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Men with map (detail): Building Bridges will be screened on November 28 |
Generation in search of ‘milk and honey’
Film explores the impact of Caribbean migration
FIRST reactions of Camden people to the influx of Caribbean migrants into England in the 1940s and 1950s can be seen in a new documentary to be screened at the British Museum next week.
The “Windrush generation” – named after the ship which brought the first immigrants to Britain from the Caribbean in 1948 – was greeted with racial and social unrest when they first arrived on British shores more than 50 years ago.
Dozens of senior Camden residents were interviewed for the Building Bridges project in a series of oral history workshops conducted throughout July this year.
The film reveals that deprivation, war-rationing and a lack of information were responsible for the cultural upheaval Windrush caused between 1948 and 1962.
Former fashion designer Lorna Holder, the film’s director, said housing shortages and home hardships had soured the reception.
“They didn’t have a clue the government was bringing in Caribbean people and they weren’t prepared for it.
“They were experiencing hardship themselves for rations and were concerned about where they were going to house them. The Caribbeans thought they were coming to a land of milk and honey and that wasn’t so,” she said.
“A lot of the racial problems make sense now. Seeing people coming over, knowing there was a huge shortage of accommodation.”
Despite the poverty, many others saw the Windrush arrival as a positive change.
Camden resident Isobelle Johanson, 88, said: “Caribbean migration has changed the face of London. As the years have gone on it has become really cosmopolitan. They have brought colour and rhythm to our beloved town because they were among the first to come after the war, and helped to restore the ravages of the Blitz.”
The lottery-funded documentary is the fourth production from Holder’s Full Spectrum Company.
The other three have looked at the experiences from the perspective of the Caribbean migrants, but Ms Holder, who was born in Jamaica, felt it was important to see the story from both sides.
“We were committed to finding out what the host nation had experienced, to show Britain in a diverse state,” she said. “I feel we need to go beyond the colour. If we don’t go out and understand these other cultures we will be blinkered and we won’t be able to move forward.”
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