Victor Thanks for that, its always good to hear all (other) sides, Some coins may have more than 2 sides, certainly this subject has several sides to it. All true & of personal experiences. I was only 11 in 1961, so my memories, when they come to the fore, are usually (mostly) of a rose-tinted variety. For a child in Goa in the 1950's my whole childhood, (though partly marred by father's work, which my brother & I knew nothing about), was for the most part idyllic. It was a time when you made your own amusements, made great friendships & prior to going to boarding school at LHS I loved Goa & all things Goan. Now soon-to-be 58 on 17 June, nothing much has changed for me to consider Goans anything other than wonderful people, (generally speaking, not inc the corrupt policitians, bribeable police, developers/destroyers of the land, profit hunters who are decimating parts of Goa as though its their private fifedom). I am talking all-things Goan, not just the bits of my childhood, you have to live the life to appreciate it, remembering things of the past, is a powerful tool. I think back to all the nicer times that I remember. Occasionally I let myself wander down memory lane for a while, only to discover that my eyes well up and I am shedding tears!! Silly, stupid old man that I am. That is because of the happiness I enjoyed as a child, my tears are not of regret or hurt, they are of pleasure, the happy times I had in my childhood, but was never able to thank my mother for it. Though it was a very stressful & bad time for my mother, those ten-odd years she spent with me & my brother (he was born 1 Nov 1954 in Goa), she was our backbone, the strength of the family & shielded us from (all) harm. Yes, also Maria D'Souza was a kind, affectionate & lovely woman. I never saw any Anglo-Indian treating any 'pure' Goans (can anyone describe a 'pure' Goan?) with either contempt or in any racist language or in any superior way. But I was child so probably didnt see it. I certainly saw my Portuguese father being a racist (b4st4rd) towards ALL non-Portuguese (inc my mother who was of English/French descent). But it was not just my father, the majority of the Portuguese we were allowed to mix with were this way, I was always uncomfortable in their company. "Some of my best friends were Goan.............." comes to mind, in fact I dont think I ever had any Portuguese friends, always trying to avoid them either at LHS or when around my paternal father's relatives, male or female, didnt like any of them, they were all too 'superior' & certainly were racist, the whole ruddy lot of them. So I can honestly say, "........All of my friends were Goan, some were of the Catholic faith (as I was), some were of the Hindu faith (as I am now), but friends we were.........together!" Times have changed, I may have mellowed a bit, gone elsewhere (spiritually) compared to my childhood, but otherwise, never set foot again in Portugal (after a long 8 months in 1958), nor had any contact (until this year) of any of my father's relatives. But whether a Goan is of a melange of different races or creeds, or whether blue / green / brown eyed, this is not an issue, Goans are all ONE tribe, certainly mixed in the majority, but now with "pure-bred" Indians adding to the flavour of Goa, perhaps a higher percentage of Goan children yet to be born, and their children after them will be a lot "purer" and closer to the Euro-Asian bloodline than the European mix of Portuguese & England, or the rest of the world. Not forgetting the smaller percentages coming in from the Arabic & Israeli worlds, the Chinese & other oriental, perhaps even from Africa, via Mozambique, Angola.......... Its a grand mix, and its Goa! A unique 'pearl of the orient' John Monteiro --------------------------------------------------------------------
Victor Rangel-Ribeiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote Dear John, My memory goes back a bit farther than yours. If Anglo-Indians were disliked in the years immediately preceding Independence, could it be because Anglo-Indians generally treated us Indians as inferior beings................. and personally was exposed daily to Anglo hostility. I also had wonderful Anglo-Indian friends, but they were all of the dark-skinned variety.......... There were problems in Goa, too, with the mesticos. Some of them were more Portuguese than the Portuguese themselves; many were outright racists. Things, as you say, have changed. Regards, Victor ------------------------------------------------------------------- From: JOHN MONTEIRO How times have changed, and for the better. My mother's best friend in 1950's was Maria D'Souza. She was an 'Anglo-Indian' with a fair complexion. She dressed in traditional clothes, sarees were the only clothes I saw her in, never a skirt. Chi-Chi (pronounced CHEE CHEE) was a common derogatory word used to describe anyone who was not of 'pure' Indian blood. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regards John Monteiro
