, in which people from diverse backgrounds came together in solidarity and marched across the city in support of affected Windrush victims and campaigned for their justice. 

Hosting the independent Advisers Martin Forde (QC) and Wendy Williams (QC)  

We also hosted the independent advisers meeting, in which Martin Forde, (QC) and Wendy Williams, (QC) spoke about topics and problems regarding the current crisis. We discussed details surrounding the Lessons Learned review, and those designing the Windrush compensation scheme.  

We heard directly from people who have been affected from the scandal and conversed in detail about some of the compensation areas which need be addressed. 

Media

As said previously, here at The Pilgrim Church we have made it our duty to make sure the injustice Windrush victims have endured through these recent time is known to the wider public.

Through this, we have made numerous appearances on broadcasting channels and news networks.

Channel 4 News - The national news network Channel 4 News visited our church in Nottingham and spoke with our Pastor Clive Foster on his thoughts on the recent compensation scheme approved by the government.

Al Jazzera - Pastor Clive Foster also spoke with the global news network Al Jazzera, regarding the Home Secretary’s apology about her mishandling of the crisis and gave his thoughts on how this had impacted its victims.

A conversation with the Nottingham Windrush Support Forum - Our pastor, Clive Foster sat down with the Labour MP for Nottingham East, Nadia Whitome, Kevin Brown and Ankunda Matisko. In this lengthy conversation, many topics surrounding the ongoing situation are discussed in detail.

Achievements  

We are pleased to announce that our Windrush campaign has been a resounding success!  

Through the resilience, organisation and compassion of our team here at The Pilgrim Church, we have helped a huge number of Windrush victims during this crisis.  

Drop In Surgeries

As a result of attending the Pilgrim Windrush Drop-In sessions, a growing number of people have now progressed to become documented and now have the right to remain in this country. Some have also now received UK bio-metric cards proving their right to work. 

We want to acknowledge and thank the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrant which through the Windrush Justice Fund has funded some of the Windrush Support work at Pilgrim Church.

Events and Conferences

Since the campaign launched in April 2018, we have had over 20 different engagement events. These have ranged from large events speaking to large audiences, to smaller intimate meetings where we’ve been able to really hone in on people’s problems and give advice.  

During this time, we have also held five sessions with the UK Government Home Office to discuss matters regarding the Windrush crisis. These sessions have been very constructive and we are so pleased to hear that the UK Government has recently implemented a Windrush Compensation scheme, created to financially support victims of the scandal.  

Media

We have been very pleased by the positive response we have had through media over the past two years. As well as featuring on broadcasting networks, The Pilgrim Church has featured on other forms of media too. Six national BBC Radio stations have discussed and promoted our drop in surgeries and we have been interviewed and given out advice on Kemet FM radio station in Nottingham. Alongside this, we have supported numerous journals and magazine articles who have written about the ongoing crisis.  Below is the recording for the Home Office ethnographic project which was released as part of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review report on the Home Office website.

Contact Us

If you or someone you know has been affected by the Windrush scandal, please contact us by clicking the button below. 

Thank You