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A review by bookedupandbusy
We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
4.0
The book is split into two parts; Sameer’s life as a Muslim in the present day, we then hear from one of his ancestors in 1970s, writing letters to his deceased wife who he very much still loves, explaining his life with his new wife and the Asian expulsion in Uganda.
I vaguely knew about Idi Amin’s brutal dictatorship of Uganda and the Asian expulsion, but this story is a great perspective for learning more. Through the writing, I honestly felt the fear of living in Uganda at a time like this and being given 90 days to sort citizenship and passports and get out of the country. I loved the writing! The depictions of Uganda felt real and authentic.
I wanted a bit more from the ending. Without giving spoilers, I wanted to know more about Sameer’s life at the end. The very last line of the story is ambiguous, but I have interpreted it to mean that even in this present day, racism is still an issue and even in places where we may feel back at home or part of a community, there are still and will always be racial challenges.
I vaguely knew about Idi Amin’s brutal dictatorship of Uganda and the Asian expulsion, but this story is a great perspective for learning more. Through the writing, I honestly felt the fear of living in Uganda at a time like this and being given 90 days to sort citizenship and passports and get out of the country. I loved the writing! The depictions of Uganda felt real and authentic.
I wanted a bit more from the ending. Without giving spoilers, I wanted to know more about Sameer’s life at the end. The very last line of the story is ambiguous, but I have interpreted it to mean that even in this present day, racism is still an issue and even in places where we may feel back at home or part of a community, there are still and will always be racial challenges.