'Life after Uganda was baked beans and racism'

Ms Hay feels grateful that she came to the UK

It was cold the day six-year-old Pragna Hay stepped off a plane at Stanstead Airport.

The year was 1972, and all Asians were being forced out of Uganda by dictator President Idi Amin, who had accused them of having sabotaged the economy and seized their property.

About 30,000 people fled to the UK, with Ms Hay's family heading to the Greenham Common camp in Berkshire.

And, despite speaking no English, she saw it as an adventure.

'We'd never had baked beans'

Ms Hay remembers several things about her first few days in England - the weather, the anxious expressions on people's faces, and the typically British breakfast food.

"We'd never had baked beans before - it was tasteless baked beans," she said.

"And I remember my father used to work in the kitchens in the camps and eventually they started currying the beans to make it tastier."

She struggled with the language barrier, a problem that only got worse when she enrolled at a local school.

"I have this clear memory at primary school, standing in the corner of the playground and all these young English girls are surrounding me," she said.

"They obviously wanted to be my friend, but because I didn't understand what they were saying, I was cowering in the corner scared."

Pragna Hay's family was given 90 days to leave Uganda

Now living in Newbury, Ms Hay looks back on her early years in the UK with mixed feelings, especially as her family had to contend with racist abuse.

"When we were cooking Indian food, people were going past holding their noses because they could smell garlic and ginger, and those ingredients weren't used so widely in the UK in those days," she said.

"Now it's used everywhere, and what's the national dish? It's curry."

And the food was not the only cultural difference between Uganda and the UK.

"My mum used to put oil in my hair just like we did back in Africa, and she used to do pigtails with oily hair.

"It was so embarrassing going to school here. I used to untie them to try and blend in."

Ranjan Sodha doubted whether coming to the UK had been the right decision

Ranjan Sodha was a teenager when her family was also forced to leave Uganda.

Their plane touched down at Heathrow Airport and the family disembarked, with just £50 between them.

"We didn't have many clothes, and it was so cold here in October - we only had one cardigan we came with," she said.

The family settled in Bracknell where they opened a corner shop, but were also met with racism as they tried to rebuild their lives.

'We were lucky'

"There were more English people in the area and not many Indians in the town," Ms Sodha said.

"One man came in and said to the previous owner: 'Are these people buying your shop? Because I am never coming to this shop'."

She said her family began questioning whether coming to the UK had been a mistake.

"Funny thing is when we closed the shop years later, those were the people saying: 'Don't close the shop.'"

Ms Sodha said the only thing she missed about Uganda was the warm weather.

"The way we came out, I don't think you would want to go to that place again," she added.

Ms Sodha and her husband (pictured) ran a convenience store in Bracknell

Ms Hay said growing up in the UK has given her opportunities she otherwise might not have had if her family had stayed in Africa.

"I think we were lucky that we came to the UK," she said.

"I've often questioned: 'Would I be the independent woman I am today if I had been in Uganda?' and I'm not sure I would have had those opportunities.

"I am quite grateful we came to the UK, and grateful to the local people who helped us settle into the UK."