Gita Kotecha-Walls, 50, is one of those that made the pilgrimage home on May 22 to see her roots and the beauty of Uganda, a country where she was born, before then president Idi Amin expelled Indians in 1972.
Kotecha and 37 others sunk on their knees and kissed the ground at Entebbe international airport the moment they landed in the Pearl of Africa aboard an Emirates flight from the UK, where they have stayed since expulsion.
Once upon a time generations of Asians flourished in Kampala and its suburbs of Mengo, Kamwokya, Old Kampala and beyond, dominating in trade and commerce.
But in 1972 Amin arbitrarily expelled more than 70,000 of them and handed their businesses to mostly clueless Ugandans that ran them into the ground. The Asian-Ugandans were given 90 days to leave or face prosecution and were allowed not more than 60 pound sterling.
Last Monday, one returnee visitor removed his shirt in excitement, raised his arms and shouted: “Oh Uganda, my country where I was born! I have never forgotten it; that is why I have returned to see my roots. I love Uganda and its good weather,” Metha Walls said.
Kotecha and her group that included people mainly older than 50, could not hide their emotions as many of them admired the beauty of the motherland they were ejected from, while others shed tears of joy. All of them were remembering a country they were born in but left in tears 45 years ago.
“I love Uganda, evergreen, the huge Lake Victoria with fresh water and the winds which I am breathing now. I have never forgotten my country, Uganda. I am very glad to return home,” Kotecha said, hugging her British husband who accompanied her.
Kotecha said she was born in Nsambya hospital in 1967 and it was one of the places she wanted to visit most, and later visit Masaka where her great grandparents used to live.
She said although they left the country with horrible memories, leaving most of their belongings behind, she always felt like a part of her belonged to Uganda – one of the reasons why she came to trace her roots in Kampala, Masaka, Jinja, Iganga, Lira and Arua where her parents stayed and did business. Ahmed Mitha and Sunil Somia were born in Teso and West Nile, respectively.
They recall how in 1972 on their way to Entebbe airport they were checked by soldiers at different roadblocks to confirm that they were not leaving with more than the stipulated kilograms of their belongings.
“I left with only 90 pounds with my family to England,” Mitha said.
Orimila Vadera said he came to explore Uganda’s wonderful tourism and move to different places such as the Source of River Nile where some of their colleagues drowned after the expulsion, since they had nowhere to go and flights were expensive.
“I will also visit other tourism sites like Murchison Falls and Lake Mburo national parks and Iganga district where my parents used to do business,” Vadera said.
He said returning to Uganda after 45 years is a lifetime experience. Ramesh Kotecha, who was born in Masaka, recalled how Amin’s soldiers at the airport demanded for the gold ring she was wearing and they took it as she was boarding the plane to India, where they first went since some of her relatives did not have British passports to be allowed into the UK.
“Those who had British passports from Uganda went to the UK directly, but reached there in the winter season, which was so painful to us since we were not used to cold weather in Uganda and lacked warm clothes,” she said.
“We had a warm welcome from the British and we found them with big posters reading ‘welcome to Leicester city’. It’s a city where majority of foreigners settle in the UK. But before joining the city, we slept in camps for some months since we were many, as they looked for temporary houses for us,” she said.
The British government gave them warm clothes, food, shelter and they were later permanently settled in Leicester city.
“We started looking for jobs and many of our people ended up working in factories, hotels, restaurants and shops as cleaners to raise money and pay for our permanent accommodation. We also worked for long hours to raise enough money to pay for food, water and electricity bills and others,” she said of the culture shock most received, considering that many had been part of Uganda’s affluent or middle-class.
From a high life in Kampala, many of them took more than two jobs in England to survive, while those interested in professional careers such as doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers, etc, had to first study further, to get the jobs.
Vadera, who left Masaka when he was 19 years old, has been living in London since the expulsion and only when he was convinced that Uganda is now safe could he return to see his roots.
“Since Amin gave us a short time to leave, I didn’t have enough money for an air ticket. However, the community where I was staying and Red Cross fundraised for me to buy the air ticket,” he recalled.
Dhiren Morjaria, the personal travel advisor, Web Travel Shop, and coordinator of the 38 Asians’ trip, said they were in Uganda only for a short time, but had no plans of reclaiming what was rightfully theirs.
“I was born in Iganga. I am here to trace my roots in the district and also see the beauty of my country. None of us came here to claim the property we left. Others have come to find out if they can do business with Ugandans,” Morjaria said.
Morjaria, who coordinated the group with Great Lakes Safaris’ Amos Wekesa, said, “Most of our property was lost and taken during the expulsion. There is nothing to claim. We have only come to visit our childhood places in peace, since we are all citizens of the UK.”
Morjaria, now a tour operator in Leicester, said it had taken them so long to return to Uganda because they were afraid Uganda was still unsafe for them and they would not be welcomed.
“But Great Lakes Safaris has given us a warm welcome which showed us that Ugandans are now friendly people to us. My son too has helped a lot to convince people to return by showing them a video presentation of Uganda’s beauty and how friendly Ugandans are,” he said, adding that Uganda is ranked second among the most friendly countries in the world, according to Expat Insider 2016 index done by InterNations, which surveyed more than 14,000 respondents.
Morjaria said the trip was supposed to happen earlier, but an Ebola outbreak in Uganda five years ago delayed it. Wekesa, the chief executive officer of Great Lakes Safaris, who received the group at the airport, said they were staying for 14 days to identify areas of investment and tourism.
“This group alone has invested about Shs 250m in the economy for the next 14 days, through accommodation, food, buying agricultural products and transport. So, if we bring bigger groups of such kind, we boost our economy,” Wekesa said.
According to the tourism expert, last year 25 people visited Uganda on a similar arrangement and in 2022, they plan to bring a bigger number when the Asian community is marking 50 years since Amin’s expulsion.
The current group is expected to meet with officials from Uganda Investment Authority, Uganda Tourism Board and Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga to discuss different areas of investment and how to boost Uganda’s tourism.
“This group is coming from Leicester city; three of them are very important in the economy of the UK, which can help Uganda through the discussions,” he said.
Wekesa said he has been encouraging expelled Asian-Ugandans to visit the country whenever he visits their cities for tourism exhibitions and other business.
While many Ugandans of Asian origin have since returned, reintegrated and reclaimed their property from the Departed Asians’ Property Custodian Board, many stayed put in Europe and Canada, content to simply forget a painful season in their lives.
So, while the trips are reopening many eyes to a home they were forcefully evicted from, it is also much needed closure they never got.
zurah@observer.ug
