‘Motherland’ Director Ellen Evans on the Double Punishment of Post-Sentence Deportation

'Motherland' traces the experiences of two young men forcibly returned to Jamaica after a lifetime in Britain, alongside the story of a Windrush generation man denied re-entry to the UK. juliemango.tv talks with director Ellen Evans about the reality plaguing so many misplaced people who share a fate with the subjects of her short documentary.

I imagine the process of producing such a heavy piece of work may shift some perspectives for you. Can you share what stuck with you from the experience?

I guess what stuck with me most is the total wrongness of all of this. Not only the Windrush Scandal (which rightly caused shockwaves in the UK), but also the current practice of post-sentence deportation. I find it troubling that these young men are being given a double punishment, that someone who has already served their time can then be permanently removed from their families and friends, with no real consideration to their ties to the UK. It’s a fundamental human rights violation, and it’s happening more and more.

Motherland was part of a larger project distributed theatrically in the UK called The Uncertain Kingdom. How did you become a part of the anthology project?

The Uncertain Kingdom started as an open call in 2019. The plan was to create a collection of films which would work as a portrait of contemporary Britain. As a former caseworker - I’d seen first hand the injustices of the British immigration system, and the trauma inflicted on the families involved. I’d wanted for a long time to make a film about the subject and The Uncertain Kingdom project provided a platform.

At first we planned to make the film in the UK, about a family who were awaiting a deportation decision - but as our research went on we were put in touch with the National Organisation for Deported Migrants (NODM) in Jamaica. We decided to situate the film further along the timeline, and tell the stories of those who had already been deported, and were now struggling to adapt to life in another continent. And so we left the UK for Jamaica, to make a film from the perspective of men who have been deemed “not British” by our government, but whose feelings and experiences attest otherwise.

The film starts out with some really powerful words from one of its subjects, Ken, about how Britain exploited work from its colonies, specifically Jamaica, and ensured that its citizens weren’t compensated for that work. How did you first learn about his story?

So, my original interest was to make a film about post-sentence deportation. According to UK law, if you have been convicted of a crime and spend 12 months or more in prison - you are liable to be deported. It’s created a situation where many of the people being deported are being permanently separated from their families in the UK, and sent to countries they’ve haven’t lived in since childhood.

Ken’s story is different. Whereas the boys were deported following prison sentences, Ken was instead a victim of the Windrush Scandal. This was a situation in which hundreds of Commonwealth citizens were wrongly detained, deported or refused entry to the UK.

I wanted to put these stories side by side, and compare their experiences to pose a wider question about “Britishness” and who gets to decide. I was put in touch with Ken via Amelia Gentleman, the Guardian journalist who broke the Windrush Scandal in 2018.

Where do you think the breakdown in the relationship happened between the UK Government and the Windrush Generation, some of whom were wrongfully deported or denied re-entry? 

So the Windrush Scandal happened as the result of the “Hostile Environment” policy, a 2012 government initiaitve designed to make the UK unlivable for undocumented migrants. Many of the Windrush generation arrived in Britain on their parents’ passports, and the Home Office destroyed many of their associated documents, such as landing cards. This meant they lacked the evidence to prove their right to live in the UK - and the Home Office then started brutally deporting, detaining and removing the rights of these people who they falsely deemed as living here illegally. 

It’s impossible for me to pinpoint the moment I think this breakdown in the relationship happened. But when you consider that many of the Windrush generation were born as British subjects, and were then invited to the UK to fulfil labour shortages, rebuilding Britain after the second world war - it’s obvious that this must have felt like an enormous betrayal to the UK’s Caribbean community.  

Like Ken, the other men you featured in Motherland also spent a lifetime in the UK. But as young men, they knew nothing else. And in Jamaica they stand out, they can’t move without drawing attention. Their experience seemed to weigh on their mental wellness, can you talk about that? 

Yes it’s an incredibly isolating situation for the young men. Many of them have no memories of Jamaica, having moved to the UK in early childhood, and they now feel totally adrift. I remember one of our contributors telling me that the deportation was worse than prison - prison was temporary, whereas this is permanent. There’s also a lot of stigma attached to being a deportee in Jamaica and it can be really hard for them to find work.

'Motherland' is available on Vimeo, BFI Player, Apple TV, Google Play, and Amazon Prime.