Attached is "A Tribute to GEM Diaspora-Pioneers." This article honors GEM (Goans, East-Indians, and Mangaloreans) pioneers who made the daring migration out of their Overseas Territory of the Portuguese Empire.
Current GEM diaspora has migrated (internally within India or internationally) once or even twice, while many have been born in their adopted homeland. Yet this settlement would not have been possible without the groundwork being laid by the pioneers mostly in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of them have passed away, and the recent demise of
Queen Elizabeth II is a sad reminder that many GEMs of her age-cohorts are in peril.
We hope you enjoy reading this aspect of colonial history. We call upon all GEM
diaspora to research the history of their own diaspora-pioneers and document it
for posterity. To know our history is to recognize our culture. There is a lot of ‘food for thought.’ Please forward these articles to your
relatives, friends, peers, Indian and Lusitanian chat sites. Sharing history is
sharing our cultural heritage; and the work is for us, by us. Thank you for
allowing us to share this with you.
Hope this essay provides the readers with a
framework of their historical journey. Doing the homework will
prepare one for Shashi Tharoor’s words of wisdom: “If you do not know
where you have been, how do you know where you seek to go? History belongs in
the past, but understanding it is the duty of the present.”
Philomena and Gilbert
Lawrence,
Authors: Insights
into Colonial Goa,
The e-book is 635 pages (Kindle Publisher):
Word Count: 197,400.
Bibliography: 86 References
The 330-page book provides details about the “story behind the
story” of certain major events relating to Portugal's Eastern Empire. The bibliography
comprises the titles of 86 books and published papers examined, studied, and
referenced, which makes the book a useful tool for those interested in Lusitania's colonial history.
