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Impeccably turned out
guests, smooth organisation and the combined
efforts of young and old all aided this
charity event. And generosity was certainly
in evidence. Apart from the £35 per
person ticket price, many had sponsored
prizes for the raffle and there were numerous
bids of £3000, £1000 and £500
at the auction. The aim being to raise funds
for the school whose former alumni include
Yasmin Alibhai Brown, columnist for 'The
Independent' newspaper. Even the teachers
have done well - Mrs Niru Desai who taught
Gujarati at the school was awarded the MBE
in this year's Queen's honours list and
Mr Ramen Bhattarcharyya was a former Mayor
of Camden (1993-1994).
In fact nearly all
of the former pupils have also fared well
- many running their own businesses, many
helping to run other people's businesses,
lawyers, doctors, accountants, researchers,
all educated to the very highest standard.
And education is the key. Considered by
many to be the finest school in Uganda,
Kololo engenders deep loyalty and affection
among its pupils and teachers alike. How
many other schools can generate reunion
parties in Canada and the UK?
Nostalgia
is driving many of these Ugandan Asians
to put hand into pocket to help out a school
that has been ravaged over 30 years. Much
like Uganda itself. Formerly described as
the "Pearl of Africa" the country
has been decimated since Idi Amin expelled
the Asians in 1972, civil uncertainty followed
and lately the AIDS epidemic has played
its part too. Its currency has devalued
from 20 Ugandan shillings to the pounds
in 1972 to nearly 1200 Ugandan shillings
to the pound today. Former Kololo biology
teacher, Graham Hobster (pictured right)
told me that his department at the school
had been closed and His Excellency Professor
George Kirya, Ugandan High Commissioner
advised about the need for basics like text
books.
Chalk and textbooks
for the country's foremost secondary school,
can you image the same for say Eton in the
UK? Not readily I wager. Asians in the UK
not only contribute much to the UK education
system by competing fiercely for places
at the very best schools, without them it
would be like knocking one of the legs off
a three-legged stool. Uganda is a prime
example.
On August 5th 1972,
Idi Amin, then president of Uganda announced
the forceful expulsion of all 70,000 Asians
from his country with confiscation of their
homes and businesses. For its part in aiding
his coup the year before, Britain took in
28,000 of these "refugees", trying
to disperse them to various regions of the
UK in a bid to steer them away from areas
of existing Asian settlement. Some 23% of
these refugees were helped by relatives
or friends already settled in the UK and
a further 39% ultimately found their own
accommodation*.The remainder of the expelled
Asians opted to go to Canada, the USA, Australia,
India and some 800 to Sweden.
Having left Uganda
with virtually nothing except the clothes
they owned, many are now reaching the top
of their profession in all walks of life.
Much has been made of the success of these
Ugandan Asians. Hardly surprising if you
consider that many were already skilled
businessmen in Uganda. Others had the benefit
of education, a hard work mentality and
the support of a community in exile. It
is not surprising that Ugandan Asians are
successful, it is more surprising that it
took us 30 years to find out.
Many like Mr Manubhai
Madhvani, who features annually in the Asian
Rich List, had major interests in Uganda
and have returned to reclaim their businesses
and properties. Others have chosen to sell
their reclaimed assets and close a chapter
in their family history. Whichever option
is chosen, one wonders if the country ever
likely to recover its crown? If only 70,000
Asians can do this for Uganda, just imagine
what 2,000,000 Asians are doing for the
UK right now.
Click
here to view more Kololo
UK Reunion photos.
Kololo Sites
Graham Hobster's website
can be found at.
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/ghobster/Schools/Kololo%20web/kololo-index.htm
The Kololo 2001 reunion
site can be found at.
http://communities.msn.com/KololiansReunion2001/_whatsnew.msnw
Idi Amin Still in the
News Today. Visit Robert S Hayes collection
of recent articles about Idi Amin and his
brutal regime.
http://www.ugandamission.net/aboutug/articles/amin.html
References
'Ugandan
Asians in Sweden 25 years after expulsion'
1997, Charles Western, Centre for Research
in International Migration and Ethnic relations,
Stockholm University.
'The
Heritage and Contribution of Refugees in
the UK - A Credit to the Nation', 1997.
Refugee Council Publication
'The
Ugandan Asian Programme, 1973 by Vaughan
Robinson.
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