The 50th anniversary of one of the world’s tragic ethnic cleansing events is upon us, and many are too young to remember, including Jodi Bucholtz, manager of the Local Immigration Partnership.
In 1972, in the East African nation of Uganda, then dictator Idi Amin ordered 80 thousand citizens of Indian origin out of his country with only the shirts on their backs.
Uganda was a former British colony- and as elsewhere, the colonial masters had tampered with the population mix by importing Asians of Indian extraction to serve as Uganda’s mercantile class.
Many had lived in the African nation for generations, but their position of relative privilege was resented by not only the country’s Black dictator, but many of his followers.
Amin is believed to have been mentally unstable- and was also a cannibal.
Jodi learned more about the depth of the tragedy from one of the Local Immigration Partnership volunteers.
The speakers are Noreen Nasim, Mike Molloy and Mansoor Ladha, all with personal or family experience with the expulsion.
Because it is a ZOOM session, the presenters will be dialing in from around the globe to share their reflections of the tragedy.
liplanarkrenfrew.ca
By Rick Stow