BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Apr. 19.2018 – AS regional leaders continue to engage British officials on the way forward with regards to those Caribbean nationals who arrived in the early 90’s, Foreign Affairs Minister described the situation as “human tragedy”.
British law makers have described the Caribbean nationals as the “Windrush” generation meaning those persons who arrived prior to 1970.
Many of the Caribbean nationals have resided in England for in excess of thirty years, and some are either facing deportation, lack of pension or medical care.
Brantley, while speaking with WINN FM from the United Kingdom, confirmed that nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis were caught up in the stricter immigration policy that was recently implemented.
“It does appear that we might have a few people who have been affected… I know of a couple who exited the country and upon reentry only given six months to remain.”
According to the Minister, it is a wider issued for the entire Caribbean.
The problem has its origins where a number of nationals from the region entered the United Kingdom and over years did not regularize their status.
Many Caribbean nationals, including those from St. Kitts and Nevis travel to the UK to assist in rebuilding following the second world.
However, many were not properly register according to reports.
A large number of the Windrush generation have since been deported, and England’s Prime Minister, Theresa May was chastised during a recent sitting of Britain’s Parliament for the move.
That prompted the PM to issue an apology to nationals of the Caribbean and their leaders currently in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
May stated that the United Kingdom has longstanding tie with countries of the region, and the nationals assisted to develop the country through trade, culture, sports and in other areas.
The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party has condemned the Windrush situation, as its Member of Parliament for Constituency Two, Hon. Marcella Liburd took to the radio yesterday (Apr. 18).
“We the SKNLP want to express our strongest condemnation of Operation Windrush. We are very much concerned with the persons who have lived and worked in the UK for over fifty and sixty years and paying taxes, and are being denied access to health care, their pensions and are being put out of their jobs,” she said.
Brantley acknowledge to WINN FM that Mays apology is a good start to having the problem resolved.
