FOUN 1101 Caribbean Civilisation Migration Stories: Auntie Rubina

By, Akeem Breedy-Kellman, FOUN 1101 Caribbean Civilisation student

Rubina Scantlebury, is my Barbadian aunt; the “fourth” daughter of my grandmother. Auntie Rubina was born in 1952. At the tender age of six years, her parents departed Barbados, to seek job opportunities in England. For another five years, she attended to her younger siblings in Barbados, with other close relatives. At the age of 11 years, her parents, Elma Bayley and Lambert Bayley sent a letter, telling her to come to England with her siblings.

At such an age, my aunt was ecstatic about going to England, yet, her only expectation was to meet her parents. All she could do is place the nursery stories such as “Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son” and the many pictures against the imaginary setting of England. The teachers at the St. Stephen’s School where she attended taught her the traditions of England, but had never been there. Auntie Rubina and her younger sisters were assisted by a flight attendant, from one airport into the other. As soon as auntie landed upon English soil, she confronted the very cold weather, so much so that coats and warm clothes were bought the day after their arrival. England was a dark environment with a lot of fog, and mostly white faces populated this foreign place with its landscape that was far larger and colder than Barbados. Auntie Rubina was blown away, and she was totally unprepared for such a journey. My aunt had to adjust to the language and the population had an accent which was difficult to follow. The food was also different. Nothing done differently in Barbados, would prepare her for this migration, even the nursery stories seemed to be true fallacies. Her worst experience occurred when she applied for jobs at the age of 17. She had to confront much racism. Although the “Mother Country” was seen as a place of opportunity, the population did not accept or want Caribbean people, especially black people, within the land. She had to work twice as hard as her white counterparts. Nevertheless, such a migratory experience broadened her perspectives of the world, and equipped her to have a good life; having retired from a successful job and acquired a good education. Such an experience enabled her to work with those of various cultures and ethnicities. She was and is also able to provide for her family, financially and emotionally in Barbados and England. She considers herself as a contributor to the multicultural society in England, which England has also benefited from. Unfortunately, upon returning to Barbados after forty years, she had to reintegrate herself into the Barbadian society and she believed her Barbadian identity was lost because of the migration. I would not migrate because I love the land in which I was born and I want to contribute to my home.

The experience of my aunt, reflects the migratory experience of many tender children  in the mid 20^th century, but she was able to overcome the challenges, and reap rewards benefiting herself, family and England.