Bearing Witness: Windrush, the Girl Child and Literature

Sharda Patasar

During research for a column that I had been writing a few weeks ago, in that act of peripheral reading, I came across approximately four stories in the UK Guardian about West Indian immigrants who were facing deportation from England. The articles dated February 21 and April 9 profiled immigrants currently in their 50s and 60s now in a dilemma about their citizenship status. The mess – a result of the new laws aimed at creating a "hostile" environment for immigrants. Of course, I am sure it was intended for illegal immigrants but as poor foresight would have it and what seems to be a case of discretion and common sense flying through the door in exchange for "follow the book" by the Home Office, West Indians who had moved to the UK in the 60s to fill labour shortages, got caught in the crossfire. Many have been rendered homeless, others lost jobs and others were denied entry back into the country after a short vacation.

I thought, "Why is it that I haven’t heard about this?" Our media hadn’t, as yet, picked up the story (I may be wrong and perhaps missed the entire coverage). It took two weeks after I had discovered the Guardian’s coverage before it appeared on CNC3 – this past week actually – by which time the print media had also begun to publish on the Windrush Generation woes. My point here is not to bash the local news. Rather this is a reflection on the importance of bearing witness.

The UK Guardian profiles provided brief personal histories of some immigrants of the 60s, a community of people who contributed to the building of England. The stories are a witness to this time and time past. And herein lies an opportunity out of the mess, to collect these oral histories thereby documenting a history of our region and the formation of a national identity. Today, people who knew themselves to be British all their lives, are being told that they are "aliens." It seems to fit this notion of statelessness that is becoming quite a trend in world affairs these days. And so, bearing witness is perhaps one of the most important acts that we can engage in during the course of our life.

Why this idea at this time? Well, several events over the last few weeks actually. But I have been thinking about the idea of bearing witness in the context of traditions. It began with the LGBTQIA issue and the observation of how deep hostility can run in some individuals when moral values seem challenged. These values are tied to traditional thinking conditioned by religious beliefs. But it is not limited only to this issue. Last week the BBC ran a story about the education of girl children in India. "For many of these people, their goat is an asset and the girl child is a liability. The idea is now to change the thinking to your girl child is the asset," director of Educate Girls explained. Educate Girls focuses on the education of the girl child in India’s rural communities. One girl, married off at fourteen, eventually got a divorce to complete her education because her in-laws, after promising to allow her to complete her education after marriage went back on their promise. Such a move went against tradition and "moral values." It earned her ill-repute. Now that she also has a job, it becomes a case of double immorality – divorced and a job! Around the world instances of traditions being interpreted as moral values are not new.

It was in the context of these two instances, among others, that I saw people’s clinging to traditions as such an emotional experience that to see any of it slipping away feels like a loss of self. Should we look further, we can assess what a society might have been like through the traditions that have been handed down. And, therefore, it is no wonder that changes in traditions represent an erasure of time periods some communities still live in emotionally.

As I look back also on the Bocas Literature Festival that took place last week, I think of it as a hugely important space if only as a platform for sharing and showcasing a history of experiences – local, regional and global – through varied works in literature and film.

If, therefore, there is any reason for us to preserve the traditions of our time in photographs, oral histories, film, art, novels, it is that these traditions bear witness to the history of our time and the past. And if there is any reason to create traditions for our time, it is also for this purpose, for our self-expression can only evolve if we are able to hear ourselves.

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"Bearing Witness: Windrush, the Girl Child and Literature"

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