A rather
silly waste of trees
I had not
planned to respond to the pathos of the excerpt below, however, the attendant
clinical examination of the story in question by Francis Noronha is, in my
view, quite brilliant (even if I say so myself) and should be shared with fair-minded
thinkers everywherw
An excerpt
from a piece by Ben Antao:
Maladies of diaspora Goans
I
find it astonishing that so many of the Canadian Goans who immigrated to Canada
from East Africa in the 1960s and 1970s still hearken back to the good times of
the so-called paradise they basked under
the British colonial sun. The term ‘paradise’ to describe life in East
Africa comes from Cyprian Fernandes, a journalist born and raised in Kenya who,
like most of his generation, was forced to abandon the paradise following the
end of colonial rule, and the introduction of Africanisation policies by the
newly independent countries of Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania.
In his memoir Yesterday in Paradise (2016), Cyprian recounts his rise
from humble beginnings to the position of a fearless journalist until death threats force him to
leave East Africa in the 1970s. He has since lived and worked in Sydney,
Australia, for over 40 years, more time outside than inside of Africa.
Naturally, I was astounded, not having lived in colonial East Africa myself,
that Cyprian would call Africa ‘a paradise’ . The critical reporter that he
comes across as in his book, I thought he’d be more inclined to be objective,
judicious and rather circumspect than eager to pander to his compatriots in the
diaspora. They, wholeheartedly not only approved but celebrated his
descriptions of life and times, as if a messiah had sprung with spring water to
quench their thirst and longing for bygone days.
In Toronto, the Goans received the book with praise and wistfulness.
Antao then
goes to chronicle his rather sad experiences with books in Canada.
A RESPONSE TO “THE LITERARY MALADIES OF DIASPORA GOANS” BY BEN ANTAO
Dear Mr. Antao,
I have just
read your diatribe above attacking author Cyprian Fernandes and the many other
Goans “who immigrated to Canada from East Africa in the 1960’s and 1970’s who
still hearken back with nostalgia to the good times of the so-called paradise
they basked in under the British colonial sun.” I am one of these Goans that
you are so disappointed with because they have failed to live up to the lofty
goals that you have apparently achieved in that your fiction and non-fiction
“embraces” your experiences in Goa and Toronto. Bravo! You point out to all of
us lesser beings that “a writer has to draw upon his lived experiences if he
seeks to create literary fiction.” Thank you for this original and inspiring
insight into the art of creative writing. Your encouraging words to aspiring
writers fills me with the desire to put pen to paper in an effort to emulate
the sterling example you have set us in your own literary creative fiction.
I confess,
however, that I am confused. Even a cursory reading of Cyprian Fernandes’ two
books, “Yesterday in Paradise” and “Stars Next Door” would reveal that they are
not meant to be “literary fiction”. Unlike you, Cyprian, (whom I have yet to
have the pleasure to meet), is an unpretentious writer who sets out in
“Yesterday in Paradise” to give a personal insight from the perspective of an investigative
journalist into events at a particularly interesting and turbulent period of
Kenya’s history. During the 60’s and 70’s, Kenya was emerging from the cocoon
of colonial rule and taking its first faltering steps as an independent nation.
During these transitional years, I was a student at the first multi-racial
College in Kenya (later the University of Nairobi) and then away for three
years as a student in Britain. I found Cyprian’s account of the political
in-fighting and intrigue of those early years absolutely enthralling and
enlightening and it filled the gaps in my own knowledge of the events that eventually
led so many of us to decide that, much though we loved Kenya and its peoples,
we had to take what was for most of us a painful step to emigrate to other
countries where we could make a more secure future for ourselves and for our
families.
From your
account I gather that you were born and raised in Goa and immigrated to Canada
when you were 25. You probably had little knowledge or interest in Kenya. I
don’t say that in a negative way because there was probably no reason for you to
take more than a cursory interest in an African country. You are probably not
aware of the deeply personal struggle that Goans and many other Indians of my
generation had in leaving the only country that we had known as “home” to
venture to an uncertain future in countries such as England, Canada and
Australia. A closer reading of Cyprian’s book may inform you of some these
personal struggles. I left a comfortable and secure job as a teacher in Kenya
and arrived in Lethbridge, Alberta in 1975 to start a new career at the age of
38. I have no regrets and Canada has been a wonderful home to me, my wife and
daughter. Most Goans I know who immigrated from Kenya to Canada have not spent
time in wistful musing about the paradise we left behind as you seem to think.
We have moved on, forged new careers, made many new friends and contributed to
the communities we became an integral part of, as, I am sure, you have, Mr.
Antao. That does not mean that we have erased our memories of the past whether
we “basked” or toiled under the “British colonial sun”.
I have happy
memories of growing up in Kenya, of travels in East Africa, of climbing
Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Elgon, of playing hockey with my friends, no less than
six of whom were destined to become Olympians, of teaching in some of the fine
schools in Kenya including historic Allidina Visram High School in Mombasa, of
great holidays spent at the coast and visiting several wonderful beaches. I
have memories of dear classmates, students and friends. I was thrilled when I browsed
through Cyprian’s second book, “Stars Next Door”, to find that it recorded the
achievements of many Goans for posterity. I knew many of the people who are
mentioned as classmates and friends and reading about them brought back many
happy memories.
To use your
own terms, Mr. Antao, I was astonished and filled with anguish that you so
casually and superciliously discredited the efforts of a fellow Goan whose two
books have put on record events and persons that needed to be recorded by a writer
who had a unique opportunity as a reporter to get the inside scoop in a way
that the rest of us didn’t. Neither of Cyprian’s books has anything to do with
the colonial period or with discussing the merits or demerits of British rule.
You thought “he’d be more inclined to be objective, judicious and rather
circumspect than be eager to pander to his compatriots in the diaspora”.
Frankly, I don’t know what you are referring to and I am inclined to believe
that you had some preconceived notions of what the book was about and were
upset when your cursory perusal revealed nothing in the book remotely related
to a bitter indictment of British colonial rule in Kenya. Why should it? That
is not what Cyprian set out to do. If you truly are interested in appraisals of
British colonial rule in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa, there is a whole body
of writing that covers every aspect of policy and implementation as, indeed,
there is on the rule of the British Raj in India and the Portuguese in Goa. But
then, you as a journalist, teacher and writer would know that. So why do you go
looking for that in Cyprian’s book that has nothing to do with that branch of
study?
As for the
term “paradise” that you seem to find so offensive, nowhere in Cyprian’s book
do I find any reference to British Colonial rule as paradise. Rather it is
clear to me that in retrospect, Cyprian sees his youth and life in Kenya as a
happy and exciting time. To me, this is quite remarkable as he grew up in circumstances
so different to my own comfortable and conventional upbringing; Cyprian came
from a family where his mother had to leave an abusive husband and raise her
family working a variety of menial jobs to feed her clutch of children. Then there
came the traumatic ending to his formal education, an early indication of his
stubborn resolve to stand up for his principles regardless of consequences. At
the age of fourteen (at which age I was still learning to tie my shoe laces),
he set out with determination to make it as a reporter in spite of his lack of
qualifications. All things considered, I saw much to admire in Cyprian’s
survival in his career as a reporter and his courage in exposing the dark
underbelly of Kenya’s politics – I know that I would not have had the
intestinal fortitude to do so.
Fortunately, his dear wife’s insistence that that they leave Kenya when he
began to receive death threats almost definitely saved his life. We know that there
were others who probed too deeply and did not live to tell the tale. Sadly, Mr.
Antao, you dismiss all Cyprian’s extraordinary life experiences with a sneering
remark about “a messiah (who) had sprung with spring water to quench their (East
African Goans) thirst and longing for the bygone days.”
As you are a
writer and would wish your work to be judged fairly, I would suggest that you
read “Yesterday in Paradise” over again, this time more carefully. You will
discover that it is not a work of literary fiction, nor is it an evaluation of
British colonial rule. Rather it is a factual and highly personal account of a
young boy growing up in Kenya and overcoming the obstacles of life in his own
resourceful way. Most of us Goans who
grew up in Kenya had caring parents whose hard work, middle class values and
sacrifices enabled their children to lead happy lives with opportunities for
sports and other recreational activities. Cyprian did not start off with many of
the advantages that many of the rest of us enjoyed. The fact that he succeeded
in making a life for himself, marrying the love of his life and achieving many
of his goals is a remarkable testimony to himself and his wonderful mother. He
looks back to his life in Kenya and considers that he was living in Paradise. I
think that in itself is remarkable, Mr. Antao, and I admire Cyprian all the
more for it. I hope that you too can feel the same about your origins in Goa, a
homeland that is dear to me in spite of the colonial power that held sway
there.
As a Goan who
immigrated from Kenya to Canada, I don’t really care what you think of me – and
I think most other Goans in my category would agree with me. However, you have
made some highly questionable and uncalled for criticisms of Cyprian Fernandes
and his books and I really think that you owe him an apology for judging him
too hastily. While you are about it, you may also consider apologising to
Juliet Rebello and J. D’Souza for the patronising and condescending manner in
which you treated their well-meant remarks. You may be a very accomplished
author but that is no way to treat your friends..
I rest my
case.
Francis Noronha
fnoronha@telusplanet.net
August 29,
2018, Lethbridge, Alberta.
Comments to skipfer@live.com.au
Comments to skipfer@live.com.au
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