'My dad was one of 90,000 forgotten 'barrel children' left behind by Windrush'
Today marks the 75th anniversary of Windrush - the day HMT Empire Windrush arrived in the UK carrying hundreds of Caribbean passengers who were invited to help revive the country and its economy after the Second World War.
And while many people will be taking time to thank the pioneers that migrated for their contributions and accomplishments, they should also spare a thought for the 'forgotten children' of Windrush.
It's estimated that around 90,000 children were left behind in the Caribbean by their parents in the 1940s and 1950s and they later became known as 'barrel children', due to the 'barrel' care packages that were sent back to them.
The care packages often contained food and clothing for the kids, with the term 'barrel children' coined in the 1990s by a Jamaican academic named Dr. Claudette Crawford-Brown.
Around 90,000 children were left behind in the Caribbean by the Windrush generation (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Without their parents, the children grew up in the care of extended family members in the Caribbean, most commonly this meant they lived with their grandparents.
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Nadine White, the UK's first race correspondent, has been working on a documentary about the barrel children for the last five years, titled Barrel Children: The Families Windrush Left Behind.
The journalist, who lives in London, has a special connection to the topic as her late father was a former barrel child.
Her debut documentary will be released in Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK this weekend and for Nadine, it's certainly been a "labour of love" to get it this far.
She told The Mirror: "I have been working on this documentary for the past five years, I started the project at the beginning of 2018, documenting these former barrel children and their experiences of being left behind and being separated from their biological parents.
"It's a phenomenon that I am very familiar with in so far as my father was a barrel child and there are other former barrel children in my family and networks. So I wanted to really delve into the layers and the complexities of those experiences."
Nadine White has made a documentary about Barrel Children which she describes as a 'labour of love'Nadine, who funded and executive produced the film, continued to share how many of the former barrel children were "traumatised" by the separation from their parents - as well as the subsequent separation from their caregivers when they finally migrated to England to be reunited with their mums and dads.
"These parents were practically strangers to the children, so there was an additional burden of having to build relationships with these parents and the process of grieving the loss of physical contact that they once had with their caregivers," Nadine explained.
"Then there was often another hurdle of having to build new relationships with any brothers and sisters who may have been born while their parents were in the UK.
"It was a very common experience and it's something that isn't spoken about as much as it should be in the public domain, or as part of the national conversation around Windrush and there are various reasons for that.
"Setting out to create the documentary, I really wanted it to be a tool to help with the healing within part of our communities, black communities across the UK, but also the diaspora who would benefit really from having open and honest conversations among one another about the effects of separation through the barrel children."
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Blacker Dread, a former barrel child, recalled the moment he was reunited with his mum in the UK (Brixton Heights CIC/Nadine White)The film's trailer sees Nadine speak to several former barrel children, including renowned reggae music producer Blacker Dread.
Blacker recounts the experience of being reunited with his mother after so long, admitting that he didn't recognise her at all when he arrived in the UK.
"I honestly didn't know my mum, I thought my granny was my mum," he confesses in one clip.
"I'll never forget when I came off that plane and my sister said, 'There's your mum' and I said 'I don't know this woman, I don't know' and my mother cried."
Another woman can be seen breaking down in tears in the trailer as she discusses the "horrifying" experience of having to leave her grandmother to move to the UK.
Someone else claims that no matter how "traumatic" it was for them, they could never be angry with their mother for leaving as she was always "trying to do her best" for them.
Former BBC broadcaster Evadney Campbell MBE also appears in the film (Brixton Heights CIC/Nadine White)The film also features interviews with other former barrel children Neil Kenlock, the founder of Britain's first Black radio station Choice FM, and former BBC broadcaster Evadney Campbell MBE.
Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE, chair of the government's Windrush Commemoration Committee, has supported the documentary, saying: "I was one of those 'left behind' Windrush children. I survived because my parents showered love on me before they left me so I could face the trauma. This is such an important story that needs to be heard."
While Jamaica's former high commissioner to the UK, Mr Seth Ramocan added: "I am extremely pleased to support the production of this inspiring and thought-provoking documentary which highlights the many challenges faced by members of the Windrush generation as they migrated to the United Kingdom in search of a better life and opportunities for their children, while responding to the call of Britain in its rebuilding efforts."
Barrel Children: The Families Windrush Left Behind will be premiered to a sold-out audience at the iconic Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, south London, on Saturday, June 24. Tickets for screenings this weekend at other cinemas are available to book now at picturehouses.com
A national tour of the film will also commence this summer within community hubs across destinations including Birmingham, Manchester and Derby.
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