Windrush grandmother Paulette Wilson joins march through city for justice - WATCH
‘If you are under threat of deportation you are not on your own’.
That was the message as protesters staged a demonstration in Wolverhampton in support of the Windrush generation.
Defiant campaigners unfurled banners and held placards aloft condemning the treatment of first-generation immigrants as they marched from the city’s train station to the Civic Centre.
Among those present at the rally, organised by Stand up to Racism, were Wolverhampton grandmother Paulette Wilson, who said she thought she was being ‘sent to die’ when she was locked up in an immigration centre for a week and threatened with deportation to Jamaica.
WATCH: Campaigners take to the streets of the city
Around 50 people headed through the city centre on Saturday afternoon.
The Government apologised after it emerged people who had lived in the UK for decades were being threatened with deportation and promised to address cases as soon as possible.
Mrs Wilson, who received a personal apology from the immigration minister Caroline Nokes over her treatment, said: “I want to thank everyone for their support, the turnout was really good. I’m glad I can help others and from something negative, something positive has come out of it.”
Despite the Government’s apology over the scandal, Stand up to Racism campaigner Doug Morgan, 40, insisted it was important the issue was not forgotten.
He urged anyone who was still struggling to prove their right to remain in the UK to speak up and seek support.
He said: “We’re protesting against the injustice and racism that was exposed in the Windrush stuff.
“We’re here to say to people if you are under threat of deportation you are not on your own. You need to come and talk to people about this because it can be stopped.”
Oxley councillor Clare Simm said: “I am here to show members of the Windrush generation are valued members of the community and that we are not going to forget what these individuals have been put through.”
City MP Eleanor Smith said the problems had not completely gone away and referred to an incident in London where a homeless Windrush citizen was arrested at a meeting about his immigration status.
The MP for Wolverhampton South West said: “What we’re seeing here is unfair treatment, particularly in the case of Paulette. We are saying enough is enough.
“What is good is that British people didn’t like it when they saw the way they had treated a generation who had been in this country for 70 years or more.”
