Nice to hear that so many Goans were recognized for their sterling services to
the Colonial Government in East Africa. Two other Goans from Dar es Salaam who
received MBEs, comes to mind. One was the late Mr. A. M. Madeira who worked
for the Customs and in
retired life, ran the bar at the Goan Institute for many years. The other
person who comes to mind was the late Mr. Max Pinto who worked at the
Secretariat I believe. He was the
father of Philo Fernandes from Toronto (wife of the late Paul Fernandes).
These are the only ones I recall. I am sure all the awardees performed above
and beyond the call of duty, because these awards were not easily given. I can
say quite confidently, that without the Goans in the Civil Services and in the
Banks, the British would have had a hard time running the East AFrican
countries. Life in East Africa was wonderful for those of us who lived and
worked there. It was good white it lasted, and Goans moved on to win laurels
in their new countries of domicile. The composite culture that we acquired
through the Portuguese rule in Goa, stood us in good stead and enabled us to
adapt to any situation. The Africans sensing that we were different,
differentiated us from other Indians by calling us "WaGoa" as opposed to
"WaHindi" And by and large we had a good relationship with them. Goans were
valued for their hard work,and honesty.
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Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php
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