On Thursday 1 September the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation is hosting a panel discussion with distinguished guests to examine the forced expulsion of the Asian community from Uganda by President Idi Amin Dada in 1972, the experiences of those who came to Britain and the contribution they have made to Britain.
The event will be hosted from 5:30pm at Arundells, the home of Sir Edward Heath, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who welcomed over 28,000 Ugandan Asian refugees with open arms despite some fierce political and public opposition. The panel discussion will complement an exhibition on the Uganda Asians Crisis at Arundells which will run from 12th August until 2nd November 2022.
The evening’s proceedings will bring together key contemporary players to examine the mass expulsion of Uganda’s Asian community, their experiences in Britain, the political battle for acceptance and the lessons learned for policy today. The panel will be moderated by Praveen Moman, conservationist, founder of Volcanoes Safaris, and former UK Government Special Adviser.
The panel will also include:
- Her Excellency Nimisha Madhvani, the Republic of Uganda’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (formerly Uganda’s Ambassador to the Nordic countries. Notably, Her Excellency was also a victim of the expulsion.
- Rt Hon Lord (David) Hunt, Chairman of the Young Conservatives in 1972, who led the opposition to Enoch Powell and his allies’ attempts to derail the Government’s policy at the Party Conference.
- Cllr Ravi Govindia, the highly respected Conservative leader of Wandsworth Council (2010-2022). Notably, Cllr Govindia was in a West Country resettlement Camp before reading law at University.
- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, renowned journalist, author and broadcaster, regular columnist for the i newspaper and the Evening Standard, and founding member of British Muslims for Secular Democracy.
- Giles Foden, acclaimed novelist and author of the Last King of Scotland, a story about Idi Amin, and co-author of ‘Tide of Fortune: A Family Tale’ with Manubhai Madhvani.
The panel discussion will reflect the latest exhibition at Arundells ‘Exodus: the Uganda Asians’ Crisis of 1972’, which tells the remarkable story of the expulsion of the Asian community from Uganda, the initial resistance from some political elements to their admission to Britain – even though they were British passport holders – and the courageous decision by the Government of Edward Heath to honour Britain’s humanitarian obligations – and how from arriving virtually penniless, the community have made new and successful lives in Britain over the last 50 years. Theatre and film director Jatinder Verma is also making a collage of interviews with Uganda Asian emigrants especially for the event and the exhibition.
The exhibition has been made possible through the generous support of the Ahluwalia Family Foundation and of the Rumi Foundation.
The Foundation is grateful for the work of its Advisory Group on the exhibition: Rt Hon Shailesh Vara MP, Cllr Ravi Govindia and the founder of Volcanoes Safaris and former government special adviser, Praveen Moman.
Tickets and further details are available here: https://arundells.org/events/ugandaasianscrisis/
