In the early days, Tailors were workers hired by people to who had special 
occasions like Weddings etc to sew garments for the bride to be and her 
relatives.the bride would take these clothes with her to her husbands house on 
wedding to commence her new life.. These Tailors moved from house to house and 
village to village performing their trade and earned their livelihood sewing 
clothes for those who hired them. With the migration of many Christian Goans to 
Africa, the work soon was uneconomical for them and they in turn migrated to 
Africa where they found a ready market for their trade.

I hate those like jc who accused me of demeaning the Indians when he in turn 
demeans his own Goan brethren Tailor by bringing up their lack of education in 
the English Language in a demeaning way. In spite of this shortcoming, these 
talented and industrious folk worked hard and provided for their families by 
doing the very best work as Tailors. I need not remind readers that in the 
British social strata, Tailors were considered middle class. Tailors children 
have also excelled in every sphere and to their credit they are not ashamed to 
say that their father was a tailor and they still Celebrate the feast of St 
Francis Xavier their patron saint and the patron saint of Goa.

Tailors were mainly from Salcete and with their very limited English, Cooks, 
Butlers and Bartenders were mainly from Bardez. The Main body of Goan migrants 
were however Clerks in the civil service and in the private sector. These 
clerks were very fortunate to have these Goan Tailors who stitched their suits 
by hand and made them appropriately dressed for the nature of work which they 
were performing. The Goan Tailor fulfilled a vital role in making suits and 
dressing the Goan Clerk appropriately. There were some who, even with their 
lack of education in English, were respected by not only Goans but by Europeans 
and Indians and latterly the African, who also patronized them, for their 
professionalism and perfection in making suits. I remember Alleluia Fernandes 
and Luis Fernandes who used to work as a cutter for Ahmed Brothers and used to 
have clients fly in from Europe to have their suits tailored by this firm and 
the chief cutter was of course (Mor) Luis Fernandes. Other famous tailors were 
Miguel Robin Fernandes, and Mr. Alfonso who had their own Tailoring 
establishments  whose clientele consisted of European, Asian, and African 
customers. It is a pity  that after independence, these tailors either returned 
to Goa or went to Europe and North America and did not pursue their trade 
there. I can assure you that the workmanship of these Tailors was of the very 
finest quality and the prices charged by them were very reasonable. 

It is true that the very clerks whom these Tailors served, denied them 
membership into their Social Clubs Like the Goan Institute , the Railway Goan 
Institute, and the Goan Gymkhana. They however formed their own club Called the 
Goan Tailor Society and did not miss having fun among themselves and not 
denying anyone who wanted to join in. The Cooks, Butlers and Barmen were also 
denied membership to the clerk's clubs and formed their own club called the 
Santa Cruz Club.The Cooks and butlers were also much respected as they produced 
the finest menus in all the top hotels and on board the trains and ships of the 
East African Railways and Harbours.The bartenders also could shake up some mean 
cocktails. 

Others could enhance my meager portrayal of these downtrodden Goans who were 
pioneers in East Africa and should have their place in history for their 
significant if not forgotten chapter in the cycle of Goan migration.

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