Following my article on racism towards Africans in India, I was swamped with emails from Ugandans sharing their experiences of Asians in Uganda.
Call it racism, prejudice or discrimination, relations between Ugandans and Asians in the country have often been tense.
Generalisations are to be avoided; there are many Asians who see themselves as proudly Ugandan and have integrated themselves into Ugandan society.
However, there are numerous grievances held by Ugandans regarding the conduct of Asians in the country.
One lady described her experience of being employed by an Indian supermarket owner: “Asians are rude, exploitative; they underpay and sometimes their men take advantage of female employees.”
One email defended the Asians saying: “There are always complaints on how Asians treat staff; well, have you seen how lazy and corrupt some of us Ugandans can be? We cannot blame them.” (my head just exploded)
Another gentleman wrote: “I have been on the receiving end of racist remarks from some Indians and heard one say, ‘These blacks are crazy, so we have to be careful here’.”
Another email said: “The Asians are great businesspeople but lousy human beings. We do not resent them because they are economically successful; we resent them because they treat us like we are inferior and that too in our own country, they keep separate from us.”
The Asian community has been criticised for keeping themselves segregated, a pattern which they seemed to follow prior to their expulsion by Idi Amin and upon their return.
Reflecting upon the pre-expulsion era, journalist Richard Dowden writes: “Although there were a few who saw themselves as Ugandan first and Asians second, for the most part they did not mix socially with Africans but lived in ‘Asian’ areas of towns, with their own schools and institutions.”
The majority of interactions between Asians and Africans tends to be based upon business or between high-profile figures such as business leaders and politicians. One gentleman describes everyday relations as similar to early post-apartheid South Africa.
This reminded me of seeing two Asian and African children playing with each other in Kampala, I wondered if in 20 years’ time they would still be friends or perhaps marry each other, a reality which currently seems far away. Indian Ugandan lawyer Kirti Vekariya gives the Asian perspective on the matter.
“Look at our migration patterns around the world and you will see that we build large communities and stay within them. However, it would be a lie to suggest that skin colour and seeing the Africans as ‘below’ us is not a reality. To put it crudely, some of us have exported our caste system to outside of our community.”
What is most astonishing is how this trend has continued with the younger generation. It is rare to go to Garden City and see teenagers from both communities having lunch together.
If friendship is a rare occurrence, then marriage is almost out of the question. Once more, Asians are quick to say that it is their tendency to marry within their culture. However, there are far more sinister elements to matters of the heart in this case.
Kampala-based teller Harriet K had a secret relationship with an Indian man which ended when he told her that marrying a black girl would not be acceptable to his family.Harriet talks about the number of Asian men who use Ugandan girls for sex or as mistresses.
“For some it’s the Ugandan girls they want, but the racist nature of their families means they will never marry these women; so, a mistress is the next best thing. Others view Ugandans as so inferior that they think it is fine to use girls for sexual purposes and leave them with STDs or pregnant.”
Some young Asians based in Kenya and Uganda have spoken about how their families would “kill us if we even thought about bringing home a black”, while in a strange twist one Ugandan boy refused to marry an Asian girl because his family were put off by their experiences of “racist Asians.”
Although the nature of Asian culture is constantly put forward as the reason behind this segregation, the legacy of colonialism is also to blame.
The colonialists entrenched a racial hierarchy where the Indians were inferior to Caucasians but above the Africans. This system has been internalised and now plays out with the final result being animosity between two groups despite them having a shared history, which then leads to events such as the Mabira riots of 2007.
Over all, it seems that although our countries have been decolonised, the mindset of some has not and just as unity beyond tribe is important, so is unity beyond race.
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?opt...ters&Itemid=66
Call it racism, prejudice or discrimination, relations between Ugandans and Asians in the country have often been tense.
Generalisations are to be avoided; there are many Asians who see themselves as proudly Ugandan and have integrated themselves into Ugandan society.
However, there are numerous grievances held by Ugandans regarding the conduct of Asians in the country.
One lady described her experience of being employed by an Indian supermarket owner: “Asians are rude, exploitative; they underpay and sometimes their men take advantage of female employees.”
One email defended the Asians saying: “There are always complaints on how Asians treat staff; well, have you seen how lazy and corrupt some of us Ugandans can be? We cannot blame them.” (my head just exploded)
Another gentleman wrote: “I have been on the receiving end of racist remarks from some Indians and heard one say, ‘These blacks are crazy, so we have to be careful here’.”
Another email said: “The Asians are great businesspeople but lousy human beings. We do not resent them because they are economically successful; we resent them because they treat us like we are inferior and that too in our own country, they keep separate from us.”
The Asian community has been criticised for keeping themselves segregated, a pattern which they seemed to follow prior to their expulsion by Idi Amin and upon their return.
Reflecting upon the pre-expulsion era, journalist Richard Dowden writes: “Although there were a few who saw themselves as Ugandan first and Asians second, for the most part they did not mix socially with Africans but lived in ‘Asian’ areas of towns, with their own schools and institutions.”
The majority of interactions between Asians and Africans tends to be based upon business or between high-profile figures such as business leaders and politicians. One gentleman describes everyday relations as similar to early post-apartheid South Africa.
This reminded me of seeing two Asian and African children playing with each other in Kampala, I wondered if in 20 years’ time they would still be friends or perhaps marry each other, a reality which currently seems far away. Indian Ugandan lawyer Kirti Vekariya gives the Asian perspective on the matter.
“Look at our migration patterns around the world and you will see that we build large communities and stay within them. However, it would be a lie to suggest that skin colour and seeing the Africans as ‘below’ us is not a reality. To put it crudely, some of us have exported our caste system to outside of our community.”
What is most astonishing is how this trend has continued with the younger generation. It is rare to go to Garden City and see teenagers from both communities having lunch together.
If friendship is a rare occurrence, then marriage is almost out of the question. Once more, Asians are quick to say that it is their tendency to marry within their culture. However, there are far more sinister elements to matters of the heart in this case.
Kampala-based teller Harriet K had a secret relationship with an Indian man which ended when he told her that marrying a black girl would not be acceptable to his family.Harriet talks about the number of Asian men who use Ugandan girls for sex or as mistresses.
“For some it’s the Ugandan girls they want, but the racist nature of their families means they will never marry these women; so, a mistress is the next best thing. Others view Ugandans as so inferior that they think it is fine to use girls for sexual purposes and leave them with STDs or pregnant.”
Some young Asians based in Kenya and Uganda have spoken about how their families would “kill us if we even thought about bringing home a black”, while in a strange twist one Ugandan boy refused to marry an Asian girl because his family were put off by their experiences of “racist Asians.”
Although the nature of Asian culture is constantly put forward as the reason behind this segregation, the legacy of colonialism is also to blame.
The colonialists entrenched a racial hierarchy where the Indians were inferior to Caucasians but above the Africans. This system has been internalised and now plays out with the final result being animosity between two groups despite them having a shared history, which then leads to events such as the Mabira riots of 2007.
Over all, it seems that although our countries have been decolonised, the mindset of some has not and just as unity beyond tribe is important, so is unity beyond race.
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?opt...ters&Itemid=66
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