abandonment and global pillage
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The import of cheap Asian labor to Britain reflects the exploitative dynamics of empire, where workers were treated more as disposable property than human beings. Visram describes how ayahs and lascars were brought to Britain for the convenience of their employers, without contracts or any promise of return to India. Once their services were no longer needed, they were abandoned, left "destitute" in a foreign land without support systems. Their status as human or "chattel" existed on a spectrum, with women, particularly ayahs, appearing to receive slightly more sympathy due to their integral role in raising British children.
This insecurity of labor is compounded by the complete disregard for welfare by the India Office and other British institutions, which failed to address systemic exploitation. Instead, their focus was on avoiding financial burdens, not implementing humane solutions, leaving many workers in "squalid" lodging houses or begging on the streets. Some managed to find reengagement or started small businesses, leading to the formation of settled brown communities in Britain. These were distinct from the "destitute," who were seen as burdens by the British state.
ADF’s song underscores how the British colonial legacy still casts people of color as burdensome debris, left to fend for themselves in a system that sees them as expendable. ADF points out that the very presence of South Asians in Britain is a result of colonial expansion, captured in the lyric, "We're only here 'cos you were there, consequences of your global pillage."
Both works complement each other, pairing historical accounts with emotional commentary to show how empire’s legacy endures, treating racialized bodies as burdens or remnants of a colonial past, continually marginalized without remedy.