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Almost
all of the families that were initially housed in the south-west
moved on to other parts of the country. But there are just a few
families that decided to make Devon their home.
Among
them are Manoj Chitnavis from Exeter, Deepashri Elsen from Dawlish
and Bill Meswania from Plymouth. (Listen to their personal accounts).
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| A
new start - the families get used to life in Devon |
The
tyrannical Ugandan President, Idi Amin, had given all of the of
the country's 60000 Asians just 90 days to leave the country. Although
the refugees fled to all parts of the globe, around half choose
to come to Britain.
From
a settled, comfortable and enjoyable life in the tropical sunshine,
many of the families found themselves living in cold draughty army
huts - some on the edge of Dartmoor.
Almost
overnight, the Ugandan Asians had to adapt to a foreign way of life
- a different climate, different language and a different diet.
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| The
family in Dawlish - 30 years on |
But
it was also a learning experience for the many volunteers that were
on hand to welcome families to the resettlement camps.
Bunty Charles was the co-ordinator of the WRVS volunteers in Honiton,
and remembers the experience well. "We worked like demons" she said,
and continued "Its an awful thing to say, but it was probably the
happiest time of life".
For
a group of people who had Indian origins, who had spent their entire
lives in Africa, and now faced an uncertain future in Britain, it
was probably the biggest upheaval of a lifetime.
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