Ugandan Asians

Simon Hughes Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

As always, my hon. Friend makes an apt intervention that enlightens the debate.

As a consequence of so many countries agreeing to take refugees, Britain ended up with 28,000 people—28,000 British passport holders who came here frightened, homeless, penniless and with only the clothes on their backs. They arrived at Stansted airport, and some at Heathrow airport, and were met by demonstrators holding placards saying, “Go home! You’re not welcome here.” The fact that they were British passport holders and had no home to go to was by the bye as far as the demonstrators were concerned.

Britain hastily set up the Uganda resettlement board, whose job was to give immediate assistance to the refugees, find them homes and jobs and, importantly, ensure they were resettled in the community at large. To start off with, they settled in 16 resettlement centres scattered throughout the country—former military bases that were mostly bleak and isolated. But this was a time when Britain was at its best. Having accepted responsibility for these refugees, voluntary groups, church groups, charity groups and ordinary citizens came out to help them. They showed their warmth, their compassion and their care for their fellow human beings. Many of the indigenous population did not have much themselves, but what little they had they were happy to share with the newcomers, giving them food and shelter.

Councils throughout the country also responded. In south Wales, Pontardawe rural council offered three council homes, Aylesbury rural district council offered six and Peterborough city council—I represent part of Peterborough—helped too: the then leader of the council, Councillor Charles Swift, went to Tonfanau resettlement centre in Wales with local employers and offered 50 council houses, provided the people agreed to take on the jobs offered by those with him. For his efforts, Councillor Swift received hate mail and death threats, and for a while required a police escort to take him to work as a railway driver.

This was also a time when individuals opened their doors. Some had only one room spare in their house and took in one individual, but others had more space and took in whole families. This was the British character at its best—but there was a little humour as well. There was the incident of two refugees in a resettlement centre being quite miserable, but suddenly finding that in Britain the shops closed at 5 o’clock and during the weekends. They smiled, and one said to the other, “We’re going to be rich.”

Very soon the refugees moved from the resettlement centres into the mainstream community. Rather than seeing the expulsion as life-destroying, they looked at it as a setback. They picked themselves up and started all over again. They took whatever jobs were available, worked long hours, made a success of their jobs and their lives and built a better future for their families; and now, many of those people employ hundreds and thousands of our fellow citizens. One such example is Mr Shabbir Damani in Peterborough, who came here penniless but now has nine pharmacies employing 100 full-time staff and another 100 or so on an ad hoc basis. There are many other such examples.

There were successes not only in business but in the professions, the military, the police, politics, media and entertainment, charities, sport and so on. There is also the case of Dr Mumtaz Kassam, who was expelled at the age of 16 and went to a resettlement centre in Leamington Spa, but ended up being, until recently, deputy high commissioner for Uganda serving in Britain—serving the country that had once expelled her as a teenager. The precise contribution made by the Ugandan Asians is difficult to quantify in economic terms, but it is generally felt that the south Asian community—or those with origins there but who are now settled in Britain—number 2.5% of the population, but are responsible for 10% of our national output.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

I was a student when Edward Heath and the Government of the day bravely decided to respond positively. If ever there was an example of how a policy can help people in their hour of need and understand that foreigners—although there was a strong British link—can be an asset not a disadvantage, this is it. We would do well to continue to learn that lesson, as we address the inevitable plight of other people who might look to us for help when, through no fault of their own, their Governments turn on them as minorities and oppress them, as the Amin Government did to the Ugandan Asians.

[Mr Vara]

My right hon. Friend makes a valid point. The Ugandan Asian community is a case study of a minority group who were persecuted, came here but did not seek to rely on the state, instead picking themselves up and becoming self-reliant.

Many, many success stories are recorded in the media, but we must not forget that not all those 28,000 people became millionaires: many simply got on with their everyday lives, in whatever trade or job they had, and became model citizens in their own way, doing their bit for the greater good of the country as a whole. It is important to record that. There can be no doubt that the community as a whole has punched above its weight in Britain—it has done more than its fair share for mainstream Britain.

I am reminded of the Parsee community, who were persecuted in Persia—now Iran—more than 1,000 years ago: because of their faith, Zoroastrianism, they had to leave Persia. They left in their ships and went to the shores of the state of Gujarat in India. The leader of the Parsees sent an emissary to the Maharajah of the state of Gujarat to say, “We have been persecuted and we ask that you give us refuge in your country.” The Maharajah sent the emissary back, saying, “I’m sorry, I cannot take you and your people. My own land is too populated, and, besides, you have a different religion and culture. But I will give you this shipload of provisions: food, water, milk, honey—anything you need to take with you to another place where you might find a home.” The leader of the Parsees took a cup of milk from the provisions that were sent and some sugar. He put the teaspoon of sugar in the milk, stirred it around, sent for the emissary and said, “Tell the Maharajah of the state: ‘In the same way as the sugar has blended and integrated with the milk, so too, if you give my people refuge in your country, will we integrate.’”

The Parsees were allowed to stay in the state of Gujarat, and they stuck to their word. They became model citizens and are leaders in various aspects of Indian life—the military, academia, business, entertainment, and so on. One such individual is Ratan Tata, of the Tata group. Not only does he employ thousands of people in India, but the Tata group employs more than 50,000 people in Britain, including more than 700 in my constituency, one of the group’s companies being Diligenta Ltd. The position was summed up eloquently by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister when I asked him a question recently in Prime Minister’s questions. Referring to the Ugandan Asians, he said that they had made a

“fantastic contribution to our national life.”—[Official Report, 28 November 2012; Vol. 554, c. 224.]

The Ugandan Asians who have settled here in the past 40 years have truly settled and truly integrated, becoming part of the fabric of our nation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

I am happy to do that, Mr Deputy Speaker. I shall make just a few short comments.

First, let me thank our hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara) for his timely and persistent attempts to secure the debate. He naturally wanted to ensure that it took take place, but the rest of us are happy to associate ourselves with his wish.

Although she has left the Chamber, I also want to pay tribute to the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart). She worked for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants for a long time, and did a very reputable and important job in that organisation. Her continuing commitment to the cause of immigrants to this country, and to others who have not come here but may wish to do so—and have a claim to do so—deserves to be put on record. She paid tribute to others, and I think that she deserves a tribute herself.

The backdrop to today’s debate is the legislation of the 1960s, which was not our country’s most glorious hour, and the mercifully much better response to that terrible “90 days” threat to an entire community, the entrepreneurial heartbeat of Uganda, in 1972. Thank God we responded as we did and other countries in the Commonwealth and elsewhere responded as they did, and thank God there were enlightened local authorities in Britain which, as was pointed out by the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire, were positive in their response.

It was not easy for the people who came here in 1972. The weather, as I recall, was grim, and, as we have been reminded, conditions were often grim as well. Those people had a very difficult start. Not only did they come with, literally, the clothes that they could take from their homes and the suitcases that they could pack—often with no finances, and with young children in tow—but they then went into pretty grim accommodation, which we provided in various parts of the country at short notice. The fact that their conditions were made much better was due solely to the wonderful volunteering spirit of members of the community who offered their help, as well as the work of those for whom it was a statutory duty.

[Sir Peter Bottomley]

On 15 August 2005 an article was published by Martin Wainwright, describing how our former colleague Richard Wainwright, who was Member of Parliament for Colne Valley, took in one of these families. That description gives life to what Members are saying today.

[Simon Hughes]

I knew that, and, as my hon. Friend would expect, I know Martin Wainwright well: he is Richard Wainwright’s son. Many others did the same.

My constituency has a proud association with Uganda, because King Freddie of Buganda settled there and made it his home, thanks to the generosity of, in particular, the Carr-Gomm family. It was Richard Carr-Gomm, a former Liberal MP for Rotherhithe, who set up the Carr-Gomm Society and the Abbeyfield Society. In what was, in those days, a very white Bermondsey, hospitality and recognition were given to King Freddie and his family, and that spirit has continued through the ages. What happened then changed the cultural mood of a community, transforming white docklands London into the wonderfully multicultural community that we have now.

[Mr Brooks Newmark (Braintree) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara) on raising this important issue.

I was one of the constituents of the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) and worked in his constituency, and, as he may well know, I was an immigrant myself. Many immigrants come to this country, and it should be proud of attracting people who will contribute to society, whether they are refugees or not.

[Simon Hughes]

My hon. Friend was the chair of the local Conservative party, if I am not mistaken. Little did I imagine in those days, when Tory candidates stood against me and got 2%, 3%, 4% or 5% of the vote, that I would end up in a coalition Government with him. “Never rule anything out” should be a political adage for us always to follow.

I entirely associate myself with what my hon. Friend has said. I represent very few east African Asian constituents, for no reason other than the fact that they have not settled principally in Southwark, although a significant number run shops and businesses. However, in London as a whole and more widely, the contribution made to, in particular, education, the professions and business in Britain by not just Ugandan Asians but east African Asians in general has been phenomenal. We would not be the successful country that we are now, at home and abroad, were it not for that contribution.

Let me give a microcosmic example. When I was first elected, I observed that the undergraduates entering the medical and dental schools at Guy’s hospital were predominantly white men whose dads and mums, mainly dads, had been doctors before them. The undergraduates who are starting courses this year at Guy’s and Tommy’s medical and dental school, which is part of King’s college, are predominantly women, and a significant number have Asian backgrounds. Their families are east African Asians, or people from elsewhere in Asia, whose professional parents may have been driven out of countries such as Uganda, or may have left in adverse circumstances. It is a phenomenal transformation.

We have had other glorious days. For instance, we eventually behaved better than we might have towards the Hong Kong Chinese who were threatened at the end of Britain’s time in charge of Hong Kong. However, the less glorious days are not over yet. There are still some legacy groups whom we must try to help and support. My noble Friend Lord Avebury and I have been trying to assist a small group of Malay Chinese who have British overseas citizens’ passports but are still in limbo. I hope that the Minister will ensure that Home Office Ministers are reminded that their future has not been sorted out between our Government and the Government of Malaysia. I do not blame our Government, but the situation must be resolved, because that group of people are completely stuck. We have a particular responsibility for those who come from other Commonwealth realms and from British overseas territories.

The hon. Member for Slough and my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire issued a plea to the House, urging us to remember that we in this country have an obligation to stand up for people who come here seeking asylum honestly and properly. We are a rich country: we are one of the richest countries in the world, even during the current period of economic difficulty. We are also one of the most diverse, multicultural and multifaith countries in the world. We co-wrote documents such as the European convention on human rights and the United Nations declaration of civil and political rights. If we cannot, in their moment of need, be here for people who are fleeing from persecution—either as individuals or as a group—because of their colour, faith, background, sexuality or gender, we cannot expect others to do the same in the world as a whole.

We must never allow the unintelligent and prejudiced media to confuse asylum seekers with immigrants in general. Those are separate issues, and subjects for separate debates. Of course we need an immigration policy, and of course we need to control the number of people who come here. We cannot have an “open border” policy. However, we must also have a sane, civilised and respectable policy in relation to asylum seekers. We must honour our obligations. We must try to ensure that the rest of the world knows that we will not close the door to people in their time of need and say no. We will say yes, and we will learn the good lessons of the wonderful experience of making the right decision 40 years ago, to the great benefit of Britain and those families in particular, and to the benefit of the wider world.