This film is part of Free

Ugandan Asians at Houndstone Camp

Ugandan Asian refugees face up to a sudden wintery future.

News 1972 7 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for South West Film and Television Archive

Overview

TV reporter John Doyle is at Houndstone near Yeovil Somerset to report on Ugandan Asians as they settle into the South West’s resettlement camps. Refugees in the camp are interviewed about hopes and prospects for a future in Britain. Camp commandant William Pollock Morris explains the huge impact of the expulsion from Uganda on the refugees. Local volunteers help set up food kitchens, distribute warm clothing and aid in the processing of the refugees.

Over 27,000 refugees were successfully resettled in the UK. More recently some have returned to Africa to rebuild livelihoods. Idi Amin was the Ugandan president from 1971 to 1979. By expelling Asians and installing a brutal regime, the country’s economy collapsed. He was deposed in 1979 fleeing first to Libya and then to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003. Idi Amin was never tried for his crimes against humanity.