Expulsion@50

As part of the expulsion, thousands of people lost their citizenship and became stateless. Anthony Vassiliadis speaks about the way ICEM, now the International Organization for Migration (IOM), facilitated the resettlement of 5000 Ugandan Asians back in 1972.

"The International Red Cross issued travel documents that were valid for one trip only. ICEM chartered planes that flew people out from Uganda to camps in Europe. From there, different countries accepted them as refugees.”

Music: Debussy - Arabesque No.2

This episode was first released in March 2022

Anthony Vassiliadis, now aged 90 years, shares his experience of managing the resettlement programme of Ugandan Asians back in 1972. 

This episode goes live on 20 March 2022.

As we see the horrors of the refugee crisis unfolding in Ukraine, Ashifa Dhillon shares what happened to her family almost 50 years ago. The pain of separation is all too familiar and extremely distressing to hear.

“My mother, who lived like a ‘queen’, lost everything because of what Idi Amin did. She never ever saw all her siblings, children and grandchildren again in one place.”

Music: Que Sera, Sera, Doris Day – instrumental version

This episode was first released in March 2022

Ashifa Dhillon shares what happened to her family following the announcement by President Idi Amin, back in August 1972. This episode goes live on 10 March 2022.

Back in September 2021, I had a conversation with Ryhana Manji and her mother, Rubab Hassanali. This is a story of overcoming adversity. The family left Uganda and ended up in New York via Rome. All lives changed as a result of the expulsion. However, the impact was most acutely felt by the women, who had to adjust to a completely new life. “We never spoke about what happened to us as a community and I feel that was a really big mistake. That is a big lesson for the future.”

This podcast is in English and in Gujarati

Music: Grand Orchestre Taarab de Zanzibar – Rajaab Suleiman

This episode was first released in March 2022

In this story of survival, mother and daughter share their respective experiences of leaving Uganda and ending up in New York City. Rubab Hassanali, aged 92 years is the oldest contributor to this series. This episode goes live on 1 March 2022.

As part of Season 3, I have a conversation with Tina Athaide who shares her journey of writing the novel, ‘Orange for the Sunsets’. As an educator, she noticed there were hardly any books that depicted the experiences of children of colour. Motivated to capture her heritage, she wrote many versions of the book. It took 12 years and 30 rejections before it was finally published.

“What I like about the book now is that it isn’t biased towards what happened to the Indians, but also gives credence to the African experience.”

Music: Jambo - Hakuna Matata by Boney M

This episode was first released in February 2022

Catch the full story of Tina Athaide's journey of writing the book, Orange for the Sunsets, out on 15 February 2022.

As part of Season 3, I have a conversation with Claire Duende. She is the author of the novel, ‘The Fortunicity of Birdie Dalal’. While she has no family/personal connection to Uganda, she found herself getting more and more curious about the expulsion. “Many people have said they had no idea this had happened. One good thing is that the book shines a light on that historical event.”

Music: Jambalaya by Jo Stafford (1952)

This episode was first released in January 2022

Claire Duende shares her journey of writing the book, The Fortunicity of Birdie Dalal. This episode goes live on 1 February 2022.