DISPLACED PEOPLE
RE-SETTLED SUCCESSFULLY
BY
ARMAND RODRIGUES
Remember the
burly, self-appointed African leader who gave himself a plethora of honorific titles,
bedecked himself with an array of medals, and kept the severed head of an
"enemy" as a prized trophy in his fridge? Yes, he was also responsible for killing off
thousands of his countrymen, including some of his well-educated Ministers who
he saw as a threat to his grave educational deficiencies or to his brute power.
Also, when Britain refused to pander to his wishes for financial aid, he got
some naive Britishers to carry him on their shoulders in a parade, and
embarrassed Britain by captioning the photo “White Man's Burden”! In case you have forgotten, he was none
other than the infamous Idi Amin of Uganda.
He is remembered
for other atrocities too. In 1972, by means of Decree No.17 he summarily
expelled some 60,000 Asian civil servants, businessmen and their families from
Uganda. These people had been there
all their lives and well before Uganda gained independence from Britain in
1962. Indeed, the civil servants, and
many of their parents before them, were engaged by the British Government and
continued to serve the African Government, loyally, after the British
relinquished the Protectorate.
Internationally, it was recognised that this small Asian population was
the backbone of the country in more ways than one. Although less than half of 1% of the
population of 15 million, they contributed about 70% of the annual
revenue. The post-expulsion chaos was
palpable and swift. The public purse
was looted by the new custodians and the country's infrastructure slid into
ruin.
But what about
the obverse side of the coin? The
spotlight revealed the panic-stricken expellees scrambling to find a safe haven
just about anywhere. Homes, personal
effects, cars and businesses were abandoned.
Or, army personnel and the locals simply helped themselves to anything
they fancied, right in front of the bewildered owners. Some Asians buried their valuables in the
hope of going back some day to retrieve them.
It was common knowledge that outward bound refugees would be roughed up
by the army and be relieved of all valuables, including funds. Women were subjected to intrusive, body
searches. Uganda, which was a model of
civil rectitude, and was described by Winston Churchill as the Pearl of Africa,
had succumbed to the whims of a single ingrate. Destiny had dealt the Asians a very cruel
blow. They scattered in all directions
out of Uganda.
To their credit,
the Government of Canada reacted in a very timely manner, agreed to accept
A significant
number of the refugees, mobilised forces, and mounted an immediate rescue
mission. The key players of the day
were Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the Prime Minister, Bryce Mackersy, and Minister
for Immigration, and the Aga Khan, a personal friend of Trudeau's. In Uganda, Roger St. Vincent was the
Charge de Affaires for Canada. The
cause was purely humanitarian.
Logistics were soon in place and ‘planes were dispatched from Canada to
pick up the hapless refugees from Entebbe airport, for direct flights
back. This was a precedent-setting
chapter in Canada's history. It was
the first operation of its kind to rescue non-European refugees.
Elaborate
reception and re-settlement plans were put in place, post-haste, by
Canada. In Toronto, a special
Immigration kiosk was set up at the Toronto Dominion Centre, downtown. Similar arrangements were made in
Montreal. Some 9,000 refugees ended up
in Canada.
Winter clothing
and boots, plus anything else needed to start from scratch, was provided or
made available on a "help yourself" basis at a convenient depot. People could literally have come with
nothing but the shirt on their backs.
Everything else had been anticipated.
Based on regional employment needs, people were matched to jobs in
cities where they had the best chance of being successfully absorbed, and were
earmarked for those cities, Accommodation and school admissions were also arranged
and monetary allowances provided until people were back on their feet in the
workforce.
Employers
welcomed the refugees with open arms and, in a matter of weeks; the refugees
were weaned of Government handouts. It
was recognised that because of their Western orientation and English language
skills, the refugees took to Canada like "ducks to water". This was especially true of the Goans, who
benefited from the lengthy Portuguese presence in their motherland since 1510,
and who had thus become the first in the East to come under the New World
order.
More importantly,
Canada benefited too. The refugees --- both,
men and women --- came with an English education, exemplary work ethics, and
years of valuable professional experience, that had not been acquired at
Canada's expense. Qualitatively,
Canada had never before accepted a better group of refugees. There
was a strong perception of success in the endeavour and re-settlement process,
shared by the refugees and Government.
Detached from
their blighted past and their harrowing experiences, the Ugandans showed
intestinal fortitude and dug in with renewed hope for themselves and their children. Many upgraded their academic qualifications
if only for the mythical Canadian content.
Their quality of life kept getting better by the day and before long
they were firmly on their feet and pulling their weight as full contributing
citizens in the land of their adoption.
Nearly all bought homes as soon as they could scrape enough funds
together to make a down-payment.
After all, they were used to a very comfortable lifestyle, with the
added advantage of domestics, until they were rudely uprooted.
The refugees have reason to count their
blessings in the comparative tranquility of their adoptive land, and to regard the
Uganda "stopover" as a closed chapter in their lives. They are proud
to be Canadian.
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