On April 20, 1968, British MP Enoch Powell made his infamous “rivers of blood” speech. To an audience of his own Conservative political party, he recounted the story of a woman who said she was the only white resident on her street due to "white flight". He told the tale of a middle-aged working man, who said that “in 15 to 20 years time, the black man would have the whip hand over the white man”.
Five decades on from that day in 1968, it sometimes feels like Britain has stood still in time. The same words, the same rhetoric, the same anti-immigrant propaganda is rife. While the world has moved forward, Britain has remained stuck in the past and is struggling to define its place and identity in the modern world.
This week the government found itself in a storm of its own making, where this mix of racism and denial of reality came to the fore in the legacy of the Windrush generation.
After the end of the Second World War, Britain invited workers from the Caribbean to come and help make up for labour shortages. The first wave came in 1948 on board the Empire Windrush.
It carried 492 passengers, among them many children. The Windrush generation, as they came to be known, signified all those who arrived between 1948 and 1971, when the Immigration Act gave indefinite leave to remain to all Commonwealth citizens.
But under recent Conservative government policies called "hostile environment", some of the Windrush generation have been deported to countries they left as small children, places where they have no connections, having been forced to leave Britain where they have worked, raised families and paid taxes.
There is a habit that the right wing press in the UK have of dictating to people of colour that they should be grateful for living in Britain. The Windrush generation, who came at the behest of Britain to do all the jobs that weren't being done and that people couldn't or wouldn't do, to build the country back up after the war, show how ludicrous that habit is.
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Shelina Janmohamed is a weekly columnist for The National:
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It was a cold, miserable, difficult existence, where they faced abuse and poverty. Their labour had already been instrumental in generating the wealth of the British empire and of course, as long as they were "over there" doing the grind for the British empire it was fine.
But over here in the UK? That wasn't liked. It still isn’t. In the aftermath of empire, Britain has failed to understand that "over there" and "over here" are not two different things. It explains why on the one hand, it feels it can treat the Windrush generation this way while at the same time hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit and cosying up to the very same countries, hoping to generate trade.
Witness Powell's own dissonance: he invited the workers from 1960 to 1963 to build the NHS and the economy and five years later, he made the rivers of blood speech.
Earlier this year, the UK’s Treasury gushed on Twitter that the debt the government accrued in order to pay slave owners of Britain to release their slaves and thereby end slavery – in law if not in practice – had finally been paid off.
That in itself is shocking but doubly so if you consider that it might well have been the taxpayers among the Windrush generation and their children who were paying off the loans to those who kept their forefathers as slaves and were now being expelled a second time.
And yet, seemingly without any sense of irony of its own role in bleeding the colonies and the legacy of chaos and instability it has left behind, the British government has re-branded itself "Global Britain" and feels it can waltz back into the lives of the Commonwealth nations and become the leader of the gang, as though it continues to run an empire and that its clients will fall prostrate at its feet in delight at trading with Britain again.
The Commonwealth countries are less than impressed. Even The Economist called the concept "Globaloney".
As someone who was born and brought up in Britain, the child of immigrants who arrived in the 1960s and contributed to the nation, as I continue to do, I shake my head at a country that seems to struggle to realise that the world has changed and so has Britain's place within it. There is a certain myopia about what happened in the past, which is the root of our failure in the present.
As the debacle of Windrush shows, without understanding its past and the role it played, Britain's aspirations of being truly global once again are hollow dreams. If it doesn't quickly reassess its real standing in the world, they will soon turn to nightmares.
Shelina Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Racecard
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass
CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU
Memory: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD
Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video
Platform: Android 11
Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics
Durability: IP52
Biometrics: Face unlock
Price: Dh849
FINAL SCORES
Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs
(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)
Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs
(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M3%2C%208-core%20CPU%2C%20up%20to%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.6-inch%20Liquid%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201664%2C%20224ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%2FUSB-4%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%2C%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206E%2C%20Bluetooth%205.3%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2052.6Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2018%20hours%2C%20MagSafe%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201080p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20Apple%20ProRes%2C%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-speaker%20system%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20support%20for%20Dolby%20Atmos%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20and%20dynamic%20head%20tracking%20(with%20AirPods)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Midnight%2C%20silver%2C%20space%20grey%2C%20starlight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Air%2C%2030W%2F35W%20dual-port%2F70w%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C-to-MagSafe%20cable%2C%202%20Apple%20stickers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh4%2C599%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Kibsons%20Cares
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
