Asian Indians remind me of Latin America or the Middle East in physical appearance and color range but they seem, to me, to sometimes be much more hostile. I have come to suspect that caste thinking plays a significant role in that. For this reason, I tend to be against their presence in Africa. I am against any deeply hostile presence in Africa e.g. whites, East Asians; I much prefer the Lebanese.

With some others, just leave each other alone.

Even before the scandal around Mabira came to light, signs of rising tension were evident on the social and political landscape of Uganda. Mabira turned into a major scandal because it symbolised a collusion between an increasingly unaccountable President and an arrogant tycoon from a racialised minority. The President had taken to treating the country as his private preserve; the grant of Mabira was simply the latest in a series of grants (of a school in one case or an information ministry facility in another) by the president, always claiming that his personal will represented the interests of ‘development’. The tycoon too claimed to be doing the country a favour — once again, ‘development’ — rather than lining his own pockets. Mabira outraged just about everyone, from the Kabaka to the mukopi, the mwami to the muyaye. [snip] So what is this Asian Question? It is a different question for different groups of Ugandans. For those in urban and peri-urban areas looking to join commerce, it has to do with the crowding of the market place by immigrant traders, even hawkers — Indian and Chinese — often entitled as ‘investors’. For the middle and the lower-middle classes who have put their energies and assets in secondary and even higher education in the hope of securing their children a white-collar job, it is about the ease with which immigrants seem to be able to get residence and work permits at the expense of jobless nationals. For businesspersons of substance, it is about unfair competition and unequal access to officially sanctioned resources and connections. All of them complain of unfair treatment, and all expect preferential treatment for nationals in an independent country. For all of them, this is a question of nationalism, of meaningful independence.

Thought provoking. Well worth reading the whole thing.

The editor, Zahid Rajan, has issued this statement about the recent violence in Uganda:

Awaaz notes with concern the recent re-emergence of racial conflict in Uganda. It is indeed sad that the South Asian community in Uganda as a whole has paid the price for the recklessness of a few. South Asian leaders have once again collaborated with the ruling class; this time to rape the country of its natural resource and continue the exploitation of the Ugandan people. It is the story of the South Asians in East Africa since the advent of independence in the territories. These business tycoons are single mindedly determined to make money in collaboration with the ruling elites. In doing so they portray the entire South Asian community as the ‘visible enemy’; and thus undermine the positive roles that ordinary South Asians have played, and are playing, in the colonial and independent histories of the East African countries. It is indeed disappointing that President Museveni considers environmental conservation a ‘luxury’! We in Kenya are grappling with trying to replace our lost environmental resources and are already suffering from the consequences. Surely Uganda’s South Asian industrialists should understand this global concern. Their complete inability in Uganda to learn from history and chart a new path of national inclusion and reconciliation, instead of exacerbating the myth of exploitation, is shocking, to say the least. It is reckless and irresponsible for the Mehta Group to attempt to plunder the resources of Uganda in complete violation of the wishes of the Ugandan people and of international environmental standards. We do applaud the sentiments of the general Ugandan South Asian community in condemning the move by the Mehta group. They need to link up with the rest of the Ugandan community and struggle for a just, democratic and environmentally secure country. Awaaz once again reiterates that it stands for: The need for the South Asian communities in East Africa to get involved politically and cast their lot with the masses of the 3 countries. As Awaaz has shown, history is replete with examples of individuals who have participated in the political processes in the region. Some notable individuals are: Uganda: Sugra Visram – MP 1963 – 1966 Kenya: Pio Gama Pinto – Socialist, freedom fighter. Makhan Singh – founder of the Trade Union Movement. Manilal Desai – party organizer & freedom fighter Tanzania: Sophia Mustafa – MP 1958 – 1965. Amir Jamal – Minister of Finance The community has to get involved in the day to day political processes be it at Parliamentary or Civic levels. We in Kenya have once again the opportunity of getting representation in the body politic during the upcoming 2007 election. Finally we stand in solidarity with the Ugandan people and the Ugandan South Asian community as they struggle against dictatorship and political repression. We have to stand up and be counted – history will judge us accordingly!

One of the many reason’s blogs like this are important is because people may feel less inhibited than they might otherwise feel to express their thoughts,opinions etc. And perhaps learn about other people/groups that they might not interact with ‘in real life’. Sometimes that might be just as hard as a fish swimming in water ,trying to understand humans walking in the ground.

Some “whites” look down on African-Americans also; so do some Chinese, Japanese, whatever. Within the African-American community also, there are issues – from what I understand, there is a preference for “light skin.” There are issues confronting all communities that I guess, Americans as a whole have to address. As an Indian, I know perfectly well there are any number of social problems confronting us in India. Have I denied it? Look again at my posts. What is your point?

One point I did not make (I assumed it was understood- my bad). I am an American. I am of Afro descent. The two are mutually exclusive. One defines the ‘culture’ that is my heritage/the culture that I ascribe to. The other statement for the purpose of this discussion; my race. When I state the word Assimilation I do not mean Miscegenationjust so you understand me.

As an Indian I’m sure the preference for light skin is something you just can’t fathom. Yes, all kinds & colors of people look down on people of Afro descent. Again, as an Indian- I’m sure that’s is just something you would have to try and imagine but bless you for engaging in the dialogue and making the attempt.

Here’s an interesting opinion piece, from a Nairobi newspaper, calling for for more political engagement among East Africa’s Indians:

The fact that today there isn’t an East African capital where a national of Asian descent occupies a prominent public post testifies to a failure of the multicultural project. Ironically, one of the reasons Asians have become politically marginalised was the advance of democracy. Politics became more tribal, and the broad coalition of agendas – including Asian commercial interests – embraced by the independence parties collapsed. IN THE PAST, THE UNPOPULAR figure of the foul-mouthed Asian shopkeeper was cancelled out by the prestigious persons of an Asian Speaker of parliament or mayor. Today, most respectable Asian figures court a low public profile or even “invisibility”. There’s no longer an Asian voice in politics in East Africa to put the community’s side of the story or to defend itself against xenophobic propaganda. Instead, it’s the Kamlesh Pattnis and forest cutters like the Mehtas who have become its public face, even though they are a tiny minority. To improve the situation, Asians will have to re-engage politically again as they did in the 1960s. If sectarian voting patterns make that impossible, then they should be given special seats. In Uganda, there are probably more Asians in the country than disabled persons. However, the disabled have special seats in parliament and the Asians don’t.

Some of the comments do strike me as rationalising what happened. There is a thin line between “understanding” and “rationalising” and to my mind, the line was crossed. Also, there is only so much “understanding” it is possible to give – how much “understanding” do you want to give the murderers in Delhi 1984? in Gujarat 2002? to the Nazis? to the perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide?

This kind of mad, senseless violence goes on everywhere. It happens in India as we all know. Its always the innocent who suffer, whether its those poor Asians who were murdered brutally in Uganda, or those poor people who have been brutally murdered in communal riots in India. The only way to stop the madness is to understand the underlying causes of it.

If the violence is indeed “mad” and “senseless,” what is there to understand? You can prevent violence only if you think it is motivated with a purpose. In India, some of the recent work indeed take the viewpoint that riots are deliberately engineered. See, for instance, the American scholar Paul Brass’s “The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India.” Note the deliberate use of the word “production.”

There were several comments about how Indians look down on Africans in Africa. Well, Indians look down on African Americans here. And Indians look down on African students, visitors, etc. in India. Indians should stop looking down on people in general.

Some “whites” look down on African-Americans also; so do some Chinese, Japanese, whatever. Within the African-American community also, there are issues – from what I understand, there is a preference for “light skin.” There are issues confronting all communities that I guess, Americans as a whole have to address. As an Indian, I know perfectly well there are any number of social problems confronting us in India. Have I denied it? Look again at my posts. What is your point?

Regarding your last sentence – are you always this pompous? Presumably, you are the sole shining exception to the rule!

My comment was meant to reflect that if you decide to leave your native country and settle where there is exploitation, colonialism, corruption etc, you should be aware of the consequences for yourself and your children. I dont think any of the Indians went there without knowing the history of the place, and believing it’s a country whose leaders promote fairness and acceptance. BTW, my husband’s uncle was shot by a worker at his business in Kenya in the 60′s. I know many other examples of this, yet there is still a large Indian community in Kenya. There must be something keeping them there. Also, as much as new immigrants from India complain about the loose morality etc in the US, they choose to settle here, presumably after working out a risk-benefit ratio which must be pretty appealing. You cant have your cake and eat it too!

Ahmedabad Newsline’s claim (quoted in that New Vision article) that there are 15,000 Patels in Kampala just can’t be true. The Indian government’s own survey of the diaspora in 2000 estimated 12,000 PIOs and NRIs in all of Uganda. The trend would be for the numbers to hold steady or decline (better jobs and educational opportunities elsewhere for an increasingly wealthy and mobile community). Not that there is not a significant Indian presence in Uganda–just that the community is not as large or obvious as it was in previous generations. The Asian population in 1972, at the time of the Amin purge, was 50,000.