As a part of MacOdrum Library’s Researcher in Residence program, Dr. Shezan Muhammedi conducted oral history interviews that have now been uploaded to the Archives & Special Collections new Institutional Repository collection along with all of our previous Uganda Collection oral histories. You can access all the .

At the same time, Dr. Muhammedi, along with the help of Leona Ding, produced 6 podcast episodes that draw from the oral histories to highlight the experiences of Ugandan Asian refugees in Canada. .

The Library is tremendously grateful for the work that happened over the course of the Researcher in Residence program, for the Ugandan Asian refugee community and for everyone who supported the various pieces throughout the process.

Importantly, the podcasts will make visible the Ugandan Asian refugee community within Canada and the importance of kindness, support and humanity that links us all together.

Speakers will include Dr. Shezan Muhammedi, Author of Gifts from Amin: Ugandan Asian Refugees in Canada; Omar Sachedina, Chief News Anchor CTV News; Patti Harper, Assistant University Librarian, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University; Shairoze Walji, Donor Acquisition Manager, UNHCR Canada.

Following the event, light refreshments will be served and attendees will have an opportunity to explore archival material, purchase copies of Gifts from Amin, and engage with the presenters.

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We would again, like to thank all the participants, speakers, moderators, planning team and our sponsors that were able to make this possible. Being able to provide these recordings also allows us to share the conference discussions and content more broadly, and provide further accessibility for those who weren’t able to join us in November 2022.

A little background on the events have been provided as follows:

In 1972, a Dictator named Idi Amin expelled all Asians/ Indians; we were given 90 days to leave the country even for those of us born there. Many countries came to Uganda to take us as refugees to their respective countries as they knew we were entrepreneurs and hard-working citizens. 60,000 of us left in 90 days and 6,000 came to Canada. We are spread all over the world. Musicians attending the monthly Zoom concerts since 2021 have come from Canada, the USA, Britain, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Kenya, and Australia–a total of 40 plus musicians. A few of them with their families will be attending the reunion. It will be 51 years in August 2023 since we were expelled.

With Tina Athaide, Tasneem Jamal, and Hafsa Zayyan

Hosted by Zulfikar Hirji

Monday, November 14, 2022

7:00pm – 9:00pm

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Dominion-Chalmers Centre

Hosted by Zulfikar Hirji (York University, Toronto)

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the expulsion of more than fifty thousand Ugandan Asians expelled from Uganda in 1972 by the military dictator Idi Amin. These people, many of whom had known no other home than Africa, some for generations, were given ninety days to leave Uganda or face severe consequences. It marks the anniversary of the full commencement of Idi Amin’s almost decade-long reign of terror during which more than five-hundred thousand Ugandan Africans were murdered. Join our host, York University’s Zulfikar Hirji and authors Tina Athaide, Tasneem Jamal, and Hafsa Zayyan for a conversation about their fictional stories of loss, longing and belonging, each set in the context of the expulsion.

This event is hosted in conjunction with the .

Tina Athaide was born in Entebbe. After leaving Uganda she immigrated with her family to Canada from England. She has been a teacher for thirty years. Believing that books can present different experiences to children in an organic, natural way, she started publishing early literacy readers for the educational market before her debut book, Orange for the Sunsets. The Middle Grade book is a Junior Library Guild Selection and winner of the CCBC Geoffrey Bilson award for historical fiction for young readers. In 2021 she published her debut picture book Meena’s Mindful Moment and is currently working on a Middle Grade book in verse about an Indian family expelled from Uganda and sent to a resettlement camp in England.

Tasneem Jamal was born in Mbarara, Uganda, and immigrated to Canada with her family in 1975. The author of the novel Where the Air Is Sweet, she serves as a nonfiction editor at The New Quarterly and is at work on her second novel. When not writing, Tasneem serves as Communications Officer at Project Ploughshares, a Waterloo-based peace research institute. She lives in Kitchener.

Hafsa Zayyan is half-Nigerian, half-Pakistani and was born and raised (mostly) in the UK.�� She is a dispute resolution lawyer working in the City of London and is also the author of We Are All Birds of Uganda, the winner of MerkyBooks’ inaugural New Writer’s Prize and short-listed for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award 2022, focusing on the South Asian expulsion from Uganda in 1972.�� When she is not fighting fires in Court, Hafsa spends her time reading, writing and painting.�� She recently contributed an essay in a collection titled Of This Our Country, alongside other Nigerian authors including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Inua Ellams and Abi Dare.��Her next publication is expected for May 2023.

PLEASE NOTE: For the safety and comfort of all patrons, masks are required to attend in person.

This event is free. It will be held in-person and live streamed. Please register using the link below (Note: Beyond Resettlement conference attendees are already registered for this event).

by Olivia Musselwhite

On August 4^th, 1972, General Idi Amin announced the expulsion of the South Asian community in Uganda. Reactions immediately spread across newspapers, asking the question of where the community would go.

Uganda Argus. August 10, 1972.

The answer to where the Ugandan Asian refugees would resettle started with their citizenship statuses at the time. Of those Ugandan Asians who did not have Ugandan passports or were currently waiting to obtain one, the majority of Ugandan Asians held British citizenship, followed by Indian, Kenyan, and Pakistani passports (Muhammedi, 2017). At first, the expulsion included those without Ugandan citizenship, but eventually the order spread to the entire Ugandan Asian community with little exception (Muhammedi, 2017). Ugandan Asian families could no longer stay in the country, leaving their futures in the hands of other governments.

After Amin’s expulsion announcement, Britain sent Minster Geoffrey Rippon to East Africa in an attempt to sway Amin’s decision, but the expulsion could not be stopped or delayed (Mahoney 2022). On August 11^th, Britain declared that it would take responsibility for the Asians in Uganda that held British passports (Mahoney 2022). On August 14^th, a headline in The London Times read, ‘we accept our responsibilities’.

Ugandan and British passports and identity cards. Archives & Special Collections, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University

The same day, The Globe and Mail reported that the first twitches of fear from cities were emerging, unwilling to take more than a few hundred refugees (McCullough, August 14, 1972). The idea of an influx of immigrants was met by both positive and negative feedback from the press. Some papers were opposed to increased numbers of refugees, printing vicious cartoons and reporting the disapproval of the general public (McCullough, 1972). Others supported the intake of refugees, reporting that in the long run the Ugandan Asian community would be an asset to Britain (“Is Amin trying to blackmail Britain?”).

For India, many British Asians were applying at the Indian High Commission to obtain visas (“Must give up U.K. citizenship”). The Indian government was only accepting British passport holders who were willing to renounce their British citizenship and become Indian citizens. (“Must give up U.K. citizenship”). The British government argued that since many of the Ugandan Asians held Indian passports, that they should join Britain in convincing Amin to extend the deadline, and that immigrants with U.K. passports should be able to go to the country of their choice due to cultural, language, and family reasons (“U.K. calls on Canada”).

Due to the high number of Ugandan Asian refugees who needed a permanent place to live, Britain called on the world to provide aid. On August 19^th, the British government requested that Canada, New Zealand, and Australia take some of the refugees (“U.K. calls on Canada”). Canada’s response to the request came from a Canadian High Commission spokesperson who said that, “The request is an additional element in the serious consideration being given to the problem by the Canadian government” (Mahoney, 2022). On August 24, Prime Minister Trudeau announced Canada’s decision to “offer an honorable place in Canadian life” for refugees. (Mahoney, 2022). Canada’s first major resettlement of non-European ref

“Ugandans will benefit Canada.” The Windsor Star. August 26, 1972.

ugees was of the Ugandan Asians, with nearly 8,000 accepted between 1972 and 1974 (“Ugandan Asian Refugees in Canada”).

The same openness to refugees was not shared by the rest of North America. At the end of August, the United States announced that they would speed up their application processes, but they were not creating an emergency program to accept large numbers of refugees (Mahoney 2022). In October, it was announced that the United States would accept 1,000 refugees on a parole basis, so long as refugees had no valid citizenship and had professional capabilities (Mahoney 2022).

By the end of October, the United Nations was permitted by Uganda to organize travel documents for those who were without any citizenship (Mahoney, 2022). The Inter-governmental committee for European Migration then arranged transportation to countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Malta and Spain (Mahoney, 2022).

For the Ugandan Asian refugees, their forced migration created a sense of homelessness and ��a sense of loss as they rebuilt their lives in new places (Herbert, 2012). Alongside this loss was the development of transnational affiliations, creating rich and complex identities and a new sense of the meaning of ‘home’ (Herbert 2012). The Ugandan Asian community spread across the world, building new futures for themselves and for future generations.

References

Herbert, J. (2012). The British Ugandan Asian diaspora: multiple and contested belongings.��Global Networks,��12(3), 296–313.

Is Amin trying to blackmail Britain? (1972, August 15). The Globe and Mail, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

Mahoney, J. (2022). Chronology. The Uganda Collection, Archives and Special Collections, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University.��/uganda-collection/chronology/.

McCullough, C. (1972, August 14) . U.K. Officials study ways to head off sudden influx of Asians from Uganda. The Globe and Mail, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

McCullough, C. (1972, August 19). U.K. calls on Canada to admit Asians expelled by Uganda. The Globe and mail, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

Muhammedi, S. (2017). ‘Gifts From Amin’: The Resettlement, Integration, and Identities of Ugandan Asian Refugees in Canada. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. .

Must give up U.K. citizenship: 15,000 Asians to go to India. (1972, August 18). Ottawa Journal, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

The Ugandan Asian Refugees in Canada. The Uganda Collection, Archives and Special Collections, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/background-idi-amin-uganda-1972/.

by Olivia Musselwhite

On October 9, 1962, Uganda celebrated its independence. Political independence was achieved through the liberation of Africa from the British, but economic independence was believed to be withheld by the Asian community who controlled a significant percentage (Cosemans, 2018). According to East African leaders, the Asian community in Africa inhibited real, African independence (Cosemans, 2018). Tensions between African and Asian Ugandans were further stressed when Milton Obote became president in 1966, pursuing the “Africanization” of Uganda, which restricted Asian involvement in the economy (“Background: Idi Amin’s Uganda, 1972”). Between 1969 and 1971, due to Obote’s anti-Asian measures, more than 24,000 Asians left the country (Muhammedi, 2017).

In January 1971, General Idi Amin led a military coup against the Obote government and took power (“Background: Idi Amin’s Uganda, 1972”). Amin argued that Africa’s weakness was its belief that the imperialists needed to continue to teach Africa how to run its affairs (Muhammedi, 2018).�� On August 4^th, 1972, President Amin announced that those who were non-citizens in Uganda would be forced to leave the country, as he declared that British passport holders were the reason for social, political, and economic issues in Uganda (Muhammedi, 2017). The expulsion decree became effective as of August 9th, 1972 with the deadline for the departure of all Ugandan Asians being midnight on November 8th, 1972 (Muhammedi, 2017). Amin’s original announcement excluded Ugandan Asians who had Ugandan passports but this was reversed on August 21^st, leading to all Asians being expelled with little exemption (Muhammedi, 2017).

In order to expel the Asians for Amin’s political agenda, the charge against the Asian community was economic sabotage through profiteering, smuggling, hoarding, and currency offences (“Uganda planning to kick out 80,000 Asians”, 1972). The same day that the decree became effective, newspapers flooded with headlines about Amin’s announcement that God had directed him to expel the Asian community (“Ugandan Leader Heard Call”, 1972).

According to Western newspaper articles released after the announcement, Amin’s exodus was seen as a desperate attempt to hold Uganda together under his power. (“The British of Uganda”, 1972) The Globe and Mail described the announcement as an attempt to inflame old African prejudices to absorb popular dissatisfaction with Amin’s government�� (“Racism in Uganda”, 1972). The Asian community was not the first to be expelled under Amin’s government, as on March 30, 1972, he expelled the Israeli community from Uganda, alleging that the Israeli government was planning against him (Muhammedi, 2017).

There is a long history of South Asian people in Uganda, and by the time the expulsion was announced there had already been several generations of South Asian families who viewed Uganda as their home (Musselwhite, 2022). �Ӱ�ԭ��’s oral history interviews reveal that the expulsion was sudden and the Ugandan Asian community did not think that the announcement was serious at first, believing that it was a joke. Nizar Fakirani and his family were some of the last to leave before the expulsion deadline. Fakirani explains, “When Idi Amin declared that the Asians had 90 days to leave the country, that came as a shock, as a complete shock. There were Asians there for more than three-four generations… we never had in our minds any thought of leaving the country.”

In the beginning, the Ugandan Asian community did not pay much attention to the expulsion announcement but panic ensued when it was announced that no one would be exempted from the expulsion. Tom and Joan Francis both grew up in Uganda and were rendered stateless by President Amin’s decree. Tom explained their initial reaction to the news, “We thought, ah, it’s a joke. And Amin was known to be a bit over the top and making rash statements and so on, so we kind of dismissed it. The next day he repeated it and then we realized that he was serious and then he gave us three months to leave the country.”

Some of the Ugandan Asian community held on to the hope that President Amin would rethink the expulsion longer than others. Jitu Tanna recalls that her family was wishful that Amin would change his mind,

“After about the middle of the time, maybe a month and a half before the deadline we realized you know that this is serious and we started making plans. We started selling stuff that were in the shops, furniture, everything, started putting money in the bank and then yeah, when the day came… we left just a day before the deadline. That’s how close it was, because I think my father was always thinking that no, no, this can’t be happening, I think he will change his mind. I think it was just… wishful thinking.”

Suddenly, Uganda was no longer a safe place to stay for the South Asian community. Ugandan Asian families lined up in front of immigration offices for long hours to receive the documentation that they required to stay in Uganda but were often denied, their futures becoming suddenly uncertain. Britain requested assistance from other governments in relocating the Ugandan Asian refugees, with Canada being the first to act followed by India, Pakistan, Kenya, Malawi, United Kingdom and the United States (“Background: Idi Amin’s Uganda, 1972”). Due to Amin’s political agenda, the Ugandan Asian community saw an uncertain future, leaving Uganda, which had been home for many generations.

References

Background: Idi Amin’s Uganda, 1972. The Uganda Collection, Archives and Special Collections, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/background-idi-amin-uganda-1972/.

Cosemans, Sara. (2018). The politics of dispersal: Turning Ugandan colonial subjects into postcolonial refugees (1967–76). Migration studies 6(1), 99–119.�� .

Muhammedi, Shezan (2017). ‘Gifts From Amin’: The resettlement, integration, and identities of Ugandan Asian refugees in Canada. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4438. .

Racism in Uganda. (August 9, 1972). The Globe and Mail, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

The British of Uganda. (August 7, 1972). The London Times, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

Ugandan leader heard call: ‘God directed me to expel Asians’ (August 9, 1972). Ottawa Citizen, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

Uganda planning to kick out 80,000 Asians (August 8, 1972). Ottawa Citizen, courtesy of the Hempel Collection, Archives and Special Collections �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. /uganda-collection/archival-material/the-hempel-collection-looking-in-from-the-outside/.

by Olivia Musselwhite

In August of 1972, General Idi Amin announced the expulsion of Uganda’s South Asian population. In accounts told by members of the Ugandan Asian community in Canada, the expulsion announcement was sudden and unexpected. By the time that the expulsion was announced, there had already been many generations of South Asian families who viewed Uganda as their home.

The migration of South Asians to Uganda began prior to the arrival of European colonialists. In the 2^nd century, South Asian communities began participating in a growing network of trade in the Indian Ocean and in the Arabian Peninsula, establishing themselves in Uganda as traders and shopkeepers (Muhammedi, 2017). ��South Asian people were not the only ones making their way to East Africa, and it soon became a rich multicultural center of opportunities (Melady & Melady, as cited in Muhammedi, 2017).

In the 19^th century, there was an influx of South Asian people voluntarily migrating to East Africa for political, social, and economic gains (Muhammedi, 2017). In the 1840s, European colonialists had moved into East Africa and South Asian workers were brought to Uganda and Kenya as indentured labourers to build railways (Muhammedi, 2017). The workers were known colloquially as coolies, coming from the Hindi world “quli” meaning laborer (Muhammedi, 2017). The Ugandan railway took five years to complete (from 1896-1901) with 32,000 workers recruited and 6,724 choosing to stay in East Africa (Muhammedi, 2017).

After the railway was built, Asian migrants set up small shops or dukas along the railway routes, working long hours selling small quantities of exotic consumer goods to farmers in exchange for food items (Muhammedi, 2017). Over time, their shops were diminished by competition from local Ugandans and the Ugandan Asian community moved on to wholesale and manufacturing (Muhammedi, 2017). Britain viewed Uganda as a crown jewel of Africa and as Ugandan trade rapidly rose, the British turned to the Asian community rather than local Ugandans to run their operations (Bennion, 2002). Eventually, Ugandan Asian businesses dominated the production of Uganda’s main exports including wool and coffee (Jamal, 1976). In �Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s oral history project interviewing Ugandan Asians living in Canada, some interviewees spoke of their families who owned stores that were successful, providing them with a comfortable life in Uganda. Many interviewees spoke fondly about growing up in Uganda.

The voluntary migration of more South Asians from Goa was also encouraged by British recruitment campaigns, bringing government officials with the purpose of replicating bureaucratic systems of colonial rule already established in India, working in the public sector and as shopkeepers, tailors, cooks, and stewards (Muhammedi, 2017). Many Goans aimed to go home after working in Uganda, giving the impression that the Asian community in Uganda had selfish interests (Muhammedi 2017). Even though this idea did not reflect the aspirations of the entire Goan community in Uganda, the idea still labelled Asians as foreigners or indentured labourers who “forgot to return home” (Muhammedi, 2017).

The second and third generations of the Ugandan Asian community began obtaining specialized training and university degrees in East Africa, which led to their contributions to law, medicine and teaching (Muhammedi, 2017). By the time of Ugandan independence in 1962, the Ugandan Asian community made up a small portion of the population but earned a large percentage of the national income (Mahoney, 2022). By the early 1970s, it was estimated that Ugandan Asians controlled around eighty to ninety percent of the commercial sector and Ugandan trade (Muhammedi, 2017). Their professions secured them middle and upper class positions in society, encouraged by British imperialism that actively sought to make the Ugandan Asian community a buffer between the imperialists and local Ugandans (Muhammedi, 2017).

The majority of local Ugandans remained wage labourers and domestic servants, with the general perception being that the British had wealth and power, the Asian community had wealth without power and the African community with neither wealth nor power (Cosemans, 2018). During Milton Obote’s presidency starting in 1966, tensions between African and Asian Ugandans was already heightened and Obote pursued what he called the “Africanization” of Uganda, restricting movement of non-citizen Ugandan Asians in the economy to fill positions with African Ugandans (Mahoney, 2022).

The deep historical roots of South Asian people in Uganda are complex, with South Asian communities migrating to Uganda for new opportunities, contributing to East Africa’s future as well as investing in their own. Many generations of South Asian families recognized Uganda as their home before their sudden expulsion, uprooting themselves once again and starting new lives across the world.

References

Bennion, J. (2002).��Asians in Uganda.��PBS Frontline World: Roughcut.��.

Cosemans, S. (2018). The politics of dispersal: Turning Ugandan colonial subjects into postcolonial refugees (1967–76). Migration Studies 6(1), 99–119. ��

Jamal, V. (1976). Asians in Uganda, 1880-1972: Inequality and expulsion. The Economic History Review��29(4), 602–616.��.

Mahoney, J. (2022). Chronology. The Uganda Collection, Archives and Special Collections, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University.��/uganda-collection/chronology/.

Muhammedi, S. (2017). ‘Gifts from Amin’: The resettlement, integration, and identities of Ugandan Asian refugees in Canada. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4438. .

Tuesday, November 30th is , a day to consider charitable giving. For Giving Tuesday, consider contributing to the Ugandan Asian Archive fund to help support the Beyond Resettlement conference and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan Asian expulsion.

Gifts made on Giving Tuesday will be matched dollar-for-dollar on a first-come, first-served basis starting at midnight (EST) on November 30th.

To donate on Tuesday, November 30th, please see out here:

The conference will explore the historical context of the expulsion, Canada’s response and reception of a large number of these refugees, the larger diaspora of Ugandan Asian refugees, and the lived experiences of the community in Canada over the past 50 years. The conference aims yield several lessons on pathways to integration, memory, and identity.

Submissions will now be accepted until Friday, October 15th, 2021.