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A proud occasion for Mombasa Makadara Goans
~ Election of a Goan MP in Australia ~
By Marci Pereira
(A slightly shorter version of a longer clinical examination of the Mascarenhas and Makadara connection)
Some of us will have read or heard that a Goan
Member of Parliament named Zaneta Mascarenhas was elected to the Australian
Federal Parliament in their elections held on 21 May, 2022. Zaneta, born in Australia,
is the younger daughter of our schoolmate and my Makadara-mate: Joseph
Mascarenhas.
Joseph was better known in his family and to us in
Makadara, as ‘Sucor’. That name is a derivation from the Portuguese word
‘Sucorro’, meaning help. As is customary, many of our traditional Catholic Goan
names are assigned in honour of a Saint or carry a spiritual connection. In all
likelihood, the link in this case is ‘Our Lady ~ Help of Christians’ and
Sucorro is probably one of his middle names. I remember, one of my younger
cousins Thomas, was also known as Sucor in our younger days. In reference to
many of our names having a religious connection, I recall too, during my time
at the Goan School, a lad named Spiritus Sanctus.
My story begins in Makadara in the 1940s/50s.
Joseph was a playmate from my earliest days as far as I can remember. He was
the eldest boy of a family of 7 siblings. I had left Kenya in 1963 and was
always curious to want to know whatever happened to, and the whereabouts, of
this Mascarenhas family. I had lost all contact until 2011 when I got to learn
of their family dispersion in a little roundabout way. That year, my wife
Agnela, lost her brother Francis Joanes in the USA, who had lived and worked in
California since emigrating from Nairobi, Kenya, and in retirement moved to
Arizona to be close to his grandchildren. Whilst in California, he kept in
touch with many fellow Goans, some of whom he had known in Mombasa. Francis has
two boys and a daughter who although born in Kenya were largely schooled and
raised in the USA.
On his passing, his children received numerous
condolence messages, many of whom were from Goans they did not know and asked
Agnela to kindly acknowledge these on their behalf. Amongst the number, I came
across one from a ‘Maria Mehegan’ stating that she was from the Makadara
Mascarenhas family. That little hint prompted me to reach out to Maria by email
to find out if she is a relation of Sucor.
Indeed, it turned out that Maria is Joseph’s
younger sister and from our exchanges, I got to find out about the family’s
whereabouts. Joseph is in Perth, Australia, whilst the rest of the family are
all in California. When asked if she would kindly share his email contact with
me, I received this address: & lt; zaneta……..@......com> (!!!) and
got to learn that Zaneta was his daughter. That unusual name ‘Zaneta’ was
transfixed on my mind, since. That was in 2011. Apart from Joseph Mascarenhas,
there were two other ‘Mascarenhas’ families in Makadara, whose boys also went
to the Goan school during my time: a) The well-known sportsman – Tony Masky and
b) John Mascarenhas, a younger generation teacher at the Mombasa Goan School,
brother of Al Mascarenhas. Interestingly, all these Mascarenhas’ came from a
tailoring background.
We heard of someone hailing from a ‘humble
background’ when they, or their families, endured hardships trying to make ends
meet. From my recall, using that measure, Joseph Mascarenhas’ family were the
‘humblest of the humble’. That is why in my estimation, to see a ‘Member of Parliament’
emerge from such a family, generates enormous pride, as I am sure, it will do
to other Makadara Goans with tailoring connections too. If Zaneta hailed from
one of our acknowledged educated/elite/intellectual members of our Goan
community, this news would not carry as much kudos for me as it does in this
case, having known her family background in Makadara first-hand. To further emphasise
this point, I never forget how Joseph had to sacrifice schooling at an early
age and take up work at African Marine to sustain the family, when his dad, the
breadwinner, was incapacitated. That makes Zaneta’s achievements/accomplishments
even more remarkable.
Our families were neighbourhood friends in Makadara
and Mungul, Goa. I fondly remember Joseph’s mother, whose first name was
probably ‘Felicidade’ was addressed as ‘Phistade’ in Konkani, by our mums. I
note that Zaneta has a middle name ‘Felice’, and her baby daughter is named
‘Felicity’ – presumably, in honour of the grandmother/great-grandmother.
Likewise, my Mum, whose name was Micaela was called ‘Nicael’ within our Konkani
network and a granddaughter was named Micaela in her honour.
A Crack Shot
Joseph and I did not cross paths since I left Kenya
in 1963. We did however meet for the first time, since then, in Goa, roughly 7
years ago and that too by chance. His family is from the village of Mungul and my
wife, Agnela’s, ancestral home is in the adjoining ward of Pedda, Benaulim. We
happened to attend Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Chapel in Mungul. At the
end of Mass, three groups of people were
gathered outside, in conversation with family and
friends. A cousin of mine Marilyn, who also lived in Mungul, came up to me,
drew me aside and pointing to this person enquired: “Do you know him?”
I looked hard and had no clue who he was, so shook
my head. “Sucor! Sucor!” she called out excitedly. My reaction was ‘Oh my God!’
and embracing him remarked: “Man, I never forget you” to which he responded
with just two words: “The Stone?”
‘The Stone?’ Now, that is a story in itself. Joseph
and I must have started school at the same time at the ‘White Sisters Convent
School’, now Star of the Sea School, in 1946. Then, the school did accept boys up
to the age of 10/11. My older siblings, Juliana and Lazarus were already at the
school. To shelter us from the unrelenting Mombasa midday sun, our parents had
bought us the lightweight khaki pith helmets
imported from India. Remember those broad-rimmed
padded helmets worn in the British colonial era?
We used to walk to and from Makadara to the Convent
School taking the shortest route through that narrow road between the PWD and
Baumann Bros that went past the Stella Maris Club and the Goan Institute’s
tennis courts on one side and Neville Laporte’s (another of our schoolmates,
who finished in 1956) home on the other.
One particular day, on our way back, we were joined
by Joseph and when we got past the Bristol Bar, we used to go our different
ways when approaching the Makadara Baluchi Mosque – he would cut across the Makadara
Park and I and my siblings carry on straight ahead. A couple of minutes later,
I momentarily lifted my helmet to give my scalp a breather, just as tennis and
golf players do. Precisely at that moment, a stone struck me on the crown of my
head. There was I, bleeding profusely over my white shirt and school shorts.
Thankfully, we were very close to home to receive prompt attention. Where did
that stone come from? We could think of only one culprit: Sucor. Needless to
say, he would have had his fair share of spanking at home when word reached his
parents. As a child, he had a reputation in the neighbourhood of what our
elders described, as being ‘very naughty. Here in the west, we now know, such
children are said to be ‘hyperactive’. On reflection, I think to myself: ‘Gosh,
with that deadly accuracy of his throwing arm, Joseph would have slotted
admirably in the Australian Cricket XI’. Tale of ‘The Stone’ we both remember
to this day.
When we met in Goa after all those years, I was so anxious
to sit down and have a long chat with him to find out about his African Marine
work experience and also, what led him and his wife to choose Australia.
Unfortunately, he was preoccupied in attending to the refurbishment of his
family home in Mungul and time was short for us both. But with Zaneta so much
in the media spotlight since her election, I have been able to pick up,
elements of their lives in Australia, in the press, which answer many of my
curiosities. I am also pleased to see the latest pictures of her family too and
find out who is who.
Meeting up at MIOME
I finished school in 1958 and had ambitions for
further studies but Mombasa only had a Teachers’ Training College then. There
was however an educational institute: ‘Mombasa Institute of Muslim Education
(MIOME)’ located in Tudor, which as the name suggests, was exclusively meant
for Muslims. Rightly so, for it was funded by their community. In 1960, there
appeared a posting from MIOME, in the Mombasa Times, announcing evening classes
in ‘Workshop Engineering’, working towards the City; Guilds
certificate, open to all communities. I jumped at that opportunity as an entry
into further education which entailed attending three evenings per week and
would cycle to Tudor and back from Makadara.
Many of those that attended, turned out to be our Mombasa schoolmates. I mentioned earlier that Joseph Mascarenhas, due to family circumstances, was obliged to leave school early and took up work at African Marine. Several of our schoolmates that did not finish school, likewise, ended up taking apprenticeships at African Marine. Joseph became a master welder and the others too would have also acquired engineering skills of some kind to do with that industry.
That MIOME ‘Workshop Engineering Course’ was
targeted at engineering companies such as African Marine, East African Railways, Harbours and the like. These employers encouraged their work staff
to take advantage of these evening classes by reimbursing their fees. Apart
from Joseph Mascarenhas, I recall other schoolmates who attended: John Denoris,
Henry Tavares, Stephen Ferros, John Homen, Francis De Souza, Dennis Fernandes
and his brother. John Denoris, Henry and Stephen who did achieve the Cambridge
School Certificate were recruited by EA Railways & amp; Harbours to train
to operate pilot tugboats for shipping in Mombasa harbour. The lecturers at
MIOME were mostly from the UK and the facilities at the Institute were
creditworthy. I look back at those evening classes and am thankful that they
helped launch me into Mechanical Engineering at university. The reason for
drawing this topic into this chapter is to show how Joseph Mascarenhas’
background and work history played an influential role in Zaneta’s career
choice in later years.
School Geography/History Lessons
Australia has always fascinated me since the
geography lessons delivered by the school Principal, Mr Ildefonse De Souza,
around 1956/57. We learnt of this ‘far away’ continent in the southern
hemisphere, richly endowed with vast mineral wealth and agricultural resources
and a relatively small population for its size (approximately 27 million in
2022). One point that stuck with me from those geography lessons, was that
Australian sugar was the most expensive in the world. Why? Because producers
only had white labour to employ from. We also learnt about mining centres in
Western Australia with such rhythmic names as Kalgoorlie, Coolgardie and
Pilbara. Imagine those school lessons coming alive and becoming more meaningful
right now in compiling this chapter on Australia.
Since 1901 Australia had in place a ‘White
Australia policy to maintain a white, British national character. That policy
was not a single government directive but a series of acts: “The Immigration Restriction
Act; Pacific Island Labourers Act; and the Post & Telegraph Act”, all
passed in 1901 which formed the initial legislative foundation for racial
exclusion. What happened since? Here is an extract from an article by Benjamin
T. Jones for the Australian NITV (National Indigenous TV) dated 2017 that offers
an interesting insight into that phase of Australian immigration history:
“The Immigration Restriction Act in particular
epitomises the spirit of the White Australia policy, and its hypocrisy. It
never mentioned the words “white” or “race”, but the parliamentary debates –
and their application – make clear it was a tool of racial exclusion. The act’s
most infamous feature was a dictation test. Migrants could be asked to write 50
words in any European language. Officers could manipulate the test to exclude
any undesired person.
The most famous example was Jewish
communist Egon Kisch. Fluent in several European languages, he was
arrested after failing to recite the Lord’s Prayer in Scottish Gaelic. Between
1901 and 1958 (when it was dumped), only around 2,000 people ever took the
test. Despite the non-racial terminology, its purpose was understood. As a
direct result, non-whites largely avoided coming to Australia, and overseas
shipping companies did not issue tickets to people likely to fail the test. The
White Australia policy received bipartisan support but was gradually dismantled
by both sides.
Conservative governments introduced the Migration
Act in 1958 and its significant modification in 1966. Driven partly by the
“populate or perish” doctrine, non-Europeans were allowed to come to Australia
based on skills and suitability rather than race. Eventually, they were offered
the same pathway to citizenship as Europeans. The progressive Whitlam
government symbolically buried the last remnants of the White Australia policy
in 1973. The Racial Discrimination Act made it illegal to “offend,
insult, humiliate or intimidate” someone because of their race. Those words are
from Section 18C of that act, which the current government is seeking to
amend.”
With all this knowledge of the history and
geography of Australia still latent in my mind, you will understand my desire
for wanting to sit down and have a long chat with Joseph Mascarenhas when we
met some years ago in Mungul, Goa, to find out more about his time at African
Marine and his application to migrate to Australia. During the little time we
did have, there are a couple of points I do remember him talking about. He
joined African Marine when that prominent member of the Goan community: Mr
Vianna (father of our schoolmates: Xavier/Alfred/Ernest/Monty) was there. In
fact, African Marine was just ‘up the road’ from them. I remember too, that we
had two of our Makadara neighbours, brothers John and Hilary Fernandes, also
working there then.
Joseph had to apply twice to the High Commission before
he was accepted. At his first interview, he was informed that he had the right
skills but the wrong colour. How demeaning that must have felt. Any wonder
after reading the above extract from Benjamin T Jones’ article on Australia’s
immigration policy? Joseph did also mention that he did survive a very serious
accident and unfortunately, we did not have the time or opportunity for me to
probe into that and other of his experiences further.
However, when Joseph did get accepted the following
year, he decided to take his entire toolbox with him by sea. As a master
welder, you can just imagine his tool collection and the weight of his personal
luggage. When asked, why he chose Perth over other Australian cities he replied
that was his first port of call in Australia after that long voyage crossing the
Indian Ocean. He described his first few years as being really tough. He was
one of three mates that used to car-share the long weekend commute from Perth
to a mine in Kalgoorlie and back.
Ex-students – Migration preferences
At the start of this school project, I was aware
that Mombasa Goan School ex-students were widely dispersed around the globe and
mainly to English-speaking countries: UK, Canada, Australia and the USA, in the
main. With relatives in the UK, Canada and the USA, I had a measure of the demands
and challenges confronted by members of our community to establish themselves,
from scratch,in these newfound ‘distant lands’. Australia was the odd one out,
not having met anyone personally, who had settled there. Joseph Mascarenhas
happened to be the first one whom I knew and met in Goa, a few years ago. Hence
my curiosity and line of questioning when we met:
1) What was it like in applying to go to Australia?
2) Why Australia rather than UK, Canada, USA?
3) What made you choose Perth as opposed to the
other cities?
4) What is life like out there for you and your
family?
5) Are you proud to be a citizen of that host
country or would you have preferred another choice?
We all know that it was issues of acceptability and
insecurity – in pre/post-independent Kenya and for that matter, Uganda and
Tanzania too, that prompted many of us to get out to whichever country would accept
us. Furthermore, Idi Amin’s edict of expelling all Asians will, without doubt,
have unnerved our communities in East Africa whether in Uganda or not. A
realisation of: ‘If it can happen there why not here? Pre and
post-independence, there was a perceptible atmosphere of hostility towards all
Asians and a declared drive towards ‘A Black Africa Policy’ by intent, via a
commitment to ‘Africanisation’. Hence, our emigration to those distant lands.
As Zaneta queries in her speech: “Why would anyone
leave their family and friends and move to a new country?” Which country we
opted for depended on numerous factors such as:
a) Knowing family members, friends/acquaintances or
former work colleagues who made the move first, and following them.
b) The country is prepared to accept our educational accomplishment/s, profession, skill, work experience and our families.
c) Prospects for the whole family and possibly the
extended family to join in time.
d) Prospects for educational enhancement and
employment opportunities.
e) Law and order and economic and political
stability.
The majority of our ex-students are located here in
the UK. Perhaps understandable, because Kenya being a British colony would qualify
them for access to British travel
documentation in the first instance. Quite a few
did use the UK as a springboard before migrating to other English-speaking
territories. The picture that emerges in terms of dispersion ranking:
1) UK
2) Canada
3) USA
4) Australia. There is a sprinkling of ex-students
in other parts of Europe: Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, France, Czech
Republic. Several in New Zealand. A few qualified for entry as spouses of
nationals of the host countries. A good many of our ex-students are in Goa and
not forgetting those that have remained back in Kenya. The same applied to
school staff members. From those that have come to my attention, most went to
the UK or Canada it seems. With the likes of Dr Neves Pereira, Mrs May Soares,
Mr Custa Correia, Mr Edmund Cordeiro, the Furtado brothers, Mr Miranda and Mr
Leo Noronha (who then moved to and passed away in Nagpur, India): Canada seemed
the preferred choice.
Two went to Australia: Mr Joe Fernandes (School
Sports Master) and Mrs JV De Souza. Interestingly, I learnt via her family,
that Mrs JV De Souza’s name was Adelaide!!! The school Principal during my
time: Mr Ildefonse De Souza, returned to Goa as did Professor Suresh Amonkar
who returned to take over the running of the school in Mapusa, founded by his
ailing father in 1960. In all likelihood, our teachers, who were mainly
graduates from Indian universities and emigrated to English-speaking countries would
have confronted the issue of having to undertake additional refresher courses
in host countries, before being permitted to teach. Dr Neves Pereira did his
PhD in Canada. Mr Costa Correia, who did a postgraduate course at Fulbright
University in the USA, presumably qualified to teach in Canada thereby.
Entry Requirements for Australia
Once the White Australia policy was abandoned in
1973, immigration has been controlled using the so, called ‘Points-based
System’ envied and now deployed by the UK, since exiting from the European Union.
Points are awarded based amongst others on age, profession, skills, educational
attainment, proof of resources to support oneself, ability to speak English and
evidence of family already settled there.
My interest and research into Australia first began when working on the chapter on school luminary: Dr Caetano Quadros who migrated to Australia in 1970, as well. Contrasting the two cases of Dr Caetano and Joseph Mascarenhas, who coincidentally both ended up in Perth, I see Australia’s points-based immigration system in action. Australia had a need for medical specialists as much as engineers and engineering technicians to work in their mines. In other words, they needed blue-collar workers as much as white-collar professionals. I did allude earlier to the demands and challenges moving to a new country would have placed on everyone of us that left Kenya for a fresh beginning. Below is an extract from my write-up on Dr Caetano Quadros which formed a part of the eulogy that was delivered by his daughter Dr Carmen Quadros. It puts into perspective her dad’s challenges on arriving in Australia and touches upon aspects discussed above.
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