Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
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Raising awareness of the contribution Caribbean people have made to society is vital
Dr Blaine Robin is a Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy in the School of Health. He was born in Paddington, North London, in the 1960s as one of two children of Dominican parentage. His parents would now be regarded as part of the Windrush generation. His father’s ship – the Ascania – docked in Southampton in 1957 and his mother arrived in 1959.
In 1991, Dr Robin trained as an occupational therapist at the London School of Occupational Therapy, West London Institute of Higher Education. He is now a Senior Lecturer at Leeds Beckett University.
Dr Robin said: “The transmission of our Caribbean values is now blended with those of the initial host country (our home) thanks to the friendships and influences and meaningful occupations that form our occupational identity. Much of what our parents and grandparents went through, to help give us an opportunity, is at times heart breaking as it shows clearly how the occupational injustices, such as marginalisation, continue to be recycled, often at central government level.
“When we think of the Windrush Scandal of 2018, greater awareness needs to be raised about the contribution that Caribbean people have made to society – particularly in the UK, USA, and Canada.”
Windrush Day is a day to celebrate and commemorate the outstanding and ongoing contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants.
The term ‘Windrush generation’ refers to the immigrants who were invited to the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries. The first ship, MV Empire Windrush, docked in Essex on 22 June 1948.