Kersi Rustomji comments on 'Shillingi for Recognition'
I am grateful for a response from Kersi Rustomji who writes from Australia. Kersi Rustomji says:
"First my congratulations on a very interesting and what will be a valuable piece in future in the total written material records, that are building around the East African Asians Diaspora.
I was born in Kampala in 1936 but moved with my parents to Mwanza in Tanzania, before I was one year old. I grew up in Mwanza till the age of 9, then after a stint in India settled in Kenya till 1974. I just wish to comment on your Shillingi for Recognition in which you have queried the Indian/Asian attitude to charity toward the indigenous people in East Africa. My childhood and adult experiences are that, in all the three East African countries, it was the Asian community that was in the fore front of charity to the local people. This extended from giving a one cent, centi moja, or hela moja in Tanganyika, to the indigent who came to the houses every Friday, to larger charitable organizations as free dispensaries. My childhood recollections of this in Mwanza, Mombasa and Nairobi is also of the shopkeeper providing the same to the 'maskini,' poor. I knew and know of Asian doctors who assisted gratis at the public hospitals utilized predominantly by the indigenous peoples.Most of these 'public assistance' type of charitable work was carried out on and by 'faith/community' basis rather than a unified Asian/Indian approach. eg Sikhs, Lohanas, Wishas, Arya Samajists, Parsis etc offered these as their own bit of charity responses. This diversified charity behaviour, did not therefore create a whole picture of Asian/Indian charities in the old East African countries. My experience of 2003 in Kenya was that while the remaining Asian/Indian community, offered charitable aid and assistance, it was still somewhat fragmented on faith/community basis rather than a unified Asian/Indian front.However, the unified front sometimes does come to the forefront during catastrophes or crisis on national scale. One of the most common response to my inquiry in Kenya was, that the donors were very conscious of 'magendo' corruption, hence rather cautious of pouring their aid into some of the causes, in large amounts, as transparency was not clear. Many preferred to give aid on personal or communal basis, directly to the causes they supported and trusted. From a national or ethnic basis this may not be the most 'open' charity, but charity does exist, even if not too openly or on very large scale. This is also somewhat true of donating to the previous countries of the Diasporan set, though there are those who do not contribute as they have a strong sense of betrayal..I hope this will be of some assistance to you."
Kersi Rustomji.
Australia.
Kersi Rustomji is the author of an autobiographical work, 'Jambo Paulo, Jambo Mykol'. I hope to provide information on how readers may be able to access it.
Kalwant Ajimal
I am grateful for a response from Kersi Rustomji who writes from Australia. Kersi Rustomji says:
"First my congratulations on a very interesting and what will be a valuable piece in future in the total written material records, that are building around the East African Asians Diaspora.
I was born in Kampala in 1936 but moved with my parents to Mwanza in Tanzania, before I was one year old. I grew up in Mwanza till the age of 9, then after a stint in India settled in Kenya till 1974. I just wish to comment on your Shillingi for Recognition in which you have queried the Indian/Asian attitude to charity toward the indigenous people in East Africa. My childhood and adult experiences are that, in all the three East African countries, it was the Asian community that was in the fore front of charity to the local people. This extended from giving a one cent, centi moja, or hela moja in Tanganyika, to the indigent who came to the houses every Friday, to larger charitable organizations as free dispensaries. My childhood recollections of this in Mwanza, Mombasa and Nairobi is also of the shopkeeper providing the same to the 'maskini,' poor. I knew and know of Asian doctors who assisted gratis at the public hospitals utilized predominantly by the indigenous peoples.Most of these 'public assistance' type of charitable work was carried out on and by 'faith/community' basis rather than a unified Asian/Indian approach. eg Sikhs, Lohanas, Wishas, Arya Samajists, Parsis etc offered these as their own bit of charity responses. This diversified charity behaviour, did not therefore create a whole picture of Asian/Indian charities in the old East African countries. My experience of 2003 in Kenya was that while the remaining Asian/Indian community, offered charitable aid and assistance, it was still somewhat fragmented on faith/community basis rather than a unified Asian/Indian front.However, the unified front sometimes does come to the forefront during catastrophes or crisis on national scale. One of the most common response to my inquiry in Kenya was, that the donors were very conscious of 'magendo' corruption, hence rather cautious of pouring their aid into some of the causes, in large amounts, as transparency was not clear. Many preferred to give aid on personal or communal basis, directly to the causes they supported and trusted. From a national or ethnic basis this may not be the most 'open' charity, but charity does exist, even if not too openly or on very large scale. This is also somewhat true of donating to the previous countries of the Diasporan set, though there are those who do not contribute as they have a strong sense of betrayal..I hope this will be of some assistance to you."
Kersi Rustomji.
Australia.
Kersi Rustomji is the author of an autobiographical work, 'Jambo Paulo, Jambo Mykol'. I hope to provide information on how readers may be able to access it.
Kalwant Ajimal
posted by K Singh Ajimal at
10:17 am
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