Dear Victor, Mervyn and Tony (Barros), I did indeed mean caste. My error in using the less pernicious 'class'.
Mervyn had mentioned to me that his efforts with Bwana Karani were meant to trigger more writing from other people, on the Goan East African experience. I would really look forward to reading the memoirs of Goans who lived in Uganda and Tanzania. Also, there is a huge gap in the knowledge we have of Goans from Angola and Mozambique. Is that because these Portuguese West Africa Goans use Portuguese as their lingua franca and would be uncomfortable in English writing? Or is because I am unaware of what is already written. Tony, an MBE for your father in the 50s would have been a great achievement for a Goan. He must have more than deserved it. In fact as a non-white he would have earned it twice over. Do you know of any other Goans in Africa who were awarded the MBE or OBE in that era? We have only a decade or two left to record the personal histories of Diaspora Goans. Those were exciting and pioneer times and it would be a shame not to make them available for posterity. One could be forgiven for thinking that future Goan generations in the west would be so diluted of their identity that they would be least interested in such recounting, or that future generations of Goans in India would take all this for granted, but there comes a time in everyone's life that a hunger for knowledge of one's own, undergoes a major awakening. In Canada such awareness has already made its presence felt, though it is restricted to youth making their first trip to Goa and having a good time. Perhaps the foreign spouses of Goan youth trigger the quest. Or perhaps a young Goan undergoes fatherhood or motherhood and suddenly becomes aware of what contributed to them being who they are. The Brits, as everyone knows, are acutely aware of this. They have excellent records of what they did hundreds of years ago and they go through enormous financial cost to make that possible and to maintain it. Perhaps it is just colonial pride of which Goans have not had the benefit, but I don't think so. Even today, cemeteries in Bombay where British troops and civilians are interred are well-maintained. Funds are being sent from England for this and they are regularly inspected. Local cemeteries even Catholic ones, look like paupers' plots in comparison. It is all the more amazing that the budget for such items remain untouched to this day, even when cuts due to economic reasons are the norm. It is that important to them. We have the history. We must work to keep it. There are people in Goa and elsewhere, FN included, who are aware of all this and do more than their part. A salute to these people with a prayer to keep on doing the good work. It is their dedication not the money that motivates them, for which Goan author who writes a book or compiles Goan classical music has ever profited from it? Perhaps in a non-government capacity, we should institute an award called Member of the Order of Goans (MOG) to recognize such people. Roland. Toronto. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mervyn & Elsie Maciel Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 3:39 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Goanet] Subject: Re: Goanet Reader: Bwana Karani -- a story well told, from the heart of Africa (Roland Francis) In reply to Victor's comment - I feel certain that what Roland meant was "caste" although he's used the word "class" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
