By Selma Carvalho
Here amidst the well-preserved wooden boxes and files was almost a Pompeiian preservation of how Goans lived in Zanzibar, the quarrels they had, the estates they left behind, their obituaries, registration of contracts, and most significantly their quasi-political role within the Portuguese consulate of Zanzibar. Here they existed not as someone else’s perception of them but as blood and bone, kith and kin.
By Selma Carvalho
Issue no 25
In 1877, urged by the British, Barghash formed an army and it is customary within British military tradition to have a band attached to battalions, in order to perform marching and ceremonial music. What is extraordinary is that in a time of colonial hierarchies defined by race, the intended band for Barghash’s army would comprise almost entirely of Goans from the west coast of India.
In conversation with Tina Athaide
Issue no. 14
Our ties to Uganda date back to 1927. My grandfather, Anthonio Athaide, was the first family member to move to Entebbe. He worked as an accountant for the Public Works Department and played cricket for the Uganda team. He married Elvina Fernandes in 1931 in Goa. She stayed back at the Athaide family home for another four years before joining Anthonio, in Entebbe, in 1935.
