Nostalgia As Asians Expelled by Idi Amin Return
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Tags: africa, Asians, Entebbe Airport, Kampala, President Idi Amin Dada, South Asians, Uganda
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Gita Kotecha Watts was only six years old when her parents hurriedly prepared her for exile. She looked on as her father and mother panicked to find their way out of Uganda; the desperate, endless phone calls and the pressure that dappled on their faces.
The Uganda president Idi Amin Dada had issued a directive for the expulsion of Asians, mostly of Indian descent, from the country, citing economic exploitation and disloyalty to his presidency.
Kotecha’s parents, along an estimated 80,000 South Asians, had to leave Uganda within 90 days or face unkind repercussions, including death. Some could not envision another life, some perplexed at what to do next. Many ended their lives in a suicidal way, many documented to have driven straight into River Nile.
For the returnees, the loaded memories and warm welcome was reason to celebrate. So as 50-year-old Kotecha waited for Great Lakes Safaris’ staff to give them a green light to travel out of Entebbe International Airport and to Kampala, she gave interviews to press.
“It is my first time in Uganda since leaving in 1972. I am here to see the sights and take memories of this lovely country that my parents loved so much. My grandfather came here in the 1920s. My mother came here in 1958. We lived in Mukono and we had shops and businesses that my father owned. I was here with my two sisters and two brothers. We had to leave in a rushed way because of Idi Amin’s deadline. My mother and father passed away. I am back to take back the memories that we left behind,” a jolly Kotecha narrated, excited more by her husband’s presence.
She encouraged her husband, Simon Watts, to come to Uganda to see the country in which she was born. Dhirendra Morjaria, the director of Trip Down Memory Lane, a tour company in Leicester, England, organised the trip with the help of Amos Wekesa, the director of Great Lakes Safaris.
“I was born in Iganga in 1960, then spent my childhood in Soroti and Arua districts. My father was a trader. We left Uganda in 1972 when Idi Amin gave us a 90-day notice to leave the country, leaving all our possessions behind and started a new life in the UK with 90 pounds. I am glad to be back to visit Uganda because it has been my dream for four years,” Ms Morjaria, explained.
And being out in England, and running one of the biggest tour companies, is satisfying but home is where the heart was and is, a tale that resonates well with much of the group, only in different words and expression.
The nostalgia at the runway was demonstrative as some sang, hugged each other, while many went down on their knees and raised hands to the skies in glee for being back home to a country they left under unpleasant circumstances.
The group consists of 38 Asians and are here to retrace their roots. They will be travelling to various parts of the country to their home towns, as well as tourist sites, including but not limited to Murchison Falls National Park up north and the Source of the Nile in Jinja, in Eastern Uganda for 14 days.
“Even before they settle down, they love the weather. This group will leave about Shs300m in the economy that they will be in the country. They are going to various towns. They will be meeting the minister of Tourism, official at Uganda Investment Authority and Speaker of Parliament. We are going to engage them in investing in Uganda,” Mr Wekesa explained.
