Almost all of the families that were initially housed in the south-west moved on to other parts of the country. But there are just a few families that decided to make Devon their home. Among them are Manoj Chitnavis from Exeter, Deepashri Elsen from Dawlish and Bill Meswania from Plymouth. (Listen to their personal accounts).
 | | A new start - the families get used to life in Devon |
The tyrannical Ugandan President, Idi Amin, had given all of the of the country's 60000 Asians just 90 days to leave the country. Although the refugees fled to all parts of the globe, around half choose to come to Britain. From a settled, comfortable and enjoyable life in the tropical sunshine, many of the families found themselves living in cold draughty army huts - some on the edge of Dartmoor. Almost overnight, the Ugandan Asians had to adapt to a foreign way of life - a different climate, different language and a different diet.
 | | The family in Dawlish - 30 years on |
But it was also a learning experience for the many volunteers that were on hand to welcome families to the resettlement camps.
Bunty Charles was the co-ordinator of the WRVS volunteers in Honiton, and remembers the experience well. "We worked like demons" she said, and continued "Its an awful thing to say, but it was probably the happiest time of life". For a group of people who had Indian origins, who had spent their entire lives in Africa, and now faced an uncertain future in Britain, it was probably the biggest upheaval of a lifetime. | 
