This is the time for our rights this is not fair.
Demonstrators shut down downing street over a deportation flight to Jamaica in March that led to public transport disruption at Whitehall Westminster.
The activists led by various anti Windrush community groups across the UK held banners saying stop the deportation to Jamaica with some mothers crying that their children were going to be on that nine hour flight back to a country they left as a kid aged four.
Human rights activists Sophie T Williams who was mobilizing the protesters to stay on the middle of Whitehall to disrupt traffic said, “This is a total human rights violation and not even that, these people have been in the country longer than someone who came from eastern Europe in 2008 who is given a shorter sentence for committing the same crime as a Jamaican,
“Sophie went on to say that, I know someone from Jamaica who came here in 1979 aged 5 and he only committed a driving offence in 2019, and he was deported without considering that the man has children and a wife in the Uk. now that is abusing right to family life which every human being is entitled to.”
Some speeches that were made by the organizers emphasized on lack of representation of the black community on the political arena in British politics especially under the Conservative government.
Windrush generation coordinator Anthony Brown who is also among the founding members of the African Caribbean carnival in Manchester felt the deportation displays unfair justice to those that have been deported and are about to be deported.
Anthony said, “A lot of people that their trying to deport came here when the immigration laws were not what they are today, some people have not just regularized their British passport but they have contributed to the development of making Britain great,
“He further added that some of the deportees don’t just have families in Jamaica they don’t even have a relative or friend waiting for them to where there being deported to. this is a disgrace for a country that is an example to developing countries,”
The protest got a lot of motorists frustrated who were caught up in the traffic and a van driver who wanted their name with held said, “I am British and this is frustrating and this now means ill be held in traffic for another four hours, but again I think this is unfair treatment for the deportees my grandparents are from Norway, imagine if they had to deport me to Norway where I have never lived in my life that is very depressing”.
The government has defended their position on this through the Chief secretary to the treasurer Rishi Sunak who told the guardian that people on this plane are people who have committed very serious crimes.
Protesters continued their displeasure on Whitehall, and it ended up looking like a carnival party in the end with loads of singing and reggae being played loud on their iPhone's.
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