Bob Marley
- 1981-05-31
Samir Shah talks to Bangladeshi immigrants who have been separated from their children at the border.
This edition of Skin, the regional affairs programme that looked at race issues in London in the early 1980s, describes heartrending injustice as immigrants from Bangladesh are separated from their children and told that some or all of their children are not theirs and need to stay behind. "I told them they were my children, but they still said no."
Presenter Samir Shah doesn't hold back in condemning the policy, arguing that there is mounting evidence that people with a right to come to Britain were being turned away wrongly. The programme then changes location from London to Dhaka, where villagers travel to the British High Commission to make their case for entry certificates.
Skin's reporting is thorough, and includes the reasons why Bangladeshi communities were particularly affected by newer, tougher immigration policies, including the consequences of the Bangladesh War of Independence resulting in more dependants needing to join their families in the UK. The programme also shows the legal battle of immigrants disputing the accusation of so-called 'bogus children' in meticulous detail, giving illuminating and vital information still relevant now.
Report on the increasing number of Bangladeshis refused permission to bring
their families to Britain.