Ugandan Asians

Eilidh Whiteford Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)]

I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara) on securing today’s debate. I apologise to him and other Members as I shall shortly have to leave the Chamber to attend the fisheries debate in Westminster Hall. I am pleased that, after last week’s postponement, we have found time to mark the 40th anniversary in today’s debate. We should not forget what happened in Uganda in the early 1970s, especially in a world where protection of human rights remains such a pressing challenge.

Today’s debate provides me with an opportunity to pay tribute to a constituent and friend of mine, Vinay Ruparelia, who came to Scotland as a young man, having been expelled from Uganda along with thousands of other Ugandan Asians. Just a few weeks ago, Vinay retired from a successful pharmacy business that he had run with his wife Teresa in Banff and Portsoy for the last 34 years. The public service he has provided and the jobs he has created in the local community over the years are, in themselves, no small achievement.

It is fair to say that running the business has sometimes seemed like a sideline compared to Vinay’s efforts on behalf of the community of which he became a part. Vinay is a very well kent face around the north-east of Scotland because of his long-standing involvement in a number of local and international charities. As a former president of the Banff rotary club, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, Vinay has played an important role in a range of educational and health initiatives at home and overseas. He is currently a director of Books Abroad, a local charity that sends quality second-hand books to schools overseas. Having visited schools in parts of Africa where there is only one textbook for 200 children, I know the difference that that can make to the quality of education and the quality of life for children in developing countries.

Similarly, when earthquakes and other humanitarian disasters strike anywhere in the world, Vinay’s shop has always been a place where donations could be made for global relief efforts. On more than one occasion, I have found him making up kits of essential supplies from his own stockroom.

Vinay has also given up his time very generously to causes much closer to home, and served as chair of the board of Turning Point Scotland, which is a national charity that supports some of the people in our society with the most complex needs, notably those with significant learning disabilities and those recovering from drug and alcohol addictions. Vinay brought the same energy, compassion and entrepreneurial flair to Turning Point that he brought to his business activities. He also exhibited another characteristic talent at getting other people involved. In fact, prior to my election here, he persuaded me to get involved on Turning Point’s board.

When we read about asylum seekers and refugees in the press, we often get the impression that the generosity is one way, and that it is all ours, but exceptional citizens such as Vinay and so many others—some of whom we have heard about this afternoon—have given far more to our society than they have ever received from it. Vinay was the first person I ever knew who had been a refugee. Undoubtedly, as a youngster, learning the story of how he had ended up in north-east Scotland and how thousands of people like him were forced to leave their homes and livelihoods, coloured my understanding of why we have a duty to protect those who seek asylum and why the international conventions that protect human rights are so important.

Above all, today’s debate is a salutary reminder of the sorts of the circumstances that give rise to people becoming refugees and asylum seekers, and it brings home to me why it is so important that we continue to honour our obligations towards refugees and asylum seekers under international law. Ugandan Asians faced unimaginable circumstances with great resilience and courage, so it is fitting that we have had an opportunity to pay tribute to them today.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—