Source: Goan Voice Daily Newsletter 29 Sep 2013 at www.goanvoice.org.uk By Richard de Souza
In July this year I attended the last day of the 'Oral Histories of British-Goans' exhibition at the Nehru Centre, London. Expecting to spend a few minutes browsing through the exhibition, I found myself devoting an entire morning to it, witnessing an exchange of personal expressions of what it means to be "Goan" between the older generation, who migrated from British East Africa, and the younger born-and-bred UK generation. On this last day, many visitors had turned up hoping to catch a glimpse of this unique opportunity and consequently Eddie Fernandes took a group photo (http://bit.ly/16TzmcU ) and led a discussion so those present could ask the questions that the exhibition had evoked. The exhibition, preserving the story of East African Goans who settled in Britain, raised questions such as: is this relevant to our younger British Goan generation today? Do they really care? A handful of young British Goans turned up for the exhibition, confidently sharing their viewpoint, opening up minds and hearts to realise that there is a lot of work to be done in understanding where British Goans, young and old, are at in their thinking? Why is there a division between the older and younger generation? Or perhaps mere misunderstanding has arisen? It was interesting to see bridges being built to close that 'generation' gap. Ultimately, the feeling was that the exhibition was important to the young British Goans present. Though there was not a strong sense of connection to the East African part of our migration history (for it is somewhat a memory in the mind of our parents with most of us never having set foot on African soil), there was still a yearning for answers to the fundamental questions any young Goan asks: Who am I? Why am I 'different'? How do I define where I am from? What is my identity? The young lads present tried to express how life is for them in 21st century Britain as a Goan; in the discussion issues of identity, history, culture, racism and discrimination, music, dress, food, language, nationality, heritage, migration and "home" all came to the fore. The exhibition was fascinating: photographs and articles, scans of Portuguese identity papers for Goans and newspaper clippings showing the British media's response to the incoming Goans from Malawi. Everything present was a visible snapshot of the life experience of the Goan community in Africa, their displacement and migration to Britain in particular. What arose at the end of this marvellous exhibition was something I would like to term "Goanisity" - to be Goan - what does it mean? How Goan can you be? What identifies a Goan? And why do the older generation feel more Goan and the younger ones feel so isolated? Perhaps part of the answer to that final question is down to migration and loss of continuity. You are visibly identified as an ethnic Indian, with brown skin and dark hair, apart for the fact that your name is very Christian with a Portuguese infusion. Your birthplace is not Goa or the Indian subcontinent. The birthplace of your parents is not either, but you are not African. You neither speak Konkani, though your parents might, nor a language of the Indian subcontinent. You are Catholic (for the most part), but you do not have a clue what 'ladainha' is all about. The complex migration story meant that younger generations were cut off from certain cultural aspects of being Goan as their parents' and grandparents' stories may have included various parts of India, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika & Zanzibar, Malawi, Belgian Congo, the Middle East and often returns to Goa. Yet the young Goan in Britain just knows the UK and maybe the odd holiday to Goa at Christmas or Easter for a week or two. Their parents pass on less of that sense of 'Goanisity' as their Goan life story also includes Africa and less Konkani songs and more Jim Reeves! The complexity of what it means to be Goan and the fact that older Goans especially feel so strongly about their identity and roots in Goa, despite their own story being quite a layered mix of languages, lands, cultures and histories, means that the younger generation who are immersed in multicultural Britain without the same living memory as their parents and grandparents struggle to understand who they are and wrestle with the question of identity. The result of this is that you can call yourself Goan and you can prefix British to that, but interestingly your 'Goanisity' will include the East African influence, the Portuguese influence, the British influence and maybe other parts of the world thrown in. Even with the roots deep on Goan soil, the complex history of Goa from its earliest days reveals more and more about the complex identity of the Goan individual and the Goan community over time. Our layers of identity will be as complex as the intricate detailing of our DNA - stretching it out and trying to read it will take more than a lifetime. Nonetheless, three letters will always stir up something within us: Goa. Comments to r.deso...@hotmail.co.uk Richard traces his paternal roots to Moira. He is a seminarian for the Northampton diocese and shrine coordinator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bedford, and is an amateur genealogist. For a brief bio of Richard, go to http://bit.ly/18zQl5Z >From Eddie Fernandes: This Sunday column solicits contributions from all of you on an ad hoc basis. Please submit the text - approx 800 words - by Wednesday, together with a photograph and bio of yourself. ==================================