manuel tavares <[email protected]> wrote: [1] Venantius and Roland have given us fairly reasoned accounts of Goans in the Colonial era in Africa mainly East Africa (Both Portuguese and British).
jc1: Dear Mr. Tavares, I thank you, Venantius and Roland for your contributions. It does help individuals like me (who has/have never lived under any colonial regimes or in Africa) to understand some of the writings and statements of others. --- [2] It would be pertinent to mention that Goans were respected and liked, more, by the African than other Members of the Indian communities. jc2: I am not sure if the operative word is "respected" esp when one reads what you have written in # 6 & 7 infra. That the members of the Indian Community treated Goans poorly (my word) is documented by the way Goans were/still are depicted in Hindi films AND the manner in which Goa is being treated. -- [3] Perhaps being subjects of a cruel and intolerant Portuguese ruler, made us more sympathetic to African aspirations. It is therefore not lost that people like the Late Pio De Gama Pinto was a stalwart in fighting for African Aspiration. jc3: Pio was not alive when I came into contact with the Gama Pinto family (via marriage) - but could you please enlighten me a bit more about the cruelty you suffered or others (you know) suffered under the Portuguese - and for What? I'd request you you please reason out your thoughts on the basis of what you and I would likely face for similar activities in Goa in 2012. -- [4] And the African response to his contribution was to assassinate him. This is what one gets in return. There are other Goans as well who sacrificed and contributed to the emancipation and eventual independence of Africa like J.M. Nazareth, and 'Gandhi' Pereira and many others. To say that the African was ungrateful for such stellar contributions would be an understatement. jc4: Allow me to disagree with you on this point. Could I suggest to you that Politics has no history of "Gratefulness", but a definite history of back-stabbing? and that Pio would NOT have met that tragic fate -in front of his home and children - IF he did not have (or was not perceived to have had) Political Aspirations? I submit to you that the fate which befell Pio would have been the same ANY other person would have suffered - irrespective of skin colour or even nationality. Pio was yet another example of "Kam Zalem Voiz Mello". Besides that, I am not very sure that the Gama Pintos made/make astute politicians. IMHO, politics is NOT for honest, decent and naive individuals. So, unfortunately, the Gama Pintos were used and dumped. -- [5] Many Goans employed Africans as servants and most treated them well paying them at least the Minimum Wage (Kanuni ya sirikali). Other Indian communities almost always tried to circumvent the minimum wage and treated the African poorly. jc5: Exactly my experience in Jamaica. In fact, a number of Indian families asked us why we paid our 'helper' twice the minimum wage and allowed her to sit with us at the table for lunch. All I can say to you (and what I said to them) is that she was a great helper who cared much for our kids and enabled both of us to work. -- [6] This treatment came at a price to Goans who could not be distinguished from other Indians due to the similar colour of our skins. We were therefore labeled with all the rest as 'Muindi' (Indian). jc6: Possibly, because the East African Goans identified themselves with the East African Indians who were known to be corrupt and demeaning to black people. The CONNING of the poor black Africans by Indian merchants is legend. You expected the Africans to forget? -- [7] Therefore when retribution came, we lost mainly due to skin colour similarities. jc7: I hope you will understand why I am NOT sure that the Africans really "respected" the Goans. -- [8] Having worked in the civil service in Africa, and dealing with many Africans of various tribes, I can truly say that we treated the African fairly and administered our duties to the best of our ability. jc8: My experience with Goans is that the vast majority of them are fair and honest; never mind what the desis say about them. -- [9] To say we were lackeys is far from the truth as we sometimes had to look danger in the eye and do the right thing as true human beings. jc9: Ditto -- [10] One has only to see why the corruption in Africa is so rampant. It is the Indian who introduced it there and perpetuated its existence. jc10: While it is known (even to me) that the East African Indians (esp the merchants) were unscrupulous rip-off artists, I am not sure that one can pin the "Introduction" of corruption on to the Indians. Take a look at vast areas of Africa which never saw Indians..... ALSO, think again about Slavery. Do we really believe that a FEW colonists went and captured boat-loads of slaves from Africa and took them to different parts of the world? -- [11] Goan people who worked disbursing amounts to Africans in remote areas were honest and god fearing. Some Indians doing the same jobs often cheated the illiterate African and some of them even took bribes to perform tasks such as replacements of lost ID's (Kipande) etc. jc11: I believe I have already commented on this point, antes. Thank you for such an interesting write up. I hope you have found my responses reasonable. the best of wishes jc
