Immigration: The Ties that Bind - Part 1

Open Letter to Head of Commonwealth His Majesty King Charles and The British Government on why AMNESTY must be granted to all illegal immigrants in the UK as of today.

After the Second World War (WW2), Britain is said to have had serious labour shortage. Britain lost most of its active workforce to the war. Britain's labour shortage was so severe that Sir Winston Churchill - British Prime Minister during WW2 - began sending emissaries to the West Indies to bring in African Caribbeans to fill the labour gap in the UK.

Amongst the sectors that were seriously affected by the labour shortage was Britain's Railway industry. The thousands of African-Caribbeans that were shipped from the West Indies to the UK are known as the Windrush Generation.

Many families were shipped with their children to the UK during the Windrush Generation. I met some of such children (now old) in Pentonville prison, who have spent half a century of their lives in the UK, never felt the need to travel outside the UK, and so never saw the need to acquire Passport, and so never applied for to be naturalized as British Citizens, just like Ghana's Kweku Adoboli.

And those who later became caught up in David Cameron and Theresa May's acrimonious Immigration Rules against Commonwealth Citizens, who in spite of having lived half a century (almost all their lives) in the UK, failed to have naturalized themselves as British Citizens.

And when they unfortunately became involved in criminal cases and sentenced to Prison for two years or more; they were stripped off their Indefinite Leave to Remain, and deported to their original countries of birth after serving their prison sentences. A typical example is Ghana's Kweku Adoboli, who grew up in the UK with British accent.

I met many of such persons in Pentonville Prison who had finished serving their Prison sentences, but still being kept in Prison as they were fighting deportation. The case of one SPENCER DEVON was very disheartening. I was always in tears whenever I set eyes on him at DAYCARE in Pentonville Prison.

How could the British be so cruel and inhumane towards fellow humans?

It is worth nothing that Windrush Generation didn't solve all of the UK's labour need. The Windrush Generation was from 1948 to 1971. When the shipment of Windrush Generation ended in 1971, the UK still had shortage of labour through the 80s, 90s all the way until the end of 2004, by which time the exodus of Eastern Europeans to the UK was in full swing.

Growing up in my native Ghana in the 90s, Ghana had a massive problem of brain-drain, especially in the health sector - Doctors and Nurses. This was always in the news. Ghana Government at a point introduced a policy where Nurses and Doctors had to serve mandatory years working in Ghana after graduation, before they can move out of the country to seek greener pastures outside.

When I mentioned the problem of Ghana's brain-drain of health professionals to the Nigerian Diplomat who was at the launch of Darkest Humanity Book at the British Council, and later invited me to the Nigerian Embassy for some more copies of the Book, she acknowledged that Nigeria also experienced the same problem in the years in question.

Clearly, it wasn't only Ghana and Nigerian that suffered brain-drain in the years in question, but most of the African Commonwealth Nations. For the UK, Commonwealth Citizens were the bedrock to the economy, right from after WW2 to EU expansion in May 2004.

It is noteworthy therefore to point out the fact that the UK's need for labour from outside continued after Windrush Generation ended in 1971. I - MAXWELL MAUNDY - lived through the UK's urgent need for labour when I first arrived in London in October 2002; as I termed it in Darkest Humanity Book:

"The 'good old days' of Britain to the Commonwealth economic immigrants - Africans, West Indies, Indians, Pakistanis and so on." (Page 48 - Life as immigrant before EU)

My first 6 months Tourist/Visit Visa to the UK was issued in June 2002, and expired in December 2002. I applied for a deferral of my Undergraduate Studies at the University of Ghana soon after I acquired my Visa from the UK High Commission in Ghana. As a result, I remained in the UK from October 2002 to August 2003. I returned to Ghana in August 2003 to continue my studies.

And from October 2002 to August 2003, I worked in London like a bull, day and night. I did construction work during the day, and Kitchen Porter at night. I worked as a Labourer at Arsenal's Emirate Stadium from January 2004 when it was under construction.

At the time, there was so much need for labour that every illegal immigrants in the UK was indispensable. The UK's economy needed every illegal immigrants at this moment in time that, even an employer knowing very well that you are illegal would even plead with you to get whatever is needed to work.

The job needed to be done, and we the "illegal immigrants" were there for the UK economy through thick and thin.

So from my very first trip to the UK in October 2002, I became illegal immigrant barely few weeks after my arrival. There was so much need for labour that, all one needed to do to get a job was to phone an employment Agency with some forged NI numbers, and you are on your way to work the following day. And the Agency you work for could pay your wages into another person's Bank account (3rd party Bank account) if you don't have one yourself.

This was exactly how I got my first ever job as Construction Labourer in London, working for one of Britain's Construction giants at the time - WILLIAM VERRY. The job location was in Tottenham Court Road. Duncan Williams became adopted name by default as it was the name I started working with.

Please lookout for Part 2, as I make the case for why the UK economy and government owes a debt of gratitude to all illegal immigrants in the UK prior to EU expansion in May 2004. And how Rt. Hon. David Cameron missed a golden opportunity to grant AMNESTY to us (illegal immigrants) soon after becoming Prime Minister in 2010.

AMNESTY was a heated debate in the UK before, during and after the 2010 UK elections, which saw coalition of The Conservatives and The Liberal Democrats into Government, with Rt. Hon. David Cameron becoming the Prime Minister. As I stated in my invitation letter to the President of Ghana to the launch of Darkest Humanity Book at the British Council in Accra, 2010 was an opportune time for the British Government to grant AMNESTY.

DARKEST HUMANITY Book is about re-writing the wrongs of the past. The UK Government will do the needful to grant AMNESTY to all illegal immigrants in the UK as at now. Indeed, it is better late than never. DARKEST HUMANITY is BLUEPRINT for AMNESTY in the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

God bless our now new Head of the Commonwealth His Majesty King Charles. And God bless the good people and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

When all is said and done, the likes of Kweku Adoboli and I - MAXWELL MAUNDY - those who have been dehumanized and treated inhumanely, will return to our once beloved London - The Cedar of Lebanon - The Pride of the Jordan: our Babylon! London would never be the same again.

Excerpt:
I began writing my next book – The Amazing Grace – My journey into Christendom. I started fasting and praying. I’d skip breakfast and lunch. Most days I’d only partake in dinner. Bread didn’t matter to me anymore. On the evening of Wednesday 30th October, I was on my knees reading my Bible as usual.

Suddenly, I heard an officer shouting my name and walking towards my cell: “Maundy home!” “Maundy home!” Maundy home!” The officer got to my cell and opened the door:

“Maundy home!” “Maundy home!” “Pack your things and go home,” he said. “Please Gov, please don’t make me happy for nothing,” I replied.

“Have I ever opened your cell at this time? You have been released. Harry up and pack your things and go, you’re going home in London,” he said further.

“Home in London?” I was overjoyed. Tears filled my eyes as I quickly began packing my things. I never thought I’d see London again. I had loved London, with all my heart...