In August 1972, President of the Second Republic of Uganda, General Idi Amin Dada announced the mass expulsion of Asians in Uganda in 3 months (90 days). This book tells the story of an Indian family living in Uganda and what it means to leave your home behind and what it takes to start again.
This book is my first book about Asians in Africa. The Asians came to Uganda in the 1800s to build the railways. After the railways were completed, many set up stores and warehouses and became successful. In 1972, Gen. Idi Amin Dada accused the Asians of smuggling money in and out of the country and sabotaging the economy of Uganda, this led to the expulsion of 80,000 Ugandan Asians from their "home".
“But it was the history of the English and Germans and French in Africa – the shelves were full: no space for Indians, nor Africans. How could you disappear from history books you’d never been inside in the first place? And no one bothered to write it down on paper; their history had been told by one person to another. Words changed, parts left out, or added..”
Kololo Hill is narrated from 4 Point of Views: Jaya (the mother), Pran (the first son), Vijay (the second son) and Asha (Pran’s wife). The author’s choice of telling the story in a multiple PoV made me appreciate each character’s struggle. It gave me a better understanding of the place they called “home” and what it means to be sacked from the only place you’ve ever known all your life.
This book is revealing, insightful, thought-provoking and emotional. My favourite character is Jaya – she is the definition of a badass survivor. Her story of how she left India to join her husband in Uganda and her struggles in a new country is my favourite part of the story.
“The people who’d crossed the black water to Africa were a whole new caste of their own, with their own language, their own food and their own way of life”
The story is divided into two parts: their life during the 90 days expulsion (tension and harassment) and their life in England. I enjoyed every bit of the two parts equally. I loved that Shah’s told both parts of the story. Their experience in the UK broke my heart – I thought things were going to get better once they landed in the UK but the family had to deal a new set of challenges – racism in their new environment.
The part of the book that explored the Asian – Uganda relationships were very insightful, sensitive and deep: Jaya – December and Mrs Goswami – Grace.
“Even though Asians and Ugandans lived in the same country, shopped at the same markets, went to school together, worked together, drank together, the rules were clear: that was where it ended. An invisible line divided them”
Shah’s writing is beautiful. (Some of her sentences were poetic). Her words are heavy with emotions seeking to tell an unforgettable story. I loved Shah’s description of Uganda: the place, the people and the food (this does not include the soldiers).
This is an unforgettable story. For me, this is a stepping stone to find literature on the traces of Asians in Africa.
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