*This article includes material that may trigger some readers
Imagine confronting the dictator who brutalized and destroyed your family鈥檚 life 鈥 and hearing his desperate pleas to save him.
That was the traumatic and surprising scenario Vasanti Makwana was faced with. The Canadian nurse wanted a change of pace and decided to pursue short-term work in Saudi Arabia for a professional adventure.
鈥淚t seemed like a very interesting place to go and spread my wings鈥.And it was a year contract. So it was quite feasible for me to do,鈥 she told 麻豆影视.
But one night in 2003, while she was on call, her past suddenly clashed with her present when she was forced to deal with the most jarring experiences of her life.
鈥淎t around 2:00 [am], I got the phone call from the supervisors at the hospital there is a VIP coming in to be treated for dialysis.鈥
A driver picked her up from her compound 鈥 in those days Saudi women were not allowed to drive 鈥 and when she got to work, she found out the patient鈥檚 name was 鈥淎min.鈥
But she never expected it to be the Idi Amin.
鈥淲hen I did see him being wheeled in my unit, that鈥檚 when it sank in that 鈥極h, my God. This is the Idi Amin Dada,鈥 she said. 鈥 I was very frightened. It was like everything coming back in a rush鈥 was so scared. My heart was pumping.鈥
鈥淎nd I said: Oh my God鈥his is the monster of my childhood.鈥
She remembers that he looked 鈥渧ery sick鈥 and that she needed to 鈥減ull four litres of fluids from him to stabilize his condition. And that鈥檚 what we did.鈥
Before ICU personnel took him away, Makwana had a few moments alone with Amin who pleaded with her.
鈥淧lease help me. I鈥檓 a very sick man,鈥 she remembers him telling her. 鈥淎nd I said, 鈥榊es, sir, we will help you鈥.鈥
But she also felt she needed to confront him.
鈥淚 was able to have just a few moments, very few 鈥 maybe not even a couple of minutes 鈥 to be able to tell him that I鈥檓 one of those Ugandan Asians he had kicked out.
鈥淗e looked at me with very big eyes and I said, 鈥楧on鈥檛 worry. I will not harm you. I will help you get better鈥,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here was no question in my mind that I would not help him.鈥
But she did feel compelled to relay a burden she had been carrying for decades.
鈥淭he little girl in me needed to tell him that my father never forgave you for doing this to us because my father loved Uganda. I mean 鈥 that was his home. That was our 丑辞尘别鈥
Makwana鈥檚 father did not only experience the horrors of the expulsion; he saw horrific acts unfold in front of his eyes in the months leading up to the exodus 鈥 acts that made it clear to him he needed to urgently get his family out.
One day, his car was stopped by Amin鈥檚 men and he saw a bus load of people, including a group of young girls around the same age as his daughter, Vasanti, who was 14 at the time.
鈥淲hat those goons did to those young girls, my father saw with his eyes.鈥
鈥淭hey were raped and sodomized in plain daylight. And I think one of them even died. It was gruesome,鈥 Makwana said. 鈥淲hen he came home, he was ashen.鈥
Decades later, Makwana says the ability to speak with Amin lifted a weight.
鈥淭he way he looked at me, there was like a sense of acknowledgement,鈥 she said.
鈥淗onestly, after I had said what I needed him to know, everything just was gone and I had the most compassion or him. I really did feel sorry for him.鈥
With a report from producer Shelley Ayres
Did Omar鈥檚 family story resonate with you? CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you. Share your own family鈥檚 stories of immigration to Canada with us.
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WATCH the full network special 'Expelled: My Roots in Uganda' airing Friday, Nov. 4 at 9 p.m. on CTV
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