Beyond Borders
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INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT AND BEST PRACTICE 59 Nowhere to go How mentoring helped a former refugee
I
grew up in Uganda in the 1970s, a decade when the country was dominated by the brutal military dictator, General Idi Amin. These were years of great uncertainty and I remember fleeing from Amin’s security agents in highspeed car chases. After Amin was toppled, civil war broke out. It only ended with Yoweri Museveni becoming president in 1986. He remains president of Uganda to this day. My father, a successful businessman, was dead set against Museveni, but I never established why. It could be that he disapproved of Museveni’s guerrilla military campaign. But the result of his intransigence was that life became difficult for our family. Then, in 1987, when I was 21 years old, my father decided to send me to Cliff College, a theological college in England. Soon after my arrival, I learned that the Ugandan authorities had made sure that my family were no longer in a position to support me – something that caused me much embarrassment. In the end, Cliff College allowed me to complete my year of studies on compassionate grounds. But what I did after that was up to me. Unable to return to Uganda for safety reasons, I found myself penniless and alone in an alien country. I had become a refugee. Sadly, I existed in this state of limbo for many years, until I was persuaded by the Home Office to claim asylum in England. During that time, I never claimed a penny from the British state. I did, however, make some valuable friends. One of these was my mentor, the late Richard Holme, Baron Holme of Cheltenham, who was a close adviser to David Steel, then the leader of the Liberal Democrat party. Later Richard also advised Steel’s successor, Paddy Ashdown.
60 Spain The fight against inequality
Nowhere to go A former refugee’s perspective on mentorship By
Stephen Kamugasa
64 Bridging the Gulf Coaching practice in the UAE
Richard and I first met at a Liberal Democrats ‘cheese and wine’ event in 1989, in an ornate reception room at Cheltenham Borough Council. We hit it off straightaway, partly because we shared the same sense of humour and partly because we had both suffered loss. Richard’s father had died in action in 1940. Mine lived in a country where I was no longer welcome. Over the years, Richard took a close personal interest in me and acted as a guarantor for my loan so that I could attend Bar School in London. That made a huge difference to me because a refugee, unless he is exceedingly lucky, is not expected to have a viable career. Richard was always only a
HE SHOWED ME THE VALUE OF HUMILITY, WHICH INSPIRED ME TO BECOME A HUMBLE LEADER MYSELF phone call away and he never let me down when I needed him. His friendship helped me emotionally and mentally, especially during my lengthy battle to regularise my status in England. Richard died in May 2008, but the legacy of my mentor lives on in the leadership lessons he taught me. Not only was he dependable and determined, he was also incredibly loyal. What struck me most of all was his humility, however. He was a peer of the realm so he did not need to be humble. I was a penniless refugee so, arguably, I did. Through his actions he showed me the value of humility, which inspired me to become a humble leader myself. Stephen Kamugasa is a non-practising barrister, author, blogger and teacher. He grew up in Uganda, sought asylum in the UK and now lives in Taiwan. Read his blog on citizenship, humanity and leadership at thekamugasachallenge.com