Selma wrote: In a book by Robert Gregory, documenting the role played in Asians in African politics, he writes,
"Many Goans claimed to be fully of Portuguese rather than Indian descent. Many Goans were quick to learn English, adopt European dress even for women, and live and eat in European style. The Goan clerks in government service were conspicuous in joining Europeans on the cricket field after work. Some took European wives and became "more British than the English.: They were sometimes derisively called the "Black Europeans". Is this an entirely British perspective. Can East African Goans of the time comment on the authenticity of this statement. Mervyn & Elsie Maciel added: "This is the first I've heard of Goans in East Africa being referred to as "Black Europeans". Haven't come across Robert Gregory's book either It is quite possible that the Goans aligned themselves more to the Europeans than other Asians, the latter often being referred to as "Banyanis" or "Mohindis"." To which I add: Considering I'm a third-generation Goan/Indian born in Nairobi and by no means a spring chicken, I've never heard the expression 'Black Europeans' applied to Goans. But having said that, let me also add that this does not mean they did not take great pains to distinguish themselves from the 'Banyani' and 'Muhindi' (the mainly Gujarati Shahs and Patels who owned all the dukas or shops). Goans like both my grandfathers and my father, were hired by the British for two main reasons. They spoke English, and courtesy being devout Catholics, were completely honest and trustworthy. Goan cashiers were so legendary that a joke doing the rounds of the white bars had it that if you kept a bottle of scotch and a sackful of money in the safe, the Goan would take the scotch but never the money. That so many Goans from East Africa got their 'vouchers' to go to the UK in the late 60s and early 70s is testament to the esteem they were held in by their colonial masters. But this does not mean, as in most colonial societies, there was no 'toadying'. I have heard Goans (in Kenya, in other parts of India, and in Goa) telling Europeans that actually they were not 'Indian' but 'Goan', and without batting an eyelid, implying Portuguese ancestry. In fairness though, such Goans could be ticked off on the fingers of one hand. If one laments anything it is the fact that Goans did not make too much of an effort to befriend Black Kenyans till very recently. As far as being 'Indian' went though, I don't think there was ever a problem. Goans would willingly murder Sikhs before and during a hockey match between Goan Institute and Sikh Union, but happily get drunk together after the match! One memory is strong in me. My father rose through the ranks of the British Colonial and later, Independent Kenyan governments. He was also a staunch Nehruvian and detested Salazar. My mother used to wear a dress when she accompanied my father to official functions. At one such function, the Provincial Commissioner's wife, Mrs. Wilkes, told my father that it was wonderful to see my mother in a dress unlike the other Indians. From that day on, my father insisted that my mother only wear a sari, a custom she still continues for formal occasions. Hartman
