02-04-2025
The Repair Shop helps siblings who had to flee Uganda under Idi Amin
The Repair Shop's latest episode was an emotional one, as the experts worked to rescue a brother and sister's unseen family movies.
Siblings Zaff and Nasari took their late father's projector to the barn along with reels of home movies he had filmed when they were growing up in Uganda. The reels "never saw the light of day" after the family had to flee their home under Idi Amin's rule.
Tearful, the siblings told how their parents had since died, and how they hoped to see them again on the home movies.
Zaff and Nasari were on the BBC show on Wednesday, 2 April, where they told how their childhood had been "carefree" and that their dad made sure they "had everything".
"It was very fun times but the trauma that came after with leaving Africa..." Zaff told expert Mark Stuckey. "Idi Amin announced that we had 90 days to leave the country and we weren't allowed to take anything with us."
The pair - who were seven and nine at the time - were among thousands of Asians expelled from the country in the 70s. They travelled to Pakistan, then the UK, with Nasari saying they lived "hand to mouth".
Their mother died in her 40s, then their dad died at 50.
Nasari explained that the family had got their projector back after leaving Uganda but that their dad never took it out of the box again.
"It's been locked away for the past 40 or 50 years," her brother said. "We have tried numerous times to try and get it working but unfortunately we had no luck at all."
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"Just to see my mum and dad walking around - I'd love my kids to see my mum and dad," said Nasari.
Stuckey got to work and managed to get the projector up and running, so invited the siblings back to watch their films. They admitted they were nervous, and both were tearful as footage of them as children started to play.
Their relatives also appeared in the tapes, with both emotional as their mother was seen waving at the camera.
Nasari said it had been her father filming, adding: "I can feel my dad touching it, I feel like he is here."
Asked if it was what they had hoped, Nasari said: "It brought me peace, seeing my mum and dad and how we were and my grandfather and how much time we spent together. Happy memories."
She went on: "After their passing away, it's been that long, you forget who they were and how they looked and the feeling came back again. It has made me feel at peace."
The Repair Shop airs on BBC One on Wednesdays.
