Twilight of the Exiles: A vanishing tribe Cyprian Fernandes (Reviewed by Shirley Gonsalves)

[Frederick Noronha]

Hidden Gems: Recording the voices of the often-unheard as we wonder how quickly our lives become history (Shirley Gonsalves, Aberdeen/Tivim)

REVIEWED BY Shirley Gonsalves (Aberdeen/Tivim)

tivimkar at gmail.com

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Twilight of the Exiles: A vanishing tribe

Cyprian Fernandes

335 pp in an ebook version

Dec 2020

Available online at https://tinyurl.com/yzyfdrcs

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Cyprian Fernandes, a well-known writer, and popular journalist, is a Kenya-born, ex-Nairobi Goan, who now resides in Sydney, Australia.  The author of the much-acclaimed 'Stars Next Door' (Goa,1556 2018), which captured the stories of the sports stars within the East African Goan community of his generation.

'Yesterday in Paradise' (Goa,1556 2017), was another personal and historical account of life in East Africa of members of the Goan community who lived there.  Yesterday at the Nation provides more accounts from the days the author first worked as a sports journalist at the Kenya-based newspaper.

His latest book, Twilight of the Exiles, comprises of some forty-one stories written by migrants who are all originally from Goa, a small former Portuguese enclave on the west coast of India on the Arabian Sea, but most of who were forced to leave Africa and relocate elsewhere.

This latest contribution from Fernandes meant to document the stories of members of the Goan diaspora and in particular of his own generation, provides some accounts in the first person, others in the form of obituaries of dearly departed friends and family, some in the author's own articulate words.

Somehow these compelling accounts draw you in and you find yourself lost in time and space through the fascinating stories that are told.  Somehow, the connections are there; people, who will inspire, you will admire, and more importantly, you will enjoy reading about.

It is far too difficult to single stories out, as each one is powerful in its own way.  Yet, on a personal level, an interesting one is the story of Meldrita (p.9) and her love of sport, sheer athletic skills, and dedication.

Augmented with photographs of the young woman in action, triumphant, and then later on in her life, stories like this one are a testament to the era.  Strong, resilient, and determined.

There is also The Longest Honeymoon, by the late Elsie Maciel, nèe Collaco (p.197), who I was privileged to have met.  This is a beautiful account of her early life in Kenya as a newly-wed to the much-loved and well-known author, Mervyn Maciel.

You don’t have to dig too deep for hidden gems in this volume.  There are figures such as Edna Monteiro nèe Fernandes, (p.212), and I did enjoy the contribution by Denis Andrew, A Priest on the Run, (p.275).  This is about his love for running and his account of running the Dili marathon, in Timor Leste, where incidentally I have lived for some years.

This group of East African Goans, who in many ways are a relatively small community, evolved in a close-knit way, first in East Africa, and have now become a burgeoning successful migrant community spread across the globe.

This attractive, well-laid-out volume brings together a blend of first- and sometimes second-person accounts of those people, a "vanishing tribe".

Their lives are a representation of a transformation from a comfortable life in East Africa.  Lives that were thrust into an often unwelcoming and uncertain future of fragmentation.  Not to mention their loss of livelihoods, businesses, and professional status; with many having to gain new skills, retrain and adapt to, and survive on, relatively little.  They did so in the initially, largely hostile wider diasporas of Australia, Canada, UK, elsewhere, and, in some cases, Goa.

This style of representing individuals, challenges the stereotypical views of migrants and refugees, towards gender, race, and class and is helpful for those studying the history of the diaspora.  The text is augmented by photographs that many will find an affinity to, including the classics such as wedding and family portraits, tournaments, sports teams, and school photos as well as individual private photographs.  These images capture a range of events, faces, and names that seem distantly familiar to you as well as the unknown community heroes and heroines of their time.

A welcome move away from the anachronistic style of history, which has traditionally been about kings and queens, i.e. the elite members of society, the text borders into the domain of social history, bringing a rich texture to historical narrative.

Fernandes attempts to document these accounts through the words and pictures of the individuals themselves.  In a community not particularly well-known for its business acumen or political enterprise, this volume shows otherwise by recording those from all walks of life.

Contributions to the volume expose the political, social, and cultural nuances of the time.  Their schools, churches, pastimes, and social lives are woven into the political milieu of the period.  Many from this community have since migrated to Canada, UK, Australia, some returned to the land of their ancestors, Goa, or to other places in India, the Gulf States, or Portugal.

The introductory dedication to the volume by Fernandes, enhances the book in an insightful way, using the indigenous words for terms that invoke nostalgia for his readers and contributors.  In including his own account and experiences, Fernandes adds so much to the text and context.  He also adds that memories span his generation, and that of his own parents too.  Interestingly, he muses, nostalgia binds us all, and memory and nostalgia are stepmothers of a kind.

This text is heavily influenced by those with sporting prowess.  This is a familiar area to the author, who was a well-known and respected journalist in the area of sport, which was coincidently a centrifugal force in Goan diasporic community building.  It was a common social activity bringing the youth of the community together body, mind, and soul.  The stories are biased towards sports such as football, hockey, cricket, and athletics.

The inclusion of information on Goan clubs in a chapter by the author titled 'The Goan Clubs and Goan Culture' is most welcome; these institutions were pivotal to social and cultural life and cohesion at the time.  However, an explanation of some of the reasons and rationales behind these clubs would have provided some background to why they are sometimes referred to contentiously.  For example, the excellent contribution by the author on some of these reasons for the neglect of the 'mother tongue' of this particular community, Konkani, is an invaluable one.

Photographs included, mentioned above, are of the kind that many will find an affinity to.  These capture a range of familiar and unknown community heroes and heroines of their time.

Work, social, religious, and cultural activities could have been focussed on more.  This, though, is probably not the fault of the author; rather, it could reflect what was the focus of those who have bravely chosen to share their stories?

Based on their memories, these contributors should be commended for the inspiration they provide as role models.  Glamour as well as terror, plus sadness and poverty, and hardship can be gleaned from the text which also reflects the courage and adaptability of these people whose lives tell a story of how a community shaped our understanding of community, identity and diaspora.  A number of contributors such as that by Armand Rodrigues, (pp.  250-267), gives a vivid and enriching account of his experiences of Goan culture and society and his personal interactions with his memories of Goa which adds to the historic richness of the volume.

These stories are a treasure trove since many from this community have passed away with their stories untold, creating a gap in our knowledge of community history and leaving it to historians to attempt to compile any contextual analysis.  Hopefully, works like these will serve to encourage others to share their stories of this disappearing community before it's too late.

The addition of stories from other communities with connections to Goans, their acquaintances, and spouses, adds a dimension to the book as well as results in including some well-known and prominent figures of influence in the community.  The intricate web of the lives of this generation helps us to gain a sense of perspective of a remarkably resilient, outward-looking, and yet close-knit community.

The book is a resource for those compiling family histories, researchers, and anyone interested in learning from and about the life histories of a migrant community that has moved across at least two, and in some cases, three continents.

Although relying on memories or memoirs is often considered an unreliable source for researchers, such texts can be used to reinforce other evidence and add contexts for a community with a hidden story.  More importantly, these accounts can provide a sense of continuity and heritage for future generations to be proud of.

I can almost hear the voices of this generation say, "How quickly did our lives become history?" I can only reiterate that history is about the present, just as much as it is about the past.  Here, Fernandes has provided an opportunity for the voices of those often unheard.  This collection of hidden legends is a valuable and welcome one and hopefully this is just the start.

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See the Facebook group run by Cyprian Fernandes at https://www.facebook.com/groups/330935877414030

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