Legacy of expulsion of Ugandan Asians (From Asian Image)

Legacy of expulsion of Ugandan Asians

4:44pm Wednesday 8th July 2009

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The experience of expulsion - a journey of despair and fear- is to be recollected at a special event at the House of Lords commemorating the Ugandan Asian Diaspora.

The Lord Sheikh is hosting the event on July 13 where a new study into the experiences of Asians expelled under the regime of dictator Idi Amin is to be presented.

Ugandan Memories, a 62-page illustrated book by Bill Law, Tim Haq and Dorothy Douglas from the East Midlands Economic Network is produced in conjunction with the University of Leicester and Diverse City.

President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni gives a foreword for the book which provides a platform for those who were dispossessed by Africanisation policies to articulate their experience.

“What emerges is intensely personal and at the same time universal as we witness, through the words of those who lived the experience, what is the pain of being uprooted and the suffering of migration,” said Tim Haq.

“Amin’s act of expulsion –first the Jews and then the Asians - left a lasting legacy around the world, and particularly so in Leicester where many Uganda Asians sought to rebuild their lives. It is their stories that speak through Ugandan Memories.”

Colin Hyde, from the East Midlands Oral History Archive, based at the University of Leicester, added: “Ugandan Memories is a useful resource for anyone interested in the history of Leicester, of East Africa or of migration to the UK.

"It provides valuable information about family and community history and sheds light on a remarkable period of history.”

Jaffer Kapasi OBE, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire 1999-2002 is one of the principal figures cited in the study as he recounts the moment when Amin ‘had a dream in which he was asked to expel all Asians and the reason he gave was that the Asians were milking the economy of the country, they were sabotaging the economy, they were sending money abroad, they were not integrating with the Africans.’ The memories of Uganda paint a picture of a land beloved by the Asians, where many were proud to build their lives – but their worlds came crashing down upon them during those fateful days following Amin’s edict.

As one former Ugandan Asian recalls: “If anyone was found after the 10th of November they would face the consequences –and be set on fire alive while being hanged.”

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