I have no evidence but I shudder to think...
Do you know of any unwanted and forgotten children...?
It seems to be well known, fully accepted and clearly documented fact that many American soldiers fathered children during their tours of duty in Vietnam. It seems that almost all of of these children were left behind to be brought up by their Vietnamese mothers. I am not aware of any concerted efforts that were made by American servicemen to go back to 'claim' their partners and their children. I think this is an aspect of the war in Vietnam that has not been well documented. I have not come across any serious book which deals with this subject. There was also major occurrence of intermarriage between white men and Indian women during the British raj, leading to the formation of the Anglo-Indian community, which was culturally rich and an achieving one for that.
I would like to know more about what happened in Vietnam and would welcome information from reliable sources.
During the time I was in school in Kampala, one often came across children of mixed race whose fathers had decided to bring them up as Asians. There were notable names in school and divulging them here would be irresponsible. Many of them did well and in the case of a few they also made a name for themselves in several arenas.
So what did really happen to children who were fathered by Ugandan Asian men? Were they living in any predominant geographical area eg the capital or the rural areas? Were they supported by their absentee fathers? I would think not. I shudder to accept the reality that the children were abandoned. I have no evidence but one would hope that the children found stable homes and were able to attend schools of their choice.
It seems to be well known, fully accepted and clearly documented fact that many American soldiers fathered children during their tours of duty in Vietnam. It seems that almost all of of these children were left behind to be brought up by their Vietnamese mothers. I am not aware of any concerted efforts that were made by American servicemen to go back to 'claim' their partners and their children. I think this is an aspect of the war in Vietnam that has not been well documented. I have not come across any serious book which deals with this subject. There was also major occurrence of intermarriage between white men and Indian women during the British raj, leading to the formation of the Anglo-Indian community, which was culturally rich and an achieving one for that.
I would like to know more about what happened in Vietnam and would welcome information from reliable sources.
During the time I was in school in Kampala, one often came across children of mixed race whose fathers had decided to bring them up as Asians. There were notable names in school and divulging them here would be irresponsible. Many of them did well and in the case of a few they also made a name for themselves in several arenas.
So what did really happen to children who were fathered by Ugandan Asian men? Were they living in any predominant geographical area eg the capital or the rural areas? Were they supported by their absentee fathers? I would think not. I shudder to accept the reality that the children were abandoned. I have no evidence but one would hope that the children found stable homes and were able to attend schools of their choice.
However, we also know of some Asian men who married African women, set up respectable homes with them and tried to give the women a proper place in the Asian society. I dont think the Asian society was ready for them. It was racist, judgmental and unfair in a situation where the same society accepted mixed marriages where the women were white. For various reasons, more German women seemed to have married Asian men than any sub-category of 'white' partners. I think there were underlying factors which I will return to in a future post.
posted by K Singh Ajimal at
11:23 pm
2 Comments:
What a humourous and informative blogsite. I am a Black African interested in the Kenyan Indian community. There is, sadly, little social interaction between our communities even at the middle-class level. I'm learning a lot from your recollections and musings. Please keep writing.
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Anonymous, at 10:20 am
i'm an indian settled in the US, and am intrigued by the indian "settlers" and their relationship with Black native africans. Interested in corresponding with both indians from east africa (asian africans?) and with black africans. Please drop me a note (tarakala@easystreet.com). thanks, --kumar
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Anonymous, at 6:33 pm
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