Antonio Menezes wrote: >The reason why Goan tailors in the then East Africa were not held in >high esteem was because they had little or no knowledge of English >language. They hailed mostly from Salcete which in the pre-WW 2 >period had . very few English schools. Comparatively other manual >workers like caterers, mechanics etc. in E.A. had what one may call >the advantage of knowing passable English. -------------------------------------------------------------------
Antonio, Goan tailors in E. Africa were held in high esteem by their customers. In Tanzania those customers included President Nyerere. The only people who, deliberately, tried to lessen the status of Goan tailors, were their fellow Konkani speakers, Goans. This was (is?) because of the peculiar type of Christianity practiced by Goans. A practice where tailors, and carpenters, and I guess any other occupation that is out of favor, are given 'special status.' Thankfully, soon after independence in 1961, the Tanzanian Govt insisted that clubs end their religious and racial barrier policies. By the mid-1970's the clubs in Tanzania had admitted all the tailors who had applied for membership. Mervyn
