Marlene_building
Marlene
I use to love animals and in Jamaica we had chickens and we collected their eggs, I enjoyed that! We always had an egg it was really special because we were struggling to get enough food…
One day, all the children were given a chicken to look after and I was given a chicken that I adored. But my chicken had a broken leg so my Aunt said: ‘We are going to cook it’. I was devastated!
Although I was hungry, I refused to eat it.
Journey
I was 7 years old, and I adored my aunt who I had lived with all my life.
I didn’t remember my Mum, she left when I was a baby.
I didn’t want to leave Jamaica.
I felt so confused to be leaving all that I knew as a little girl.
I cried the whole journey;
Arrival
I didn’t want the plane to arrive in England.
When the plane landed, I wasn’t happy. I had been brought over by a lady, who left me with a stranger.
‘This is your Mum,’ she said. I didn’t say anything to my Mum I didn’t know who she was.
It was all so strange, I missed everything back home, my cousins, my aunt, the sunshine, being outside, the freedom, everything.
Growing up in the UK
As a small child, words were painful. They made fun of me because of my Jamaican accent. I used to think why don’t these people like me? They called me names and I thought, why don’t they hold my hand?
Everyone called me the wrong name, Maralyn, Marion, Maureen; I had to say over and over, It’s MARLENE. I got so fed up telling them. I felt rejected. In the Caribbean white people were embraced
That is why I have always fought for equality. We had to fight to limit the discrimination we experienced. People are more educated now, it’s still there but it’s underground, it’s not acceptable. But I am glad that I’m old enough to have seen the change.
In the 1970’s, as a Black person, you could walk into a pub, and it would go silent. There was a lot of discrimination in and outside of work. The Race relations Act made a big difference when it became illegal to discriminate. We had to fight for change. I’m glad that I got to see that change.
