WEBLINKS
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FACTS
| In September 1972 Ugandan Asians began to arrive in the UK in their thousands.
When Ugandan Asians first arrived in Britain they were housed temporarily in "Resettlement Camps" which were old military bases.
The camps were around the UK including Suffolk, Berkshire, Surrey, Lincolnshire and East Anglia. They were staffed by Community Service Volunteers made up of local residents.
Ultimately, many families chose to live near relatives already in the country, predominantly in Leicester and London.
Many arrived here with nothing. Twelve months after the resettlement, a quarter were still unemployed, with three quarters housed unsatisfactorily or living on the poverty line.
Just 10 years later research indicated Ugandan Asians acquired better formal qualifications than their British counterparts, were over represented in self-employment and had achieved a higher economic status.
In the 30 years since their expulsion, the Ugandan Asians have made such economic and cultural progress, that today they are among the most successful business people in the country.
They are now one of Britain's wealthiest ethnic minority communities, making frequent appearances on the Times Newspaper Asian Rich List.
Tarique Ghaffur, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, is a British Ugandan Asian.
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 |  | Thirty years ago, the military dictator, Idi Amin, gave the Asian community living in Uganda just 90 days to leave the country.
| 听 |  | Mandy with her family in 2002
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Around 60,000 Ugandan Asians left amid much confusion and violence. Some went to India, the US and Canada and around 30,000 came to Britain, on a hastily arranged airlift to Stansted Airport.
大象传媒 WM reporter and producer, Mandy de Souza, was just a baby at the time but her family were among the thousands who fled to Britain to make a new life for themselves.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of this event, at the end of August 2002, Mandy returned to Uganda with her father for the first time since their abrupt departure in 1972.
 I've always wondered about what sort of life my family had [in Uganda]. My mum and two eldest sisters speak of Uganda as if it were a paradise. Yet none of them ever wanted to go back, which I found odd...at the beginning of this year, I decided the time was right to return to my birthplace and retrace my roots.
 | 听 | 大象传媒 WM presenter Mandy de Souza
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Mandy's father, Joe, now 70 years-old, was reluctant to go back to Uganda. His memories of their final days there are of a brutal and terrifying climate in which armed soldiers patrolled the streets.
But the emotional "homecoming" proved a revelation. In the three decades since the de Souzas left their home in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, the country has transformed itself. For Joe it was a new Uganda, a thriving, confident nation whose people look to the future with optimism.
Mandy said:
"My Dad always spoke of Kampala as an unsafe, intimidating place, with high crime rates and a hostile atmosphere. But he was amazed at the changes. Kampala was surprisingly modern - full of shops, restaurants and even a large cluster of internet cafes. It was friendly and laid back and we both agreed it felt far safer than any English cities we'd been to."
Mandy and her father went back to the hospital where she was born and also to their old house on the university campus where her father had been working.
Mandy said:
| 听 |  | Mandy outside the house
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"That was a sad day for both of us. I'd seen photos of me taken outside that house and it always looked beautiful, like a holiday home. Like most Asians there at the time, we'd had servants and I'd always imagined this idyllic existence, a life of luxury that we never regained after arriving penniless in England.
"But in fact the house was very small. And though it may have looked nice once, now it's dilapidated and shabby. My Dad had hoped to meet up with some of his old servants and work colleagues - he'd brought a suitcase stuffed with presents for them. But we found out most of them were either dead or no longer living there."
| 听 |  | The Cardinal Father Wamala
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However they did manage to meet one familiar face from the past. The catholic priest who baptised Mandy, Father Wamala, is now a Cardinal and is still based at the catholic cathedral in Kampala. He remembers the de Souza family very well and for Joe it was an emotional reunion.
Mandy said the trip had been even better than she expected, even though it re-affirmed how English she feels:
"Returning to Uganda, the birthplace I was too young to remember, was the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition for me. It was a beautiful country, exactly as my mum and sisters had described.
| 听 |  | Mandy and her dad
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"But I wasn't prepared for the warmth and friendliness of the people. My family left in a hostile climate where Asians were seen as the enemy. That's all changed now, with Asians being invited back and many being compensated for the property and businesses they lost 30 years ago.
I didn't feel like it was home though. I'm proud to be Goan, and proud to have been born in Uganda. But going back to Kampala proved just how English I feel. My home is here in the UK and always will be. It's where I belong."
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