The Africander Goan is undeniably an influential animal, and I understand why nobody would like to cross his or her path! My intention here is not to judge the past with the spectacles of the present. Only, when someone like Viv lauds Goans for serving the colonial order in unabashed and uncritical tones, I think we're going deeper into the morass of presenting the entire community as lackeys of colonialism, racism and an unfair order which hurt the average African, when in fact there was a diversity of views and attitudes there.
I am sure a lot of our ancestors (mine too) took the side of the unfair or the aggressor. There were traders in slaves and opium who were Goan itself. We need not justify or glorify it in today's context, nor celebrate it. May I point to what Selma herself wrote in another context, and ask how this is different (though written in more polite terms) to the words that I have put out here? QUOTE The British relationship with Goans was ambivalent; subjecting them to all the prejudice they felt towards non-white populations. They never absolved Goans from the indignity of residential segregation, segregated public washrooms and the tacit prohibition against miscegenation and a ceiling on upward mobility on the work-front. Yet the British valued Goans tremendously, forming relationships based on genuine mutual respect and trust. They were unfailingly described by British colonial officers as the backbone of the Civil Services, people of ‘high quality’, meticulous in their work and devotedly loyal to the Empire. The Goan became a prominent member of colonial Africa, not through a process of legislative power but rather through a partnership based on work and social contacts. As the relationship grew, Goans inevitably became intermediaries between the British and the indigenous populations in many African colonies, in a world where upholding racial hegemony required unequal partners. Goans were considered Portuguese nationals, and as such distinct from Indians. For purposes of census records, tax and revenue collection and government correspondence, they were diligently accorded a separate notation. http://himalmag.com/component/content/article/3470.html UNQUOTE Let us call a spade a spade. We can't turn back the clock; at least we can be honest about where its hands reached. FN On 14 January 2012 16:31, Carvalho <elisabeth_...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > Every East African Goan I meet and interview is extremely articulate, well > mannered, successful, educated, hard-working, devoted and loyal. They loved > Africa deeply (yes perhaps it was Colonial Africa they loved but Africa > nonetheless). > > I frankly don't know if the factors that contrived to create East African > Goan society will ever be replicated elsewhere in adopted lands but that they > did in Colonial East Africa is a reality. To produce a type of society that > is so unique is something we have to celebrate. They influenced Goan > society in ways that have not yet been thoroughly investigated. > > If they have not received any commemoration in Goa and if there are no > statutes or museums that talk of their journey, then thank God, they have by > way of the British Empire. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------