The Courage To Fight Back.

Maharani was too young to remember much of her life in Uganda. At just three years of age, she was expelled from the country with her family, leaving behind a prosperous family business and many outdoor adventures with her siblings. With great regret, they flew from Mbale to Kent, UK.

While in the UK, they experienced a range of physical and cultural hardships. From the camp where they initially stayed to the neighbourhood surrounding their first house, they had to deal with frequent episodes of racism, and they felt totally unwanted.

Thankfully, they possessed the grit to stand their ground against those who tried to bring them down. Marahani, in particular, encountered grave personal struggles in the UK, but now she uses these to fuel her endeavours towards making the world a better place. And these tribulations have only strengthened the love she feels for her true home: Uganda.

Below is an extract from Maharani’s powerful story.

“I’ve also faced numerous tribulations myself since leaving Uganda, which have led me to become a magistrate as well as run a voluntary organisation that helps victims of domestic abuse. Having had first-hand experience with the issue myself, our cause is hugely important to me, and the organisation is one into which I can pour my heart and soul. My life didn’t quite turn out as I imagined it would, but it was at my lowest that I picked myself up and continued my fight for a better future. I now have two amazing daughters who I love and for whom I’m very proud, and in my free time, I like to socialise with a close-knit group of family and friends. I survived some dark days, and put them all behind me.

Uganda has remained alive in my memories. I miss its weather, lifestyle, and sense of community—a place where everyone was equal and happy. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that I went back there to rediscover my roots, forty-six years after fleeing the country. I felt at home and fell in love with Uganda all over again. And so after another couple of years I went back again, and this time I met family whom I’d never met before. I’ll continue to go back to Uganda very often, because the passion I feel for the place is something words cannot express.”

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.