Through Trials & Tribulations, Perseverance Prevails.
Until the age of seventeen, Mukund was growing up in Jinja, Uganda, making friends and taking in the country’s outdoor delights. But in 1972, recognising Uganda’s growing civil unrest, they left their home to set up new lives for themselves in the UK.
He made the most of his early days in London, and had resolute ambitions for his future. But he was quickly confronted with obstacles on his path, having to endure a range of racial prejudices from work colleagues and university peers alike.
Mukund didn’t let that stop him. He took his education much further than most, and later built a successful business from scratch while providing for his wife and children. He’s happy with where he is today, but feels closely connected with where he came from.
Below is an extract Mukund’s gripping story.
“While completing my A-levels in the UK, I decided to take a year off and got a job at a telecommunications company. But after some time working there, I began to feel unwanted. I felt this way for various reasons, such as the fact that all of the more unfavourable tasks were consistently dumped on me, and it was apparent that this was racially motivated. I was lucky that my friends from Uganda lived nearby, and they certainly helped keep my spirits up—but at work, I was miserable. Against all sorts of racial prejudices, I quickly learned that my career wasn’t going to flourish, and that if I wanted to overcome this barrier, I had to educate myself further.”
We will be releasing contributors’ full stories at a later date, so please stay tuned for them. If you would like to read a full story now, then please see the first five stories posted here on our website.
This is a project by AFFCAD UK to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the exodus of Ugandan Asians, by collating and archiving the stories of those involved. If you would like to contribute a story, do get in touch here.