Fact Sheet #20: THE BABIES AND CHILDREN BRITAIN DIDN'T WANT

By 1967 Britain had exported 150,000 of its most vulnerable children, some as young as 2 years old, and distributed them around the Commonwealth on the pretext ‘its in the children’s best interests.

In reality child victims of poverty and illegitimacy were considered a burden on society and disposed of as cheaply as possible to save the public purse, rid decent society of the scourge of illegitimacy, and populate the colonies with white stock.

They were sent without the knowledge or consent of their parents, lied to, told they had been abandoned, or their mothers were dead and no one wanted them. Documents were forged or destroyed, names were changed, and dates of birth altered ensuring they could never learn their true identity or be traced by their mother.

The children were raped, physically and sexually abused, used as slave labour And suffered appalling brutality. Today they’re known world-wide as the Children Britain didn’t want –‘The Migrant Children.’

Amongst those responsible for instigating, implementing and condoning the mass exportation of children are Government, Local Authorities, Social Workers, major Charities, Christian Churches and Moral Welfare Workers.

Migrant children fighting to discover their identity had evidence withheld, vital records disappeared or access to them was denied.
Britains lack of a Freedom of Information Act made it virtually impossible to extract information held by government departments and surviving agencies.

Britain’s attitude was dismissive: ‘Its all so long ago why stir it up now’, until Margaret Humphreys, Author of ‘Empty Cradles’ exposed the Child Migrant scandal, challenged the bureaucratic system and traced then reunited the children with their mothers, or surviving families

Today a scandal of holocaust proportions threatened to engulf the public arena.

Normal healthy white babies, too young to export, were taken from single mothers who hadn’t abused abandoned or neglect them, on the pre-text ‘Its in the baby’s best interests.’

In reality illegitimate babies of unmarried mothers eligible for State Benefits were considered a burden on society and disposed of as cheaply as possible, to save the public, rid society of the scourge of immorality and illegitimacy, and supply infertile but financially secure married couples with a baby.

The adoptions were shrouded in secrecy ensuring that when the babies grew up they could never learn the truth about themselves or be traced by their mothers.

Hundreds of thousands of unmarried mothers, legally entitled to keep their babies, were routinely coerced out of them to cure married infertility and create instant families for childless couples.

The mothers have been afraid to speak out till now, afraid they wouldn’t be believed, afraid they’d be stigmatised and labelled ‘the kind of mother who gave her baby away to strangers.’

Like the ‘Migrant Children’ before them the mothers face immense opposition in their fight for justice.

Copyright © Patricia Basquill, 2002 - 2008