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Remembering the Expulsion of British Asians from Uganda, 50 years on by Maryann Thomas
When Dilip and Shubha Popat stepped outside the aeroplane at London’s Stansted airport on that sunny October morning in 1972, they were met with a chilly blast of cold air, a jarring contrast to the warmth of their home country.
The couple carried nothing with them from their past lives, except the clothes on their backs, £50, and a small suitcase. They were among the 28,000 Asians that were forced to flee their home country and move to England when Ugandan military leader Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972.
A life of trepidation and uncertainty lay ahead, and they had no choice but to embrace life in a foreign land.
August 2022 marks 50 years since the Ugandan Asian expulsion, but the trauma and pain are still fresh for those who experienced the horrific event.
Dilip and Shubha Popat were newly married in their early 20s, when President Idi Amin, issued a decree on 4 August 1972, ordering all Asians out of the country within 90 days, mentioning that he dreamt that God had told him to expel Asians. He threatened to imprison the Asians who didn’t leave the country by the deadline in military camps.
Almost 80,000 Asians who had lived for generations in Uganda had to leave their homes and lives behind, in an act of migration that would change the course of tens of thousands of Asian families forever. While the majority moved to Britain, smaller numbers migrated to Canada, India, Pakistan, and neighbouring countries.
The Asian Ugandans, a legacy of British colonial rule, had been a thriving community in Uganda for decades. Droves of Indians were recruited to Uganda in the 1890s when the country was ruled by the British, to work as indentured labourers in the Ugandan railways. A majority returned to India, but over 6000 Indians chose to stay on, and they brought subsequent generations of Indians to East Africa to pursue lucrative job opportunities.
Over the years, they began to gain a reputation for being shrewd business people, and soon formed a middle-class that dominated several industries in Uganda. A majority of Asians owned businesses, factories and shops. They owned 90% of businesses in Uganda and contributed 90% towards tax revenue.
In January 1971, Idi Amin — the much-feared military dictator— came to power after overthrowing sitting President Milton Obote in a military coup.
The Asian community were initially unfazed by these political developments. But under the reign of Idi Amin, peaceful relations that they had enjoyed with the locals started to sour.
From the introduction of curfews to regulations that restricted business opportunities for Asians in favour of the locals, the peace and prosperity that Ugandan Asians had been enjoying for many generations began to unravel. Before long, there was news of violence and looting on the streets, and murders of a growing list of dissidents.
The unrest and tension came to a culmination in the announcement that would change the course of history and thousands of lives forever. Amin accused the Ugandan Asians of leeching the country economically and promoting corruption, and declared that he was “giving Uganda back to ethnic Ugandans”.
Nobody took his words seriously at first, Shubha and Dilip tell me. But, it was only when Amin captured and imprisoned Manubhai Madhvani, the patriarch of the most powerful business family in Uganda, that the Asian community began to believe that his threats were real.
They scrambled to get their documents in order, close down their shops and make arrangements to leave. “The Asian community was plunged into chaos. Men from the Ugandan army raided the streets and began to freely plunder shops and terrorise people. If they demanded something from your shop, you’d be wise to give it without protest.” says Dilip, adding that they were banned from selling or transferring their businesses, which left most with no choice but to abandon it.
Following Uganda’s independence in 1962, Asians were given the choice between Ugandan and British passports, and most of them chose the latter as a fallback. Those who held British passports were naturally inclined to migrate to England.
Meanwhile, the neighbouring states of Kenya and Tanzania closed their borders to keep out migrating Asian Ugandans. India also barred them from entering the country claiming that the British needed to take responsibility.
Contrary to what was portrayed in popular discourse, the British government was initially reluctant to accept the influx of Ugandan Asians. There was a full-page advertisement drawn by Leicester Council warning that the city didn’t have jobs or housing and discouraging Ugandan Asian arrivals to the city. Conservative MP Enoch Powell argued against taking in the exiles, saying that the “people were rightly shocked at the prospect of 50,000 Asians from Uganda being added to our population”, adding that “They have no idea that about 100,000 are added through immigration and natural increase to the coloured population of this country every year.”
But as alarming news of the violence, torture, and destitution against Asian Indians began to be circulated in the media, and pressure grew from the international community and campaign groups, Britain was forced to take action, and adopted a sympathetic approach.
PM Edward Heath ruled that Britain was legally and morally obligated to re-settle Ugandan Asians with British passports, and contingency plans were made to welcome and settle the new community of South Asians.
Dilip and Shubha were offered a cup of tea and some biscuits on arrival and then asked to choose from a pile of second-hand coats donated by charities. “Everyone grabbed a coat, no matter its size or condition, it was yours to keep. Finding ourselves in an alien country overnight, we had no idea about the country or what came next, having only heard of cities such as London, Birmingham and Leicester”.
Hearing they were open to staying anywhere in England, the couple was put on a coach and sent to Honiton, Devon, where they would spend the next few weeks in a refugee camp, one of many that had been organized by the British Government across the country.
Temporary camps were set up in old military airfields across 16 locations in England, and these self-sufficient units were fitted with temporary housing facilities, boarding, food, toilets and emergency services catering to the needs of the Ugandan Asians.
From August to October 1972, nearly 18,000 Ugandan Asians were placed in camps, while the rest made arrangements to settle with friends and family in cities like London, Leicester, Birmingham and Manchester.
Dilip and Shubha reflected on how their lives in their adopted country were not easy, and that they were faced with constant stress and worry while figuring out their future in a new land. But like thousands of Asian Ugandans who were forced to flee during that time, they too adopted the immigrant mentality and learnt to get on with things.
Dilip and Shubha were lucky because they eventually found jobs and council housing, but adapting to their new lives took a toll on them mentally and emotionally. “Dilip and I had led prosperous lives in Uganda, and we couldn’t help feeling ashamed that we were unable to afford small items like cutlery. However, considering the situation, we were very grateful for all the help given to us,” says Shubha.
From experiencing racial tensions to adapting to the new culture, language and food, the community were met with challenges at every step. “The British way of life, the diet, weather, and the Devonian accent - it took us years to adapt to the changes in our lives. We were the only Brown family in the town of Tiverton, Devon, where we eventually settled. We were a curiosity in town, and people would stop in their tracks and stare when we walked past them.” says Dilip
Despite the odds, the Asian Ugandan community demonstrated great resilience in the face of adversity and managed to rebuild their lives through hard work and quiet determination.
50 years on, the Ugandan Asians who came to settle in England in 1972 are now well-respected members of British society, occupying high ranks in business, politics, finance and the arts. Perhaps their tumultuous journey can be captured in the following quote from Conservative MP Shailesh Vara, whose father migrated to Britain from Uganda in the 1960s. "Rather than looking at their expulsion as life-destroying, they saw it as a setback. They didn't stay downcast, got up, and started over again."
And start over they did. Their successful integration into British society and their valuable and continuing contribution to multicultural Britain is a testament to that.
Credits:
Maryann Thomas is a writer and editor with a penchant for words and emotionally-wringing stories. Armed with a Masters in Media and Communications from LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science), her writing stands at the 4-way intersection of culture, identity, womanhood, and human behaviour. Her pet project is Stories by Mae a ghostwriting service for South Asians who want to preserve their family stories in a book. In her free time, she likes to make music and memories with her family in Somerset, UK. You can find her on Instagram @stories_by_mae or on follow her on Medium. E: maryann@storiesbymae.com