Mario, I have not followed the 'economic migrant' debate closely for lack of time. However, I think that Gabe has a point that, following the political change in East Africa when Independence became a reality in the early 1960s, most Goans from there moved out. Some were forced out abruptly, as in Uganda and the former Nyasaland and even Zanzibar because of political turmoil. Such people, suddenly found themselves with limited choice and many were accepted, particularly in the UK, Canada and elsewhere as refugees. Others felt that the changing political imperatives in East Africa made them severely economically disadvantaged and 'forced' them to seek alternative pastures not out of choice but out of need. Thus, possibly, one could see that in a short time, the political immigrant became an economic immigrant and I think Gabe is right to say that, but for the political imperative most of our Goan folks would not have left East Africa in a hurry especially as the preferable alternatives were in colder climes. The ensuing debate is subtle and if Gabe insists on focusing on your personal case, he may also be quite right in saying that your entry to the USA was perhaps motivated by all kinds of reasons, educational, adventure, and economic betterment etc but that there is no evidence that it was political as was the case in East Africa.
The theory on migration of people around the world recognises that there are complex reasons why people migrate involuntarily and voluntarily. In my own case, I was singularly in pursuance of a higher education in the UK. I then returned to Kenya but saw few viable long-term prospects there and returned to the UK where jobs were relatively plentiful and one could study part-time further. By this time, the UK/Europe had grown on me and even though I had applied for jobs in Canada and the USA for reasons of seeing the world and had got university teaching jobs there, I did not leave the UK as I thought Canada was too cold for me and the USA too capitalist/consumerist for my tastes and was lacking in a community ethos. I was not happy with American individualism, the gun culture and the absence of a welfare state which I believe the UK has as an outstanding achievement notwithstanding many criticisms of it. I may be wrong in my judgements but this is basically what happened in my case. I was primarily an educational/culture vulture and have found this, more than anything else, in the UK and in Europe and now find it as a cross-Atlanticist, and am most at home across the pond in the nearby world cities of London and New York at either ends. Am I an economic migrant? I really don't care and perhaps it is time to end this relatively futile debate on Goanet. As to Gabe being a buddy, I think he would agree that we may have met just once or twice in 30 odd years, but of course, 'met' many a time fruitfully on Goanet. Cornel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mario Goveia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> > Mario replies: > This is another example of Gabe's embarrassing > rhetoric. Every Goan in east Africa was an economic > migrant to begin with. After being ejected for > political reasons they all became economic migrants > wherever they went. Wake up, Gabe. >>
