In 1972 President and Military General of Uganda, Idi Amin, ordered for the expulsion of all Ugandans of South Asian descent. They were given just 90 days to leave the country. The Uganda Collection is a unique archive that provides insight into the expulsion and subsequent resettlement of over 7,000 Ugandan Asian refugees in Canada.
This archival collection consists of a number of different materials including over 1000 newspaper clippings and a personal memoir that documents the experiences of the Canadian Immigration team sent to Kampala in 1972. The collection holds numerous oral histories from Ugandan Asian refugees who share their lived experiences of the expulsion and their subsequent resettlement in Canada. The newspaper articles in this collection demonstrate how the expulsion was handled by Western countries, particularly Britain and Canada. The initial collection was recognized for its importance and thus organized and transferred to Archives & Special Collections through the efforts of the Canadian Immigration Historical Society. The Uganda Collection contributes to this growing field along with the Migration and Diaspora Studies Initiative at Carleton University. Through ongoing acquisition activities, new material continues to be added to the collection.
