Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
English Language and Literature
Eliška Klanicová
Caribbeans in Britain as Reflected in Selvon's The Lonely Londoners Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis
Supervisor: PhDr. Lidia Kyzlinková, CSc., M.Litt. 2010
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I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.
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I would like to thank PhDr. Lidia Kyzlinková, CSc., M.Litt. for her kind supervision, helpful advice and generous encouragement.
3 Table of Contents
1. Introduction ...... 6 2. Caribbean Migration to the United Kingdom ...... 8 2.1 Caribbean Migration to Britain before 1945 ...... 8 2.2 Immigration Wave after 1945 ...... 9 2.3 Immigration Law and Politics 1962-1971...... 10 3. Racism ...... 13 3.1 Racism in the United Kingdom ...... 13 3.2 How black immigrants felt in Britain ...... 14 3.3 How white Britishers felt about immigrants ...... 16 3.4 Racial discrimination ...... 17 3.5 Notting Hill Race Riots ...... 20 3.6 Notting Hill Carnival...... 21 3.7 Black Pride ...... 23 3.8 Race Relation Acts ...... 25 3.9 Enoch Powell's speech Rivers of Blood ...... 26 4. Live and Work of the Afro-Caribbeans in Britain...... 28 4.1 Geographical Distribution ...... 28 4.2 Employment, unemployment, income ...... 29 4.3 Leaving the United Kingdom ...... 30 5. The Lonely Londoners ...... 33 5.1. Samuel Selvon ...... 33 5.2. Language in The Lonely Londoners ...... 33 5.3 Racism in The Lonely Londoners ...... 36 5.4. Why are the Londoners in the Selvon's novel lonely? ...... 40 6. Conclusion ...... 45 7. Bibliography ...... 49
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1. Introduction In my bachelor thesis, I explore the issue of the Caribbean immigration to Great Britain. The relationship between the West Indies and Britain has a long history and immigration of the Afro-Caribbeans to their “mother country” occurred at least from the 19th century, however, it had not become significant until after the Second World War. Since then, the relationship between the Afro-
Caribbean immigrants in Britain and white British people has always been complicated.
In the first part of my thesis, I examine the issue from the historical perspective, dealing with the history of the Caribbean migration to the United
Kingdom and the British immigration law and policy. The immigration laws changed rapidly in the 1960s due to the immigration waves from the former
British colonies, including Caribbean.
The second part of the thesis comments on the relationships of immigrants and white Britishers, especially on the issue of racism, which has been one of the major problems in Britain since the 1950s. The aim is to analyse both points of view, the attitude of the major white population towards black immigrants and the feelings and experiences of black people living in the
United Kingdom.
The third part focuses on lives of Afro-Caribbean immigrants in Britain. It explores the geographical distribution and its reasons, the employment and unemployment of Afro-Caribbean immigrants and finally the phenomenon of returning back to the Caribbean. The part dealing with the employment and
unemployment proves that racial discrimination is not wiped out in Britain and that it is also one of the reasons why many immigrants and their descendants decided to move back to the Caribbean.
In the last part of my bachelor thesis, I analyse the novel The Lonely
Londoners by Samuel Selvon. The first subchapter examines the language
Selvon employed in his novel, in terms of the sociological aspects. The next subchapter connects the analysis of the novel with the theoretical part of my thesis, dealing with racism the characters of the novel experienced in Britain.
The last subchapter inquires into the title of the novel, studying whether the characters are lonely in the big city or not, and searching for the reasons of this loneliness.
2. Caribbean Migration to the United Kingdom
2.1 Caribbean Migration to Britain before 1945 A very little is known let alone documented about Afro-Caribbean immigrants to Britain before the Second World War. Before the 19th century slaves captured in Africa were shipped to British colonies in the Caribbean to work on cotton or sugar plantations. After the abolition of slavery in 1833 some of former slaves migrated to Britain. They prevailingly worked as footmen, coachmen or in the army, and in the merchant navy there (Phillips).
At the time of the First World War, around 15 000 Afro-Caribbeans were recruited into the British West Indies Regiment and were sent for military services in Palestine, Egypt, France or Italy. After the war most of the survived soldiers returned to their jobs in the merchant navy.
The Second World War brought many Afro-Caribbeans to Britain, in particular to work in the army or hospitals, but also as skilled craftsmen to work in factories, for example 1000 Afro-Caribbean technicians were recruited for service in munitions factories in Merseyside and Lancashire (Butterfield). Britain had to deal with labour shortage during the war caused by mobilization of people in the army therefore there were many job opportunities for immigrants from Caribbean and elsewhere. Many of those immigrants became so familiar and connected with Britain that they decided to stay there instead of returning to Caribbean even after the war ended.
2.2 Immigration Wave after 1945 After the Second World War, the number of immigrants arriving in Britain considerably increased. The reasons why so many people came to the United
Kingdom in search of jobs were labour shortage after the war and also growing economy which provided increased demand for labour. Citizens of
Commonwealth were encouraged to come to Britain not only by government agencies but also by large employers (Abercrombie 247). Immigrants from the
Caribbean had in addition two advantages. Firstly, as all citizens of
Commonwealth they faced no legal restriction in entering and working in the
United Kingdom. This was confirmed by the 1948 British Nationality Act which made a formal distinction between British subjects who were citizens of the
United Kingdom and its colonies and those who were Commonwealth citizens, however, both groups had the right to enter, settle and work in Britain
(Butterfield). Secondly, although Caribbean English is different from Standard
English, their mother tongue was still English, therefore the language barrier was not a problem.
The moment that marked the beginning of a more significant flow of
Afro-Caribbean immigrants to Great Britain was the arrival of the SS Empire
Windrush on 22 June 1948 (CSIB). This ship brought the first huge group of immigrants (almost five hundred) to Britain after the war. They were lured by better job opportunities and some planned to stay only few years to earn some money, however, most of them later decided to stay for good.
Most of the newly arrived immigrants worked in semi-skilled or unskilled categories of jobs. Industries such as transport (British Rail, London Transport) recruited almost exclusively from the Caribbean, mostly from Jamaica and
Barbados (CSIB). Most of Afro-Caribbean women arrived later, only after their husbands, sons or nephews established themselves in Britain. They on the other hand predominantly worked in National Health Service as nurses after moving in Britain (Phillips).
Every year more and more immigrants from the Caribbean arrived in
Britain. For example, 2000 immigrants arrived in 1953, 29 800 in 1956 and 66
300 in 1961 (Butterfield). As already mentioned, no legal or language barriers prevented them from entering Britain. However, almost as soon as they arrived, they were perceived as a problem, and debates on whether there should be some restrictions introduced. Those debates resulted in passing the
Commonwealth Immigrants Act in 1962.
2.3 Immigration Law and Politics 1962-1971 In the late 1940s and 1950s many new immigrants arrived in the United
Kingdom. Most of those immigrants were from the New Commonwealth, especially the Caribbean. In 1960 a total number of newly arrived immigrants from the New Commonwealth was 57 700, out of which 49 650 was from the
Caribbean. Although government agencies encouraged the immigration after the war, those numbers were surprising and moreover the white Britons started to complain about the situation: they had a feeling that the black immigrants
steel their jobs and houses. During the late 1940s and 1950s both the Labour and Conservative governments considered various steps to control the situation and the number of new immigrants' arrivals (Butterfield).
The first law that was introduced to control immigration from the
Commonwealth was passed in 1962 as stated above. The Act describes who was a subject to the immigration control. Those were all holders of the
Commonwealth passports except those who were born in Britain, who held the
British passports issued by the British government or persons included in passports of the persons who were accepted under the previous rules. Other
Commonwealth citizens had to first obtain an employment voucher issued by the Ministry of Labour in order to be able to enter Britain. There were three types of vouchers:
Category A: Commonwealth citizens who had a specific job to
come into Britain
Category B: Applicants who had recognized skill or qualification which
was in short supply in Britain
Category C: All other applicants, priority treatment being given to those
who had served in the British forces during the war. (Butterfield)
However, the total number of immigrants continued to grow throughout the
1960s because the entry of dependent relatives of earlier immigrants was not restricted (Abercrombie 247).
The 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act amended the previous Act from 1962. It made it even more difficult for new immigrants to enter Britain.
Subjects of the immigration control became all holders of the Commonwealth passport except those who were born in Britain. In addition, those who held the
British passport issued by the British government had to prove that at least one of their parents or grandparents was born or naturalised in the United Kingdom or became a citizen of the United Kingdom. Persons included in passports of persons excluded from the immigration control were excluded as well.
Another Immigration Act was introduced in 1971. It made immigration controls and restrictions even more extensive and stricter. The Act established a new term, “partial”, which efficiently discriminated against black immigrants.
Butterfield summarizes it as follows:
Qualified the notion of citizenship by differentiating between
citizens of Britain and its colonies who were partials and therefore had
the right of abode in Britain, and non-partials who did not.
Categories of partials:
a) citizens of Britain and its colonies who had the citizenship by birth,
adoption, naturalisation or registration in Britain or who were born of
parents, one of whom had British citizenship by birth, or one of whose
grandparents had such citizenship
b) citizens of Britain and its colonies who had at any time settled in
Britain and who had been ordinarily residing in Britain for five years or
more. (Butterfield)
3. Racism
3.1 Racism in the United Kingdom Xenophobic and often even racist tendencies have been strong in Britain since the arrivals of significant number of immigrants after the Second World
War. There are inadequacies between the white British people and members of ethnic minorities in Britain, considering employment, housing, income, and so forth. Abercrombie points out that the essential question is whether those inadequacies lies in the nature of the British class system or in racism. The first explanation of ethnic disadvantages based on the class structure basically claims that it is only the fault of black people because they tend to choose education and jobs that place them on the bottom of the society. The second explanation based on racism concludes that it is white racism that keeps the black people on the bottom of society (Abercrombie 257). Probably both explanations have some true in them, nevertheless, it is more white racism that can be blamed for the situation. For example, one can deduce it from the area of education. Almost the same percentage of black immigrants as of the white
Britishers have degree or higher education qualification (25%) and almost the same percentage have no qualification: 12% for black people, 13% for white people (Census 2001). However, more black people are unemployed than the white people.
Racism in Britain may be fanned by far-right wing parties such as the
Nation Front or the British National Party. Both of the parties call for white
Britain with no immigrants. Although the National Front was most successful and active in the 1970s and 1980s, they still continue with their racist policies, for example, they accept only white members. The British National Party was formed in 1982 as a splinter group from the National Front. They are against immigration and immigrants as well but they choose a milder language than the
National Front. Their official policy is to retain traditional Britain, which means that ethnic minorities are not a problem as long as they remain minorities. They want to achieve this by stopping immigration, deporting all illegal immigrants or immigrants who commit crimes, and offering grants to those immigrants who migrate somewhere else (Immigration).
Back in the 1950s 1960s, 1970s and even 1980s, physical assaults on black Caribbean immigrants and other ethnic minorities were quite frequent.
Not to claim that in the 1990s and onwards there have been no racially motivated attacks, only there have been fewer of them, and no such incident as
1958 Notting Hill race riots or 1981 Brixton riot occurred. However, subtle forms of racism continue in Britain: even nowadays black people are discriminated when it comes to jobs or housing (NW).
3.2 How black immigrants felt in Britain For Afro-Caribbean and other black immigrants it was obvious that racism is a significant problem in Britain. In the beginning there was a very little discussion concerning the issue: Public and political discussions were more about the problems caused by immigrants and uncontrolled immigration than
about problems the immigrants themselves face, however, almost all black immigrants experienced some kind of racial discrimination when they lived in
Britain. Most of them experienced a milder forms of discrimination, for instance, they were turned down for a job or housing.
It is a very serious problem if one cannot find a job or place to live in because of his or her skin colour, however, some black immigrants experienced even racially motivated physical assaults. Most worrying for them was, that it was not only a small community of active racists, such as members of the
National Front, who demonstrated hostility or even hatred towards them. They knew that those feelings spread across practically the whole society. They described their experiences:
You think a white man's going to lose his job before a black one?
Not in a life-time. Immigrants come last and go first, man. … They want
to arrest me for thinking they are all bunch of racists? Hell, they might
just as well go arrest every black man and woman in Britain, child too.
(Marwick 217)
Most black immigrants believed after their everyday experience that the attitude of the white British people towards them would never change:
You are unwanted. You are here because some higher order
official let you stay, not because I want you. … You only create problems.
You want my job, you want my food, you want to live in my home, you
want to use my school, my hospital, my stores. But don't take it
personally; I have no quarrel with you as a person. It's immigration I
cannot tolerate. (Marwick 218)
3.3 How white Britishers felt about immigrants Unfortunately, black immigrants were quite right about white people and their attitudes towards black people. Although immigrants were encouraged in the beginning to come to work in Britain, ordinary people perceived them as a problem. Especially, the working class people felt threatened because black immigrants largely seek similar jobs and housing as they do. It was the working class people that had most things in common with them, and they were also most likely to live and work next to them. Here is a testimony of a white working-class man:
It is a crime, all of it. First they come here where they don't
belong and they know it. Then they want their relatives and their
relatives' relatives. … All you have to do is look at a map and you can see
how small the country is. There isn't any room for these people. … They
should never let in those people, people who make all these demands,
and complain about their circumstances. There are no jobs for them, no
money, the schools are crowded where their children go. It's no good at
all. (Marwick 218)
However, not only the working-class people have had racist attitudes.
Thanks to various prejudices (in the imperial history of Britain, black people were in general viewed as second-rate persons and servants) and violence and disturbance that occurred around black immigrants (no matter that it was also the white Britishers who attacked the black immigrants), even the middle- and upper-class people did not welcome extensive immigration and people that it brought to Britain.
3.4 Racial discrimination Black immigrants to Britain have frequently experienced racial discrimination. There were problems on several levels. In the past decades, the black immigrants were more unlikely to get a job or appropriate housing, they felt unwelcome in public places like pubs or cinemas, they experienced police harassment and on the top of that they lived in constant fear of a racially motivated attack.
Abercrombie describes the standard test for discovering the degree of discrimination in employment. The method consists in sending two actors, one black and one white, to apply for the same job. Generally, the white actor was preferred ten times more than the black actor, with the highest discrimination being for male, junior clerical jobs, management trainees and accountants, and the lowest for female clerical jobs (Abercrombie 262). This discrimination brings along higher unemployment rates of the black people than those of the white
people and more black people doing unpopular low-paid jobs, which often involves shift work. A similar test as for employment discrimination was used for housing. Again, it was proved that the black people are discriminated on the basis of their skin colour by at least one-third of landlords (Abercrombie 263).
Even after a black immigrant gained a job and place to live, his problems did not cease. Many black workers worked in the atmosphere of hostility, their white co-workers made it clear to them that they were not welcome and that they only stole the job from some of their white friends. Most black immigrants did not even try to enter a pub with white staff and customers. They knew that as much as they were not welcomed in their jobs, they were not welcomed in those public places. One black immigrant describes the situation:
There are four pubs around here where some of the men go for
lunch or after work. All I have to do is put my head through the door of
all those places and I know I'm not wanted there. So I don't go. … so I
am glad to sit in the car and talk, because lunchtime is when the
segregation of staff starts up all over again. (Marwick 220)
The relationship between the police and black people in Britain has always been complicated. Almost all black people felt themselves to be discriminated by the police, as if they were always suspected of some crime.
They were checked by the police patrols much more often than white Britishers, which was often accompanied by verbal abuse from policeman. The intricate
relationship between the black Afro-Caribbean immigrants and the police was most perspicuous at Notting Hill carnivals, where all the anger of the black people peaked. For many years the festival witnessed violent clashes between the police and Afro-Caribbean immigrants, in particular concerning the younger generations of the Afro-Caribbeans.
Encountering the police was not a pleasant experience for the black people, however, apart from the serious events like Notting Hill carnivals or race riots, there was usually no violence. The worst encounter a black could experience was the one with a violent racist. Physical assaults of the black people were not rare. In 1981, 51,2 racially motivated attacks of black Afro-
Caribbeans were estimated per 100 000 of the population in only a three- months period. However, this number is probably strongly underestimated because it is based on the police reports (Abercrombie 261). Sadly, owing to an obscure relationship between the black immigrants and the police, most of the attacked black people decided not to report the assault. Prevailingly, the racially motivated attacks were unorganized and unplanned. The obvious hostility towards the black immigrants spread among the whole white population and the people who were angry at the black people just took their chance to express their anger, to retaliate. Nevertheless, far-right organisations such as the British National Front to a great extend helped to fan the feelings of hatred and hostility, one cannot therefore underestimate their possible role even in those seemingly random, unorganized attacks.
3.5 Notting Hill Race Riots The number of the Afro-Caribbean immigrants to Britain was increasing in the 1950s. They formed closed communities within huge industrial cities; one of the largest community was situated in Notting Hill, London. Notting Hill is a part of the city where immigrants and poor white working-class members lived.
The feeling of hatred and exasperation was growing among white citizens, which was related to the growing number of black immigrants. Extreme right- wing organizations were fanning the flames by distributing leaflets with infamous slogan 'Keep Britain White' (NHRR). In the summer of 1958 violence and assaults against the black immigrants living in Notting Hill was on the increase. Caribbean cafés were smashed, individual black immigrants were harassed, windows of houses where black immigrants lived were broken.
The riot itself started on 29 August 1958 with a private quarrel of a
Swedish white woman Majbritt Morrison and her Jamaican husband Raymond.
They were arguing at Latimer Road Tube station and a white crowd soon gathered in order to defend Majbritt. However, she did not want to be defended and a fight between the white crowd and Raymond's black friends burst out
(Olden). Later that night the actual riot started. Some four hundred white people attacked Afro-Caribbeans and their houses using even butcher knives and petrol bombs. There were clashes, attacks and rioting each night until 5
September when the police finally managed to take control. Almost miraculously, nobody was killed, however, there were many minor as well as
serious injuries. Some 140 people were arrested, prevailingly white rioters but also some black people who obtained weapons in order to be able to defend themselves, their families and houses.
This riot was an extremely huge affair, not only in the number of participants but also in the amount of violence. It was no longer possible to ignore or underestimate racial problems and racism in Britain. Even though it was largely the white poeple attacking the black people, many people took it as an example of a problem caused by unrestricted immigration (Butterfield).
3.6 Notting Hill Carnival Notting Hill Carnival is a second biggest event of that kind in the world
(only the carnival in Rio de Janeiro is bigger). It takes place in Notting Hill, a cosmopolitan area in West London, over two days of August Bank Holiday. Over one million people visit Notting Hill Carnival every year.
As already discussed above, during the 1950s many Afro-Caribbeans immigrated to the United Kingdom. They brought with them their habits, language, culture and cuisine. Not only their habits made them different from the white people born in Britain. It was especially their colour of skin. In 1958 racism culminated into several race riots in Notting Hill which had a substantial black population. As a response, the black community led by Claudia Jones organised the first carnival the following year. Its purpose was to fight for justice and peace by bringing the white and black people together and to show the white community how rich Caribbean culture is. However, it was not the
carnival as known today. It was held inside at St. Pancras Town Hall. Every year the festival grew in popularity until finally in 1964 the first official carnival organised by Rhaune Laslett took place in Notting Hill streets (Spark).
During the 1960s and 1970s, the carnival witnessed many clashes between the black immigrants on one side and white racists and police members on the other side. Racists took it as an opportunity to express their hatred for the black Afro-Caribbeans and the police were present because the carnival did not have any permission from the local authorities. And as many black people felt under constant police harassment they felt the police presence as injustice and fought against it. The most notable clash occured in 1976 when over 100 policemen were taken to hospital. This lasted until 1987 when the authorities finally decided to safeguard at the carnival rather than to attempt to abolish the even.
Since 1987 the carnival has usually been described as a peaceful and joyful event proving that Britain is a multicultural and tolerant society, however, it would be misleading to think that there have been no racial problems in
Britain any more. Five murders have been committed at the Carnival since
1987, for example, in 2000 a young Asian was killed in a racially motivated attack by 50 youths, and there are often fights and conflicts present, nevertheless, such a big event is always accompanied by some violence and the
Notting Hill Carnival is nowadays definitely more peaceful compared to what it looked like in its beginning.
3.7 Black Pride One of the very serious problems concerning racism was that after hundreds of years of the white dominance, black people themselves felt inferior.
After the white imperialists colonized the Caribbean and other areas, they brought many slaves they captured in Africa. The black slaves and the native people did not speak English and they had different religion and habits from the white people. Therefore, the white people perceived them as savages and inferiors, and they took it as their obligation to “civilize” them. As Said puts it, white people believed that:
We Westerners will decide who is a good native or a bad, because
all natives have sufficient existence by virtue of our recognition. We
created them, we taught them to speak and think, and when they rebel
they simply confirm our views of them as silly children, duped by some
of their Western masters. (Said 20)
White colonizers did not even believe that the culture of the black people can be as valuable as their own.
After all those years of white supremacy, the black people accepted their ranking as second-rate people. When they came to England, for example in the immigration wave after the Second World War, their position of inferiors seemed to be confirmed. The white people in England did not want them in their
country although they occupied their countries for many years. They did not trust in black people's abilities and gave them only low-paid jobs that required no skills. It is not very surprising that after all this, black people were not confident with themselves as well.
However, to claim that the black people were reconciled with the situation would be misleading. There was always some form of resistance. In many places, the resistance took the form of an armed rebellion, which tended to be severely suppressed. The more successful form of resistance was the cultural resistance. Culture was employed as a means of assertion of national identities and pride (Said 12). Literature, music and language were used to awake the black people, to assure them that they are not inferior to the white people and that their colour, nationality, history and culture are something to be proud of. In connection with the Caribbean, the Rastafari movement had become very important in asserting the pride amongst the black people.
The Rastafari movement is a monotheistic religious movement that arose in Jamaica in the 1930s. It combines aspects borrowed from Christianity,
Judaism, Pan-Africanism and some other religions and movements. It is not very organized religion and many of its worshippers claim that it is not a religion at all but rather a way of life. The lifestyle of Rastas includes smoking of marijuana, wearing dreadlocks and bright colours, avoidance of alcohol and vegetarianism (Rastafari). The Rastafari movement has become famous worldwide in particular due to Reggae music and the Jamaican singer Bob
Marley.
Today, even the white people are members of the Rastafari movement, however in its beginnings the movement was designed in particular for the black people. One of its central believes lies in Afrocentrism: Africa is where paradise, or in their language Zion, will be founded. The Rastas believe that they will return to Zion after they pass the test of their god Jah that consists of slavery, and economic and racial injustice (McAlister). The black Rastas are proud of being black because they do not belong to the Babylon society, the white power structure that once enslaved and degraded black people of Africa.
The Rastas are the opposite of the greedy and violent Babylon society; they are humble, peaceful and natural (Rastafari).
3.8 Race Relation Acts The first legislation to partially outlaw discrimination based on race was the Race Relations Act of 1965. It outlawed discrimination in public places (with the exception of shops and private boarding houses) based on colour, race or ethnic origin, and it set up a Race Relations Board. The board aimed at conciliation in cases of proven discrimination (Marwick 165). However, the Act did not attempt to ban discrimination in Britain. It was so limited that it did not solve the whole problem.
The first Act was later amended by the Race Relations Act of 1968. This
Act strengthened the previous one and extended the ban of discrimination to housing and employment. It was no longer legal to refuse housing or job to someone on the basis of colour or race. However, the reality was different.
Because it is quite difficult to prove it, the discrimination in those areas continued.
The Race Relations Act of 1965 and its amendment from 1968 were repealed by the Race Relations Act of 1976. The new Act basically outlawed any discrimination based on colour, race or ethnic origin. The ban of discrimination in public places, housing and employment remained and the extension included education, facilities, services, and health care. Moreover, the Act established the
Commission for Racial Equality which aimed to banish racial discrimination and present racial equality. Unfortunately, even though the 1976 Act outlawed all forms of racial discrimination, the Commission reported in 1993 that an increasing number of people experienced racism, either directly by abusing or more subtly, when they have been turned down for a job (Gelb).
3.9 Enoch Powell's speech Rivers of Blood Enoch Powell, the Conservative Cabinet member, gave his famous speech, Rivers of Blood on April 20, 1968 in Birmingham. His intentions were to draw more attention to the immigration and consequent race problem in Britain.
He based his speech on opinions of “common people” who felt black immigrants in Britain were problematic because they tried to steal their places (jobs, houses, places in school or hospitals etc.). Powell warned the British people that in years to come, Britain would be crowded with black immigrants and their descendants,that in 2000 they would form approximately one tenth of the population. He delineate a picture of white Britons as increasingly becoming
isolated and strangers in their own country (Butterfield). Immigrants are is in his opinion dangerous because they are and will always remain aliens in Britain and are unwanted from many other reasons (the do not work, they make mess, they implicate violence). “How can its dimension be reduced?” he asked
(Powell). And he answered himself “by stopping, or virtually stopping, further inflow, and by promoting the maximum outflow” (Powell), or in other words, he claimed that not only the immigration law should be stronger but also repatriation of already settled immigrants should be taken into account.
Although Powell speech received some support by some of his fellow party members, he was excluded from the Conservative Shadow Cabinet immediately the day after the speech. However, his speech received a wide support from the public (many people believe that it helped the Conservative
Party to win the General Election in 1970) and it is still often mentioned by far- right parties as an example of true prognosis.
4. Live and Work of the Afro-Caribbeans in Britain
4.1 Geographical Distribution The total number of people of the Afro-Caribbean origin in Britain is 565
876 according to a Census in 2001. That is roughly 1% of the total population of the United Kingdom. 99% of people of the Afro-Caribbean origin live in
England (compared to 82% of white population), out of which 60% in London
(compared to only 10% of total white population) and 14% in West Midlands, in other regions of England live on the average around 3 or 4% of the total number (Census 2001). Usually immigrants tend to form larger groups or even communities. London (and also some other cities like Birmingham or
Manchester) has been a typical destination for immigrants for quite some time from several reasons. The big cities offered largest employment opportunities at the time of the initial arrival of immigrants and it holds true even nowadays.
Due to the heavy concentration of all ethnic groups, racism (at least in its worst forms) does not appear a huge problem in the cities any more. Moreover, as soon as bigger ethnic communities formed up in the cities, local shop-keepers started to provide goods the immigrants were accustomed to, therefore they could keep their own eating habits. This may sound irrelevant, however, it was very important for the people who left their homes and became strangers in cold, unwelcoming Britain to keep in touch with at least some aspects of their previous experience.
4.2 Employment, unemployment, income The first generation of Afro-Caribbean immigrants to Britain (those who came in 1950s or 1960s) generally worked in public services like transport, communications or health service. In 1980s over 60% of Afro-Caribbeans worked in this area (Phillips). For example in 1984 24% Afro-Caribbeans compared to 10% of the white population worked in transport and communication (Abercrombie 254). This situation resulted from initial jobs of immigrants. When they came to Britain, most men took jobs in transport or as unskilled workers and most women either stayed home or started to work in hospitals at fairly low levels. Most immigrants kept their jobs because in the
1970s or 1980s there was not a big chance that they would find themselves better jobs. Moreover, their salaries did not reached the salaries of their white co-workers. Fortunately, this is not true any more. According to General
Household Surveys from 1991 to 2001, the second generation of immigrants managed to close the earnings gap with the white majority. However, ethnic minorities still have problems at finding their jobs in the first place. The explanation is quite easy: it is much more difficult to detect discrimination when one is turned down for a job that when one is actually hired (NW).
Employment rates of the Afro-Caribbeans are fairly lower than those of the white people on all levels of qualification. This is especially true for men:
80% of white men aged 16 to 64 are employed, compared to only 67% of Afro-
Caribbean men. For women the rates are 71% white compared to 65% Afro-
Caribbean. People with higher qualifications are more likely to be employed,
85% of the Afro-Caribbeans with higher qualifications (around 25% of black people in Britain, which is almost the same percentage as for white people) are employed but only 50% men and 45% women with no qualification (around
13% of black people in Britain). The unemployment rates acknowledge this trend, 11.6% of Afro-Caribbeans are unemployed compared to only 4.7% of white people (Census 2001).
There are some slight inadequacies between the Afro-Caribbeans and the white Britishers when it comes to income, too. There are more Afro-Caribbeans in the bottom quintile and less Afro-Caribbeans in the top quintile of disposable income than there are of the white people. For the bottom quintile it is 19% of the white population compared to 24% of the Afro-Caribbeans and for the top quintile it is 20% of the white population compared to 18% of the Afro-
Caribbeans. However, the Afro-Caribbeans are the most successful of all minor ethnic groups in Britain in this aspect, for example 64% of the
Pakistanis/Bangladeshis are in the bottom quintile (Census 2001). This proves that the second and the third generation of the Afro-Caribbean population reached almost the same position as the white majority in Britain when it comes to income and distribution in qualification categories.
4.3 Leaving the United Kingdom In the 1980s and in particular in the 1990s a new trend occurred. Not many people from the Caribbean migrated to the United Kingdom any more, on the contrary the increasing number of people with the Afro-Caribbean origin
migrated from the United Kingdom back to the Caribbean. “Between 1981 and
1991 the Caribbean born-population in the UK declined by 26988 persons or approximately 9% after taking into account the deaths of 3600 persons”
(Goulbourne 158). The largest number of returnees are of Jamaican origin, which is easily inferable: most of the Afro-Caribbean people living in the United
Kingdom are of Jamaican origin. Between the years 1993 and 1997 5061 people returned from the United Kingdom to Jamaica (Goulbourne 158).
There are several explanations for the return phenomenon. Firstly, many of those re-migrants are from the generation that came to Britain in the immigration wave in the 1950s and the 1960s. Those immigrants reached their retiring age in the 1990s and because they almost never intended to stay in
Britain for good they decided to move back to spend the rest of their lives in the countries of their origin. However, not only the retired immigrants move out of Britain. Also some of their descendants who were born in the United
Kingdom and are in fact British citizens, decided not to live in Britain any more.
Many of them felt that Britain is not a liberal country with no prejudices: it did not matter whether they were born in Britain or had lived there for 40 years already, they still felt unwanted by the white majority. Therefore many of them decided to move back to the countries of their ancestors.
The returnees face several problems back in the Caribbean. They are used to the British way of life and they often feel like strangers in the
Caribbean. This is in particular true for those who were born in Britain and had never lived in the Caribbean before. Furthermore, there are often complaints
about the restrictions imposed on the possessions they want to bring with them and about custom officers they need to come into close contact with
(Goulbourne 165). However, the people who decide to return to Caribbean perceive those problems as minor compared to those they faced in Britain.
Economies of the return countries benefit from the situation because the people who return transfer their savings and investments and receive pensions and benefits from the United Kingdom (Goulbourne 167).
5. The Lonely Londoners
5.1. Samuel Selvon Samuel Selvon was born in Trinidad in 1923. He studied at Naparima
College in Trinidad. After graduation he began to write short stories and poetry which were published in various newspaper and magazines. In the 1950s he moved to Britain where he became an internationally recognized author. In
1978 he moved to Canada. He died in 1994 during a visit to Trinidad.
His best known works are his first novel A Brighter Sun, published in
1952 and The Lonely Londoners published in 1956. He wrote the sequels to the latter novel, Moses Ascending and Moses Migrating in 1975 and 1983 respectively, focusing on the main character of The Lonely Londoners, Moses.
5.2. Language in The Lonely Londoners Not only the story of the The Lonely Londoners sends a message to its readers. It is also the language of the novel that successfully communicates with the readership. By the manipulation of Standard English or by using some form of Creolized English, Selvon distance himself from the mainstream culture of the United Kingdom, the power that colonized his homelands for several hundreds of years. The novel is targeted to both groups of readers, the black and also the white people. The white readers can see it as a declaration of the detachment from the culture that always suppressed and underestimated the black people and the black readers in Britain can see it as an encouragement for forming a particular subcultural group that is worth noticing.
What is important: in the novel not only the characters use Creolized
English but also the third-person narrative is written in this form. According to
Bentley, it “represents an empowering expression of collective identity that rejects the positioning of authority produced by having the narrator speak in
Standard English whilst the characters use dialect.” Selvon rejects Standard
English as the only correct form of English suitable for writing. Moreover, the use of the same form of Creolized English for the characters and for the narrative makes an impression that the person who is telling the story of the immigrants in Britain is actually one of them, and not only some distant observer: the narrator knows the people and situations from his own experience.
The only character different from the rest, at least when it comes to language, is Harris. He behaves like Englishmen, dresses like them and also speaks like them. The narrative comments on it: “Man, when Harris start to spout English for you, you realise that you don't really know the language”
(Selvon 103). However, the rest of the characters do not approve his way of speaking and behaving. They believe that he should remember his origin and that he should live according to it because they do not want to change their lifestyle as well. The Afro-Caribbean characters in The Lonely Londoners are willing to live next to the white people of Britain but not like them. They all have reason for keeping their old lives. Some of them, such as Galahad, because even if they behave like the white Britishers they will always remain black anyway, which basically keeps them away from the better lives. However,
some of them, such as Tanty, because they are proud of their way of live and do not find it any worse that lives of the white people.
Several marks make the language of The Lonely Londoners different from Standard English. For example, the use of “do” even in third person singular, like in “He don't know how he always getting in position like this...”(Selvon 4). The previous example also shows omission of auxiliary verb
“to be” in present continuous. The verb “to be” is often omitted even in sentences in present simple, as in “It have some fellars who in Brit'n long...”
(Selvon 4). Other examples can be avoidance of possessive, “The fellar name
Henry Oliver...”(Selvon 1), or usage of “them” instead of “those”, “...and all them English people stopping in the road and admiring the baby curly hair...”(Selvon 15). Selvon also employs altered syntax, and in addition, use several Caribbean slang words like “fellar”, “spade”, “rab” or “test”.
Interesting and somewhat problematic issue about the language used in the novel is, that the language is not authentic. It is not spoken in any part of the Caribbean, it is rather a blend of various different variations and dialects spoken throughout the Caribbean (Bentley). One of the reasons why Selvon did not use fully Creolized English is quite obvious. He wanted even the speakers of
Standard English to be able to read his novel. By using this form of artificial
Creole, he managed to accomplish both goals: to make the novel accessible to as many readers as possible but also to use it as a token of distance from the
British mainstream culture.
5.3 Racism in The Lonely Londoners In the novel, there are no mentions of violent racism, however, the subtler forms of racism are present and the constant feeling of black immigrants that they are not wanted in the United Kingdom and that British people perceive them as a problem is very visible throughout the whole novel.
One of the first settings of the novel, the railway station, where many black immigrants are present, either waiting for some relatives or just looking whether someone they know from home arrived, a comment on the situation in
Britain appears: “English people starting to make rab about how too much West
Indians coming to the country” (Selvon 2). Black immigrants know that they are not welcomed, that white people do not want them in Britain and that they cannot expect any kind of friendly behaviour from them. However, what is quite ironic is the conclusion the black immigrants themselves make. The novel was written in 1956, before any new Commonwealth Immigrants Act was passed and there is a mention that British people complain, however, they are too diplomatic to actually do something about it. Nevertheless, the immigrants were wrong in this respect and only six years later, the new restrictions were introduced.
Tanty who just arrives to Britain and does not know about the grudge against the black immigrants has an interview with a white reporter and the next day in the newspaper her picture appears with a headline “Now, Jamaican
Families Come to Britain” (Selvon 12). Her nephew Tolroy did not want her to speak to the reporter and he would not speak to him at all because he is
already familiar with the atmosphere in Britain. Moreover, even if he wanted to tell him something, like Moses who wanted to take a chance and express himself, he would find out that the newspaper man actually does not care about his opinion. Comments and situations like this appear throughout the novel.
Immigrants are less likely to get jobs or they are only hired for unskilled jobs.
Because the immigrants fight for every penny, they live in overcrowded second- rate houses. The immigrants are acquiesced with the situation as is visible from the episode when Moses tells Galahad that no matter that he is a skilled electrician, he will probably be offered an unskilled job. Moses tries to explain this issue to Galahad who is a newcomer to London:
'These days spades all over the place, and every shipload is big
news, and them English people don't like the boys coming to England to
work and live.'
'Why is that?' Galahad ask.
'Well, as far as I can figure, they frighten that we get job in front of
them, though that does never happen. The other thing is that they just
don't like black people, and don't ask me why, because that is a question
that bigger brains that mine trying to find out from way back.' (Selvon
20)
Nevertheless, many white women in the novel do not display such a racist attitude towards the black men as the white men do. Most likely, those
are poor working class women who do not care whether they date poor white men or poor black men. Several examples demonstrate that black men were dating white women. For example, at Harris' féte “Five never fail to appear, with four or five white chicks holding on to him” (Selvon 104); Cap, who was interested in women very much, is described s follows: “One time Cap was in a thing with two woman. One was a German and the other was English. (Selvon
37). Another representative of the Afro-Caribbean community, Bart, who has a lighter skin colour than other immigrants, dates a white English girl as well and he even wants to marry her. He visits her parents and her mother is nice and friendly, however, once her father shows up he screams “'you! What are you doing in my house? Get out! Get out in a minute!” because “he don't want no curly-hair children in the family” (Selvon 51). The situation demonstrates that women in the family were far from being racist and were willing to accept a black man into their family. However, for men the issue was problematic: the father, the man in the family was furious when he imagined his daughter should marry a black man.
In the novel, the explanation of the problem, of why the white Britishers openly show their dislike for the immigrants, is very simple as can be seen not only from the previous citation. It is not the fact that they are foreigners, because white immigrants, for example from Europe, who are also strangers in
Britain, have no problems with the British people, in addition, they are often racists too. It is not that the black immigrants behave inappropriately or problematically. It is above all their colour, which is the first thing anyone
notices. A powerful monologue of Galahad to his black hand illustrates the feelings of black immigrants. He is talking to his hand as if it were a person, blaming it for all the troubles he is experiencing in Britain. He claims that he does not want much, he only wants some place to work, some place to sleep and something to eat. However, the white Britishers are reluctant to give him even this little. They do not wish for any black to live amongst them. This opinion is even in the street where he lives with the sign Keep the Water White, hanging on many windows. Is there any harm he did to those white people?
The answer is obviously no; he is not guilty of any crime, he is only guilty of being black. He says:
Colour, is you that causing all this, you know...You know is you
that cause a lot of misery in the world. Is not me, you know, is you! I
ain't do anything to infuriate the people and them, is you! Look at you,
you so black and innocent, and this time so causing misery all over the
world! (Selvon 77)
What comes along with racism are prejudices and stereotypes, some of them more or less trivial but some of them quite dangerous. One of the most widespread notions is that all black people smoke marijuana. Moses describes that very often when he walks down the street some white men ask him whether he knows where to get marijuana because “they like the weed more than anybody else, and from the time they see you black they figure that you
know all about it, where to make contact and how much to pay” (Selvon 114).
Even more dangerous are opinions such as that every black is violent, untidy and a thief. Galahad experienced a similar situation, hearing two white men complaining “how these black bastards have the lavatory dirty” (Selvon 77).
The lives of the Caribbean immigrants in the United Kingdom in The
Lonely Londoners were not easy at all. They came to Britain expecting great job opportunities but they had troubles in finding jobs because of their skin colour and in the end they had to take jobs that did not correspond to their qualification. They expected that they would earn some money but their jobs were so badly paid that they did not manage to save almost anything. What they did not expect, as can be seen in examples of Galahad and Tanty who are newcomers to Britain, was the hatred and malice. In fact, that is exactly what they encounter every day when they meet white Britishers.
5.4. Why are the Londoners in the Selvon's novel lonely? Samuel Selvon gave his novel the name The Lonely Londoners. It is clear why he chose to place his novel in London. London is a big city and it has always been a typical destination of immigrants, therefore, there was a huge concentration of black Caribbeans already in the 1950s. However, the essential question is not why “Londoners”, it is rather why they are “lonely”.
The first reason is racism that keeps the black immigrants segregated from the major white population. Apart from some poor white girls that the young Afro-Caribbeans occasionally date, the black people have no white
friends. The white Britishers do not communicate with them more than is absolutely necessary. Understandably, to be separated from the overwhelming majority makes one feel quite lonely.
Another thing that intensifies the feelings of loneliness is homesickness.
Britain and in particular London, is very different from the Caribbean. The climate, the architecture, shops, pubs, people, the whole culture is different.
Nothing seems to be familiar in London. Back home, the immigrants knew everybody and everything, they grew up there. The climate is hot, the atmosphere is friendly there. London is the total opposite. It is a cold, rainy and foggy city. The people who live there are as cold as the weather. Shops sell different articles. All those aspects together deepen the feelings of homesickness that almost all immigrants experience. And because the gulf between Britain and the Caribbean is extremely wide, those feelings often remain strong even after many years of living in Britain. Moses, who lives in
London almost ten years, still feels homesick. For example, at the Waterloo station where all the immigrants arrive or less often depart “he had a feeling of homesickness that he never felt in the nine-years he is in this country” (Selvon
4). Moses has this feelings because one part of him wants to leave the country that he does not like and where he lives a miserable life. Many immigrants want to leave, to go back home, however, from various reasons they stay: they believe that the situation will improve in Britain and that their prospect will be better there than it would be back home. Nevertheless, they do not stay in
Britain because they like it there, they like it better back home and Britain
remains the country where they feel homesick and that will never replace their homelands in their hearts.
Notwithstanding, as already mentioned, in big cities like London a fairly big community of immigrants has always lived, therefore the individual person's loneliness should theoretically not be so unbearable. Unfortunately, the community does not hold strongly together. Some of them meet often, that is true, however, their priority is their own well-being as is evident from Moses' statement, “Though the boys does have to get up and hustle a lot, still every man on his own. It ain't have no s – over here like 'both of we is Trinidadians and we must help out one another'” (Selvon 17).
Most of the new immigrants who arrive in London seek the company of their countrymen. They expect some help from them in the search of a job or housing but what is at least of the same importance is that they want to be in company to be able to talk and have some fun in order not to feel so lonely, as explained “for this city powerfully lonely when you on your own” (Selvon 29).
Some of the old immigrants, like Moses, are more or less willing to help with some matters. He waits for Galahad, a man he does not even know, at the railway station, he offers him help in searching for a job by accompanying him to the employment exchange, and he lets him share his own room for a couple of days. But not all the immigrants are like that. There is an example of a
Jamaican immigrant who goes to the railway station, picks the newly arrived immigrants and offers them rooms to rent. Of course, he does not do it from the bottom of his heart, he does it for a profit; he does not care that he rids his
countrymen of the little they have because “When it comes to making money, it ain't have anything like 'ease me up' or 'both of we is countrymen together' in the old London” (Selvon 6). Money is what draws the immigrants apart. For the most part, they came to Britain from materialistic reasons; they wanted to earn money for themselves or their families and they had a better chance to achieve this in Britain than in the Caribbean. However, they may earn more in Britain but they also spend more on necessities such as rent or food. Therefore, once they are in Britain and have to work hard for every penny, they are very careful about money and reluctant to lend them to some fellow immigrant. For instance, Bart, who always complains that he has no money, only does so because he is afraid that somebody might want to borrow some from him. And some of the immigrants, such as the Jamaican man, are even able to exploit their own countrymen. To conclude, materialism and money make the relationships between the immigrants more complicated and distant.
The immigrants in London, as Samuel Selvon portrayed them, experience various forms of loneliness. They are outcast from the white mainstream society and although they know each other and they regularly meet, they do not feel the same connections and solidarity as they felt back in the Caribbean. As
Moses puts it:
Looking at things in general life really hard for the boys in London.
This is a lonely miserable city, if it was that we didn't get together now
and then to talk about things back home, we would suffer like hell. Here
is not like home where you have friends all about. In the beginning you would think that is a good thing, that nobody minding your business, but after a while you want to get in company, you want to go to somebody house and eat a meal, you want to go on excursion to the sea, you want to go and play football and cricket. (Selvon 126)
6. Conclusion My bachelor thesis explores the topic of the Afro-Caribbean immigration to Great Britain. The connection between the Caribbean and Britain started at the beginning of the 17th century with the British colonization of several
Caribbean islands. Britain held control over those areas for several hundreds of years, keeping plantations and bringing many black slaves from Africa there.
The black people suffered under the British supremacy; they lost their national identities and self-esteem and they felt inferior to the white people. In the 20th century, the black people started to realize that they were not a second-rate race and that their culture, language and history were as valuable as those of the white people; many then became proud of being black. In connection with the Caribbean, the Rastafari movement should be seen as very important in confirming the black pride.
After the Second World War, many Afro-Caribbeans decided to migrate to
Britain. In principle, their reasons were searching for better jobs and prospect.
As the members of the Commonwealth, they faced no legal restrictions in entering and working in the United Kingdom. In addition, they were invited to
Britain by government agencies because there was a huge labour shortage after the war. The significant moment was the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush in
1948 that brought the first large group of immigrants to Britain. Even though the immigrants filled the gap on the labour market after the war, they were soon perceived as a trouble in Britain. Both the common people and the politicians did not want the black immigrants in Britain. During the 1960s and
early 1970s a series of new immigration acts was passed. Those acts were targeted on the black immigrants and made it much more difficult for them to enter Britain.
Nevertheless, many black immigrants were already settled in Britain.
The relations between them and the white Britishers were quite complicated.
The experience of the immigrants showed that British society was racist. The black people experienced discrimination in many fields, for example in job opportunities or housing, in public places they often felt under the police harassment and worst of all many of them were attacked by white racists.
Conditions of the Afro-Caribbean immigrants improved in the 1990s; they now earn almost as much as the white Britishers with the same education and employment. However, some problems have remained: the immigrants still have troubles with finding jobs in the first place.
The Afro-Caribbean immigrants tended to form communities within the large cities such as London. Those communities had several advantages for the immigrants: the surroundings of the fellow-countrymen made them feel less lonely and helped them to keep connections with their homeland and culture.
Moreover, the shops in those communities provided goods they knew and were used to in their home country.
In the 1990s a significant number of the Afro-Caribbean immigrants decided to move back to the Caribbean because they thought than the conditions in Britain were still unfavourable for them. Although they faced several problems back in their homeland, such as restrictions on their properties
or different lifestyle they were no longer accustomed to, they still considered those problems as minor in comparison to those they faced in Britain.
Samuel Selvon in his novel The Lonely Londoners describes the lives and conditions of the Caribbean immigrants who came to Britain after the Second
World War or in the 1950s. He uses a specific language in his novel: it is nor
Standard English, neither a language that is spoken in any part of the
Caribbean. He refuses to use Standard English as a sign of detachment from the mainstream British culture. He demonstrates that not only Standard English but even some form of Creolized English is valuable and suitable for writing.
However, he does not use fully Creolized English either; that is because he wants the white British majority to be able to read his novel and learn about the
Caribbean immigrants as well.
Based on the title of the novel, the readership expects Selvon's characters to be lonely. And from various reasons they really are. Ever-present racism keeps them separated from the white majority; they feel unwanted and impedimenta in Britain. Selvon's Afro-Caribbeans do not understand why the
British people do not like them; they blame their colour because they are not aware of anything wrong they have done to the British. Not even the Afro-
Caribbean communities help the ethnic characters of the novel explored get rid of the feelings of loneliness completely. Britain is not the Caribbean and the immigrants do not hold strongly together; in Britain everyone is on his own and the connections are not as tight as in the Caribbean. This quest for their own identity, together with other troubles the immigrants face, make the life in
Britain very difficult for the Afro-Caribbeans, both in Selvon's novel and in contemporary British society.
7. Bibliography List of Works Cited:
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Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988.
Bentley, Nick. “Form and Language in Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners.”
ARIEL. (Vol. 36). .3-4 (July-October 2005): p67. Literature Resource
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Butterfield, Sherri-Ann. “Black and British, but Definitely not English: Race and
Racism in British Immigration.” Conference Papers – American
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2010
“Caribbean Settlement in Britain.” (CSIB) Itzcaribbean. 3 Jan 2010.
Census 2001. 1 Nov 2005. Office for National Statistics. 3 Jan 2010.
Gelb, Norman. “The Ugly Face of British Racism.” New Leader 76.13 (1993):5.
Business Source Complete. EBSCO. 3 Jan 2010
Goulbourne, Harry. “Exodus?: Some Social and Policy Implications of Return
Migration from the UK to the Commonwealth Caribbean in the 1990s.”
Policy Studies 20.3 (1999):157. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. 3 Jan 2010
“Immigration.” 20 Feb 2010
Marwick, Arthur: British Society Since 1945. Harmondsworth : Penguin
Books, 1996.
McAlister, Elizabeth A. “Rastafari (Political and Historical Movement).”
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15 Apr 2010.
“Nice Work If You Can Get It.” (NW) Economist 371.8375 (2005). Business
Source Complete. EBSCO. 3 Jan 2010
“Notting Hill Race Riots.” (NHRR) Itzcaribbean. 3 Jan 2010.
Olden, Mark. “White Riot: The Week Notting Hill Exploded.” Independent. 29
Aug 2008. 3 Jan 2010.
Phillips, Mike. “Working Lives.” Moving Here – 200 Years of Migration to
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Powell, Enoch. “Speech at Birmingham.” 14 Jan 2010. Enoch Powell: Life and
Views.
“Rastafari.” Religion Facts.15 Apr 2010.
Said, Edward W.: Culture and Imperialism. London: Vintage, 1994.
Selvon, Samuel: The Lonely Londoners. Harlow: Longman, 1985.
Spark, Stephen. “Carnival Roots.” SocaNews. 3 Jan 2010.
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Baumann, Gerd: Contesting Culture : Discourses of Identity in Multi-Ethnic
London. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996.
Britain's Ethnic Minorities. London: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1991.
Childs, Peter, and Mike Storry: British Cultural Identities. London: Routledge,
1997.
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Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968. 2 Jan 2010.
Grodfoguel, Ramón. “Colonial Caribbean Migrations to France, The Netherlands,
Great Britain and the United States.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 20.3
(1997): 594-612. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. 3 Jan 2010
Howe, Darcus. “After 40 Years Here, Tom and his wife Have no White Friends.
Should They Integrate?” New Statesman 131.4588 (2002):5. Business
Source Complete. EBSCO. 3 Jan 2010
---“The BBC's Sitcom The Crouches Bears no Relation at All to a Real Caribbean
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---“The Hierarchy of Skin Colour Presumes that Caribbean Folk are at the
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Resume
This bachelor thesis explores the topic of Caribbean immigration to Great
Britain. It inquires into the history of immigration and its effects, and into the position of the Afro-Caribbean community in Britain.
The British imperialist colonized the Caribbean already in 17th century and brought slaves from Africa there to work on their plantations. After the break of the British Empire the people from former British colonies, including the Caribbean, faced no legal restriction in entering or settling in Britain.
Especially after the war many Caribbeans decided to migrate to Britain in search of better job opportunities. The white Britishers did not regard this trend highly.
They did not want the black immigrants in Britain and soon after the immigration wave in the 1960s politicians were forced by the public to pass new immigration acts in order to restrict the black immigration. Black immigrants experienced many problems in Britain, such as discrimination and racism.
Because of this, in the 1990s, many of them decided to move back to the
Caribbean.
After the part that examines the topic from the historical perspective, the thesis focuses on analysis of Samuel Selvon's novel The Lonely Londoners. It comments on the language employed in the novel as a means of communication with the readership. Finally, the thesis deals with the situation of Selvon's Afro-Caribbean characters. The characters experience racism and segregation from the white British majority and they feel lonely because the
Afro-Caribbean community does not hold strongly together.
53 Resumé
Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá tématem karibské imigrace do Velké
Británie, zkoumá historické souvislosti imigrace a postavení karibské komunity v Británii.
Britští imperialisté kolonizovali Karibik již v 17. století a přiváželi otroky z Afriky, aby zde pracovali na jejich plantážích. Po rozpadu britského impéria mohli obyvatelé bývalých kolonií, včetně Karibiku, volně vstoupit a pracovat v
Británii, protože nečelili žádným právním omezením. Zvláště po válce se mnoho obyvatel Karibiku rozhodlo přesunout do Británie kvůli lepším pracovním příležitostem. Bílí Britové tento trend neuvítali. Nechtěli černošské imigranty v
Británii a brzy po imigrační vlně v 60. letech byli politici veřejností přinuceni schválit nové imigrační zákony, které měly černošskou imigraci omezit. Černošští imigranti se v Británii setkávali s problémy, jako je diskriminace a rasismus. Z tohoto důvodu se v 90. letech mnoho z nich rozhodlo přesunout zpět do
Karibiku.
Ve druhé části se práce zaměřuje na analýzu románu The Lonely
Londoners od Samuela Selvona. Nejdříve je zkoumán jazyk románu, který
Selvon použil jako způsob komunikace se čtenářem. Poté jsou popsány
Selvonovy románové postavy. Tito karibští imigranti zažívají rasismus i segregaci z britské většinové společnosti a cítí se osamělí, protože karibská komunita nedrží pevně při sobě.
54