BIRMINGHAM LEADS THE WAY IN SOLVING IMMIGRATION PROBLEMS by MORDECAI RICHLER At Kingston, Jamaica, early in May 1955, a ship came in from England with fifty returning Jamaicans on board. One of them, Mrs Seh, said: “I would never go back. I left Jamaicans crying because they didn't have the money for the journey home”. But the very next day another ship sailed for England with more than 700 West Indian emigrants on board. In fact, Jamaicans, and other West Indians, are emigrating to England in such numbers that the supply of passports has been exhausted and the government is issuing temporary identity papers. For West Indians, as members of the Commonwealth, are entitled to unresticted entry into Great Britain. Africians look at Europeans: District officer sitting at his desk and dispensing justice, a Yoruba carving (Rijksmuseum voor volkenkunde, Leiden, Holland. Reproduced from UNESCO Courier) There are now approximately 35,000 in the United Kingdom. More than 5,000 migrated in 1953; another 10,000 came in 1954; and, it looks as if last year's figure will be double that. Some borrow the eighty pounds required for single fares. Others, a minority, arrive as stow-aways. Few come with much money, and lots of them have no idea of where they will go once they land. Why do they Emigrate? The primary motive for this migration is the widespread unemployment, low standards of living, and poor prospects for skilled workers in the West Indies. There was a falling off of emigration early this year when Mr Manley, Jamaica's newly-elected First Minister, promised more jobs. But conditions cannot change overnight, and emigration quickly picked up again. The vast majority of the migrants consists of the better-off members of the West Indian labour force, the more skilled workers, the better educated, the more ambitious and courageous. But as levels of skill vary according to economic structure, the person who legitimately is rated as a skilled man in the West Indies may well be accepted in Britain as only semi-skilled. It is also true that many West Indians come to Great Britain hoping to learn a trade—seeking the experience and knowledge that they feel are the key to their successful return to the colony. There are sentimental reasons too. West Indians have had a thorough-going British education and many of them think of England as “Home”. Some, unfortunately, believe that the streets of Britain are paved with gold. Others are encouraged by letters from relatives and friends, who have found secure jobs and better standards of living in Great Britain. Still others are tempted by the many advertisements that appear in West Indian newspapers: ads. for policemen, bus conductors, miners, London Transport workers, firemen, and so on. On arrival in Great Britain, West Indians are met by welfare officers from the Colonial Office. They are advised where to stay and told to register with the nearest employment exchange. Conditions of full employment in Great Britain at the moment favour the colonial workers as well as foreign immigrants. And at a time when,