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Uganda 50 events and celebrations
UGANDA 50
Celebrations took place across Leicester to mark the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan exodus, and Niche heard the story of one man’s experience of fleeing the country as a child WORDS BY KERRY SMITH
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Ten thousand Ugandan Asians settled in Leicester in 1972 after the nation’s President Idi Amin forced them to leave the country. Now, five decades on, Leicester celebrates their lives and contributions to the city.
Over 60,000 Ugandan Asians were expelled upon the President’s orders, which were announced on television on August 4, 1972. He gave them 90 days to leave. Out of that number 27,000 came to the UK. Their stories have inspired events, plays, artworks, presentations, and exhibitions to mark the important 50th anniversary. These occasions have given local people the chance to hear stories of how life was in Uganda, of fleeing the country, seeking refuge, and their experiences of building a home in Leicester.
This exhibition marked the anniversary by celebrating the contributions the Asian community has made to Leicester’s culture over the last half a century.
Arranged by arts organisation Navrang, the exhibition included hundreds of artefacts, personal items and photographs donated from people all over the UK, whose families made the traumatic journey from Uganda to start a new life. There were also dozens of recordings of personal accounts by those who fled, usually at very short notice and, in many cases, leaving the country with only a single suitcase of belongings.
PHOTOGRAPHY: NAVRANG
At the exhibition, Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “The compelling first-hand stories of the upheaval of travelling halfway across the world with just a suitcase of belongings, along with personal items that people brought with them, really brings home the disruption and suffering of people forced to start life all over again. Sadly, many of these themes are just as relevant now as they were half a century ago.”
The exhibition will run at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery in New Walk until December 22, 2022.
Three plays honouring Leicester’s Ugandan Asians were performed at Curve in July and August. The Made at Curve community productions were billed together as Finding Home: Leicester’s Ugandan Asian Story at 50. Each play was written by local writers whose families arrived in the UK from Uganda. Chandni Mistry’s Ruka; Dilan Raithatha’s Call Me By My Name, and Ashok Patel’s Ninety Days were performed by over 40 local actors.
Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said: “The story of the Ugandan South Asian exodus to Leicester is one that begins with trauma and upheaval for so many. Fifty years on, it is undoubtedly a story of resilience and triumph over adversity. We are grateful to everybody who is taking part and our production partners, University of Leicester.”
Sabras Radio’s Uganda 50 festival
Sabras Radio held a two-day event in Abbey Park in July. Special guests included Navin Kundra, Amrit Saab, Kadam Verma, Jaswinder Jassi, Ravneet Kaur, and many more. A huge variety of activities on two stages included audio visual presentations from around the world, stories and presentations from ex-refugees and dignitaries, historic film footage and live links to Uganda. You might have noticed new radio station Uganda 50, running since July. Sabras Radio launched the station to coincide with the event.
This piece of art is a submission of Midlands-based artist Anuradha Patel. The two aspects of the Structural Gateway represent the two communities impacted by the expulsion. Connected at the top, it symbolises the transition of a generation of people from one country to another.
The public art piece will be installed in Belgrave Circle, at the gateway to the city’s Golden Mile. It will be constructed using sharp angled, vertical structures which Anuradha says are a reference to pain and upheaval, while the softer architectural shape suggests shelter, sanctuary and refuge.
Anuradha said: “As a Ugandan Asian, of Gujarati origins, I feel strongly connected to the Asian communities in Leicester with so many shared experiences of migration, displacement, resettlement, and assimilation in a new country. This commission will provide the platform to address, inform and celebrate the breadth of emotions and achievements of the Ugandan Asian community in Leicester.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: REBECCA VIALS
Acknowledging the sacrifice and perseverance as well as honouring the entrepreneurial skills of those who had to leave everything they knew behind, this national reunion will be held on October 8, at TheVenue@DMU.
Organised by Leicester-based hospitality entrepreneur Atul Lakhani (top right) – who is the owner of The IXL Events Centre and CEO of Sanjay Foods – the event will offer an array of cuisines with an ‘East African market theme’ and include live entertainment and inspirational speakers Lord Dolar Popat, Chan Kataria OBE, Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE, Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, and Sir Nilesh Samani. Recognising the services of the Ugandan Asians to the community, the event will also see lifetime achievement awards given out.
Headline sponsor, Morningside Pharmaceuticals, is owned by Dr Nik Kotecha, who Atul describes as a ‘great entrepreneur and philanthropist’. The company has sponsored the luxury event to celebrate this significant historical milestone with those who were directly impacted by the exodus. Other businesses can sponsor the 50th anniversary celebrations as a way to engage and build emotional relationships with ethnic communities, give something back, promote inclusion and diversity, and show respect for other cultures.
Atul has dedicated huge amounts of time and budgets to the 50 Years event, and his reasoning comes from his own personal memories of the exodus.
Fleeing Uganda: Atul’s story
“I want to commemorate the enforced expulsion of the Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin, who had a dream that saw thousands of Asians leaving his county. He announced on national TV that the Indians had been exploiting the African Nation and that it was time for them to claim it back. In doing so, he changed the lives of thousands of people.
“My recollection of it was coming to this country at five years of age and all of a sudden being exposed to the cold climate. My memory of leaving Uganda was one of sorrow and sadness – seeing my mother cry for the first time and my father confused. My father was a giant in Africa. He had so many businesses, but I think he then felt lost. What do you do when you’re told to pack up everything you can possibly carry in a couple of suitcases and lose your home, car and businesses?
“Initially, my mother and father stayed behind with my youngest brother, while me and my sisters embarked upon this journey. I remember being at Entebbe airport, standing next to the Ugandan army. Their rifles were taller than me. There was a sense of fear and I remember having a nose bleed, my T-shirt covered in blood and my mother crying. We were basically herded out, but, in hindsight, you look at Ukraine and Rwanda and you realise we at least got away with our lives. A lot more than you can say for other people in other parts of the world.
“The reason for hosting this event in Leicester is because the majority of Ugandan Asians who came to the UK settled here. We’re going to mark this anniversary with celebration, reflection and gratitude to the UK for taking us in and giving us the opportunity to shine. A lot of people lived in camps and came here with just the shirts on their backs – and they flourished from their own hard work. We often refer to America as the land of opportunity, but we’re going to give the UK credit where it’s due for giving us the opportunity to develop.
“David Cameron said we are the greatest example of immigration in history. And the second generation of Ugandan Asians, perhaps me included, are entrepreneurs of this generation – one thing we have in our blood is that we’re young enough to have entrepreneurial instincts, but are old enough to remember the hard work and perseverance of that first-generation immigrant who arrived in 1972. Would we be as able as them without a penny to our name or the ability to speak English properly?
“There’s something unique about Ugandan Asians: they don’t actually subscribe to the politics of history. In east Africa, one great characteristic they had was this ability to get on with everyone and that has been one of the pivotal reasons for the successful diversity we have in Leicester.
“At the next milestone in 25 years, will the next generation remember these Ugandan Asians? Hopefully. We can be the torchbearers and we can set something up which the younger generation feel is worth continuing.
“On October 8, we will be celebrating the culture we left behind and the culture we created here.”
‘Celebrating 50 Years – the Long Walk from Adversity to Excellence’ will take place at TheVenue@DMU in Western Boulevard on October 8. To sponsor the event, or to buy tickets, contact Beth Collins, beth@sanjayfoods.com.
