The Exiled
On sale
31st August 2023
Price: £22
‘A lyrical and penetrating examination of what happened to one family and the Ugandan Asians more broadly’ GILES FODEN
‘Fulford has put in the legwork … The book is full of the sights, smells and tastes of what most remember as a lost utopia’ SPECTATOR
—-
Uganda, August 1972. President Idi Amin makes a shocking pronouncement – the country’s South Asian population is being expelled. They have ninety days to leave.
After packing scant possessions and countless memories, 50,000 Ugandan Asians vied for limited space in countries including Canada, India and the United Kingdom. More than 28,000 expellees from Britain’s former colony arrived in the UK and began building new lives – but their incredible stories have, until now, remained largely hidden.
Fifty years on from the exodus, The Exiled draws on first-hand interviews and testimonies, including from the author’s family, to illuminate a time of painful alienation and incredible courage. As an entire people stepped into the unknown, a global diaspora was born, and the fate of the United Kingdom changed forever.
Journeying across continents and decades, this staggering work of reportage illuminates an essential, and under-explored, chapter in post-colonial history, challenging politically expedient narratives to uncover the true fate of minorities at the end of empire.
——
‘Weaving together tenderly reported personal stories with the grand sweep of imperial history, this is a compelling and impressive account of a time – and population – often overlooked’ SAMIRA SHACKLE
‘Full of humanity and touching details, this is a remarkable and deeply researched exploration of a neglected moment in British social history’ TOM PARFITT
‘Fulford has put in the legwork … The book is full of the sights, smells and tastes of what most remember as a lost utopia’ SPECTATOR
—-
Uganda, August 1972. President Idi Amin makes a shocking pronouncement – the country’s South Asian population is being expelled. They have ninety days to leave.
After packing scant possessions and countless memories, 50,000 Ugandan Asians vied for limited space in countries including Canada, India and the United Kingdom. More than 28,000 expellees from Britain’s former colony arrived in the UK and began building new lives – but their incredible stories have, until now, remained largely hidden.
Fifty years on from the exodus, The Exiled draws on first-hand interviews and testimonies, including from the author’s family, to illuminate a time of painful alienation and incredible courage. As an entire people stepped into the unknown, a global diaspora was born, and the fate of the United Kingdom changed forever.
Journeying across continents and decades, this staggering work of reportage illuminates an essential, and under-explored, chapter in post-colonial history, challenging politically expedient narratives to uncover the true fate of minorities at the end of empire.
——
‘Weaving together tenderly reported personal stories with the grand sweep of imperial history, this is a compelling and impressive account of a time – and population – often overlooked’ SAMIRA SHACKLE
‘Full of humanity and touching details, this is a remarkable and deeply researched exploration of a neglected moment in British social history’ TOM PARFITT
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Reviews
A lyrical and penetrating examination of what happened to one family and the Ugandan Asians more broadly
Weaving together tenderly reported personal stories with the grand sweep of imperial history, this is a compelling and impressive account of a time - and population - often overlooked
Full of humanity and touching detail, this is a remarkable and deeply researched exploration of a neglected moment in British social history. Fulford's timely book makes us understand how Idi Amin's expulsion of Ugandan Asians in 1972, and their subsequent treatment in the UK, still reverberate half a century later
Lucy Fulford's book is a thoroughly researched and careful examination of a monumental and overlooked era of history. Fulford's writing transports the reader to another era, masterfully weaves personal stories within a broader narrative, and shines a light on what it means to be from many places at once in today's Britain
A brave and cutting account that is an essential read for those interested in the journey of Britain's Ugandan Asian population
Fulford has put in the footwork . . . The book is full of the sights, smells and tastes of what most remember as a lost utopia
Lucy Fulford's new book on the expulsion of Ugandan Asian people is a rich evocation of people, place, and the senses. She not only provides readers with profound reflections on the history of exile and assimilation, but also on modern Britain
Lucy Fulford's book is deeply evocative, rigorously researched, nuanced and authoritative. The stories of those exiled from Uganda, and the reasons why their forefathers emigrated there in the first place, make for a fascinating read. They also form a crucial component of our collective history. The Exiled deserves to be read widely and used as a teaching tool too - history lecturers take note
A superb book about the Ugandan Asian exodus, the role of empire, and Britain's reaction to the arrival of
thousands of Asians on its shores in 1972. Beautifully told, with fascinating personal stories, The Exiled is a
vital exploration of how Britain's modern multicultural landscape has been shaped by its colonial past
A compelling story that beautifully blends together history and memoir to give us an account of an often overlooked but pivotal moment in the history of British Asians
As the number of people who lived through and remember the Ugandan Asian expulsion diminish, it's even more important that the next generation, like ours, and future generations, keep telling and sharing these stories. What Lucy has done is create a remarkable record of the Ugandan Asian diaspora and its journey from India to East Africa to the rest of the world