Barbados: The Harsh Truth Behind the Symbolism of an Emancipation Statue

I posted this on medium.com earlier today. Reproducing it here.

A few weeks ago, Barbadians erupted in nationalistic pride when a tweet from African American racial justice activist, Samuel Sinyangwe, about the Emancipation statue in Barbados went viral. Sinyangwe was in Barbados and posted two pictures of the statue commenting that he had never seen anything like it in America, this type of monument displayed prominently and designed specifically to symbolise the breaking of chains and the power of black liberation. In his series of tweets, Sinyangwe stated that the story of abolition in America is whitewashed, celebrating people who fought to keep black people enslaved and erasing the efforts of black people who dared to resist. He concluded that “the fact that the conversation in the USA is about keeping/ taking down pro-slavery monuments, not building anti-slavery monuments, speaks volumes”.

The tweet attracted significant attention with many people posting similar monuments from around the world. This morning, someone on Facebook shared an article from Vox that Sinyangwe wrote yesterday about Bussa and the absence of similar statues in the USA. After those tweets in July, I did not find any follow up posts about his experience in Barbados and this article on Vox does not shed any further light beyond his feelings about Bussa, so I am unaware about Sinyangwe’s overall view of Barbados. As a racial justice activist and someone who appears to have an intricate understanding of racism and the effects of colonialism and slavery across the colonised world, I believe that Sinyangwe would have discerned beyond the symbolism of the Emancipation statue had he dug a bit deeper.

I know I will face a barrage of criticism from my fellow Barbadians for what I have written here and I know some of my friends and family will sigh and say “here he goes again, inviting controversy with his provocative views”. I even delayed publishing the article until I saw this Vox article but I am used to being controversial and the disapproval of my countrymen, whether they are of African, Indian or European descent, is nothing new to me. So here goes.

I do not get the impression from Sinyangwe’s tweet that he stopped at the Emancipation statue. Had he done so and read the inscription on it, he would have noticed the “Ode to Jin Jin”. It has been said that this short refrain was sang by the enslaved when they heard news of Emancipation. It salutes Queen Victoria (Jin Jin) for setting the slaves free. The irony of this inscription on a statue commemorating Emancipation is that it takes all agency away from the enslaved whose revolts against the institution of slavery were a major cause in its termination and places it solely in the hands of the white saviour, the benevolent Queen Victoria.

If Sinyangwe had ventured a short drive to the centre of Bridgetown, he would have encountered the statue of Lord Horatio Nelson, defender of British imperialist interests. Nelson sailed nearby but never visited Barbados and wrote disdainfully of the island. His statue was erected by white Barbadian colonists even before their counterparts in London had built theirs in Trafalgar Square. Some years ago, the Government of Barbados had changed the name of Trafalgar Square in Bridgetown, where the statue of Nelson is situated, to Heroes Square. Yet it was not courageous enough to move the statue that celebrates the British colonial and imperial enterprise. You see, the voice of opposition to unseating Nelson is too loud. It is led by white Barbadians and receives support from a significant number of black Barbadians. Sinyangwe would find parallels in the arguments espoused in defence of keeping Nelson statue where it is with those in the US protesting the taking down of monuments honouring a brutal past. They range from the farcical ones such as tourists come to Barbados to visit the statue so moving it does not make economic sense to the insidious ones about not erasing our common history, as if the oppressed are obligated to idolise their oppressors. The truth is that most of the people who oppose Nelson’s current location are not calling for the destruction of the statue and would find his repositioning to another area or to a museum acceptable. Meanwhile, in Barbados’ Heroes Square, a space meant to honour those Barbadians who contributed to the progress of the nation, there is one statue, that of Lord Horatio Nelson, defender of slavery, imperialism and colonialism.

This hostility to the mere mention of removing Nelson is symptomatic of the mental toll that the British colonial project continues to exert in Barbados. One only has to glance at the plethora of streets and institutions that pay homage to British royalty. Any calls to rename them to something more apt are met again with accusations of revisionism and erasure of history. Likewise, one only has to look at what the Barbados National Trust focuses its preservation work on to witness how those who command sway on the island feel about its history. If it is a plantation or great house exulting in whiteness and the grandeur of the lives of the enslavers, then expect the Trust to be at the forefront of conservation efforts. Anything venerating blackness, black Heroes and their contribution is left to the wayside by the Trust. Unsurprisingly, one of the past Presidents of the Trust is Sir Paul Altman, real estate developer extraordinaire and a man acclaimed by Barbadian politicians and most Barbadians in general as evidenced by him being awarded a knighthood in 2016. Altman is responsible for the sale of huge swathes of Barbadian land to rich white foreigners, many of them from the UK. Since his land development ventures have led to the environmental degradation of the island, the displacement of black Barbadians and the heinous overpricing of land on the island to the detriment of the average citizen, his claims of being a proud Barbadian are obviously limited to a white elitist Barbadiana.

Altman is not alone with his formidable position and his ability to influence black Barbadian politicians. Numerous white Barbadians employ comparable clout as a result of their lasting economic control. Naturally, when white economic power is spoken of, white Barbadians cry racism and point to black businessmen and Barbados gaining independence in 1966. Yes the island is independent and there are black businessmen. Some of them are indeed very well off and some of them engage in the same corrupt practices of influencing public servants and politicians. Nevertheless, this does not negate the fact that white people in Barbados carry on doing as they please because 300 plus years of economic dominance with its concomitant structural inequalities allow them to. A justice system that treats white people, and rich Indians for that matter, totally differently to blacks is not unique to the USA.

The Europeans created a socio-economic, cultural, political and racial order in their colonies that ensured European pre-eminence and tyranny. This is not something that is simply overturned by a legal independence document. Neither is an arrangement in place for over 300 years just disassembled in a few decades, especially when there is an absence of any concerted effort to do so. Indeed, Barbadian and Caribbean academics including Bedford, Beckles and Carmichael have written about the smooth transfer of rule from the UK to British educated elites in the Caribbean, the confidence of the British in granting independence because they felt secure that the order they fashioned would persist, and the fact that after independence, the state did not embark on a radically altered form of relations with its citizens.

Whiteness, the hegemony of whiteness, the confidence of it, the centrality of it, underpins how everything in America works. While it is on full display there, it operates in a much more sinister form in places like Barbados where the population is majority black and the country is presided over by black people. We have a few white Bajans who try to disguise their racism and the structural racism entrenched in the country in academic terms. They assert that people in Barbados who speak about racism on the island are exaggerating especially as the island has been black led for over half a century. As if the brutal history of white reign and the structures engineered to enslave and exercise supremacy over black people can be erased in a few decades. They claim that it is improper to draw parallels between different countries like Barbados and the USA, as if the European colonisers were disjointed entities participating in separate colonial and imperial ventures at distinctive stages in world history and as if race was not an integral aspect in the colonisation of the world by Europeans. These are the white Bajans I like to call “the contextualisers”. They like to contextualise slavery and colonialism and excuse the genocidal actions of their white ancestors by contending that what occurred during those times was within a period when it was the norm. Therefore, people should desist from looking back into history with sullied 21st century eyes since when they do this, they will obviously regard everything that happened in negative terms. Then we have the Bajan whites who find themselves on social media, unable to resist the “freedom” the platform affords them to spout the most racist and bigoted diatribe against blacks, Muslims and minorities in general. Like Trump supporters they see nothing wrong with their heinous views but are quick to cry out racism and play the victim anytime the topic of race is raised in Barbados. Nonetheless, history reveals that wherever white people have been minorities in areas with a majority of non-white people, they have been the oppressors and not the victims. Barbados is not an exception to this stark reality. All the while, white Barbadians in general fence themselves off in enclaves, socialise among themselves and live a much removed existence from most Barbadians.

I return to street names and institutions that salute the British colonial link alluded to above. When it became independent in 1966, Barbados made a calculated decision not to become a Republic even though it was possible, as other former British colonies had done, to be a member of the Commonwealth whilst being a Republic. The thinking behind this decision was conservative in nature. Barbadians by and large wanted to retain the Queen as Head of State and maintain the ties with the motherland. Moreover, it was undertaken to reassure white Barbadians about their place in society. This did not matter for many of them, who unable to tolerate residing in an independent Barbados with black people theoretically in full charge, migrated to countries like Australia and New Zealand. Their choice of these particular two former British colonies was telling.

Barbados marked fifty years of independence in November 2016 but it is no closer to becoming fully independent. In the mid-1990s, the then Barbados Labour Party administration touted the idea of becoming a Republic and proposed a referendum on the issue. However, there has been no serious momentum to replace the current Governor-General who is the representative of the Queen of England with a Barbadian Head of State. Many black Barbadians are opposed to it with some considering it an unnecessary distraction in the midst of wider socio-economic problems, while white Barbadians are overwhelmingly opposed to it. The price tag for the Government’s activities to observe the island’s fifty year anniversary was hefty, amounting to about 7 million Barbados dollars, and many Barbadians questioned the need to spend this amount in times of austerity. What I found the most objectionable was that at its commemoration of fifty years of independence from the UK, Prince Harry, representing his grandmother, was the focus of attention and commanded centre stage at the behest of the Government of Barbados.

Thus, fifty years after becoming independent, important institutions like its police force and prison service maintain the moniker “Her Majesty’s” in their titles. Furthermore, sovereign decisions such as accreditation of High Commissioners to/from other Commonwealth countries including even members of the Caribbean Community require the permission of the Queen of England. Although this is a formality, I find it offensive that because the Queen remains its Head of State, Barbados must ask for her approval to accredit a High Commissioner to a sister Caribbean island.

The pride in this colonial relationship is deep-rooted and may take another few generations to disappear. The generation that was an eyewitness to independence is definitely not the one to modify the status quo. I remember an occasion a few years ago when a UK delegation met a former Ambassador and me to solicit Barbados’ support for a UK candidate seeking election to a UN body. The subservience displayed to the UK by the Ambassador who was in his 60s and the pride with which he spoke about Barbados being a former colony was not only nauseating but also reflective of the attitudes I have recognised in so many people of his age group. Similar sentiments stressing the positive values Barbados inherited from its British colonial masters were emphasised in varying degrees by former and current Barbadian politicians and civil servants I had interviewed for my Master’s thesis. The thesis had examined how Barbados’ identity, shaped by its colonial relationship with the UK, influences its foreign policy.

The current generation’s allegiance to the British colonial relationship perseveres. I had a few colleagues who saw nothing wrong with Barbados writing to the Queen to obtain permission to give accreditation to a High Commissioner of another Caribbean country. Admittedly, this type of mind-set in younger persons is infuriating and it bothers me when I read the ignorant comments of persons in their 20s, 30s and 40s regarding Barbados becoming a Republic. Some of their arguments are economic and based on a shocking and absolute lack of knowledge of how a Republic works, for example, that Barbados will lose the financial assistance it receives and depends on. Others are farcical pseudo-political claims such as the Queen being the fulcrum on which Barbados’ stability is based and her removal would trigger the descent into chaos of Barbados akin to Jamaica, Trinidad and African countries. Then there are the sentimental and frankly pathetic musings about a supposedly glorious colonial past. One thing is certain- they are all rooted in a serious lack of pride in self.

Barbadians will be aghast at this assertion about lack of pride. After all, we have Crop Over, that ultimate annual display of culture and national pride. Yes, Crop Over, that ode to the days of plantation when the white slave masters would allow the enslaved to celebrate the end of the crop. The end of the crop, signalling bountiful profit for the planters and a few hours reprieve for the enslaved from their arduous labour. Crop Over, the excuse for debauchery where anything goes in the name of culture and anyone who dares raise an objection to people practically having sex in public or to the objectification of women that is normalised by Crop Over music is labelled a prude. Fifty years after independence, the Emancipation Day march and remembrance that culminates at the Emancipation statue struggles to attract people. In contrast, Crop Over events at the same time of the year are sold out affairs even with their exorbitant price tags in harsh economic times.

Yes national pride where fifty years after independence, the wearing by black people of their natural hair in a black majority country remains contentious. Fifty years after independence, black students can be singled out for “unruly hair styles” that are actually just normal natural black hairdos whereas white and Indo Barbadians sport their hair as they please without censure. Fifty years after independence, the Royal Barbados Police Force insists on a dress code for its officers whereby natural hairstyles of black people are banned and treated as offences subject to sanction. The irony in this is that in the UK such a policy does not exist! Neat, unruly, orderly and such type of words are used to demand compliance with standards of beauty wedded to European concepts and are masks for the belief that natural black hair is unacceptable.

The impression one may derive from what I have written is a Barbados plagued by racial strife. That is not my intention. Barbados has undeniably made socio-economic progress since independence with quantifiable gains in the areas of education and health. The island boasts an extremely high literacy rate and there is a growing middle class. Political stability is a hallmark of the island. Even so, the fact is that the conservative nature of Barbadians has also nurtured an environment where questions of race have failed to be confronted frontally, openly and honestly. The term social contract has been used by some to explain why an island with such a brutal past has not erupted into violence and instability. I argue that the social contract is in reality a tacit agreement between economic and political elites to preserve the status quo albeit in a modified form. Economic elites maintain their grip on the major cogs of the economy and even allow some new entrants, particularly from the small Indian community. These relative newcomers some of whom have amassed much wealth and apply their own form of economic dominance and manipulation, add another dimension to race relations on the island. Theirs, though, is a story that has to be told in a separate article. Black Barbadians hold political control and socio-economic advancements have benefitted black Barbadians for the most part. Even so, at its core, the construct of the island in a way that advantages whites endures. I believe strongly that this structure could have been dismantled after independence to bring about a truly transformed society functioning in the image of its people and that this could have been achieved without causing political instability. However, Barbadians in general and especially those with political authority are conservative so the social contract was the method purposely used as the island proceeded into the post-independence era.

Fifty years after independence, we have an island in economic ruin where the rich, overwhelmingly white and Indian, insulate themselves from economic hardship and all of its associated inconveniences. The much vaunted black middle class lives in a state of astronomical debt. Unemployment figures continue to climb steeply. A large proportion of the island’s land is owned by rich white foreigners and Barbadians pay stupendous rates if they wish to own a piece of the rock, as they refer to Barbados. Much of the coast has been destroyed by tourism based infrastructure and one can drive on large parts of the South and West coast of the island without knowing that one is next to the water. The main players in the tourism industry which Barbados depends on heavily for its economic survival are white and/or foreign, meaning that the slice of the pie left for the average Barbadian to fight over is tiny. The island has also been witnessing a rise in uncharacteristically violent crimes and lawlessness. A decade ago Bajans would condescendingly attribute this type of vicious criminality to the pathology of people from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago and something that could never happen on their island. Sadly, I still come across some Bajans on social media doing this.

Most criminologists and sociologists would agree that crime and lawlessness are invariably linked to economic instability and poverty, so it is no surprise that with the island in the midst of economic turmoil, there has been a rise in crime. However, the solution to the economic problems in Barbados cannot rely solely on superficial economic bandages. They require a fundamental reorganisation of society where economic power is not concentrated in the hands of a few. There needs to be an acceptance that Barbados has to have an open and frank discussion of race. Politicians have to have the courage to implement change. I have little faith in politicians so undoubtedly it will require citizens holding them accountable and forcing them to govern in the interest of the majority of the population. It will require turning away from the traditional two-party system that has allowed the two political parties to protect the status quo. Race and economics in Barbados are intertwined and even conservative Bajans have a threshold. The violence and rage being demonstrated by young men in the committing of crime may well explode into something more. It is not something I wish will transpire and I pray that I am proven wrong. However, I cannot underline enough how ten years ago only the most astute would have predicted that Barbados would be in the dire situation it is now in.

80th Anniversary of the 1937 Barbados Riots

I wrote this piece on my individuality1977 blog ten years ago.  It was about the 70th anniversary of the 1937 riots.  I thought I would reproduce it again with today being the 80th anniversary.  Sadly, in the ten years since, the state of affairs on the island have worsened and I shudder when I think about Barbados' future.

"70th Anniversary of the 1937 Barbados Riots- What Future for the Island?

July 26th, 1937- today is 70 years since the Barbados riots. Compared to rebellions, riots and revolutions that have played out in various parts of the world throughout history, these riots were negligible in terms of size and scale. They however had a considerable impact on the modern history of Barbados and helped to shape the island as we know it today.

Barbados in 1937 was a country sharply divided along the lines of race, with a small white elite holding economic and political power and a majority black population largely employed in the agricultural sector and suffering from poverty, lack of opportunity, unemployment, dismal labour conditions and general social and economic malaise. The racial structure that permeated the social, economic and political landscape rigidly reinforced these conditions. The economy was dominated by sugar and land ownership policies and patterns that promoted peasant agriculture and made it impossible to address poverty. The same open economy also made it difficult to redress poverty through wages and employment-related benefits. Barbados was a country still dominated by the plantation a hundred years after the abolition of slavery.

In any situation where people are oppressed, courageous men and women speak out and agitate for change and it was no different in Barbados. Men like Clennel Wickham and Charles Duncan O’neal were followed by a Trinidadian of Barbadian parentage, Clement Payne, who stood up for the working people of Barbados and advocated labour reform and the formation of trade unions.

Payne was able to inspire the common man and such was his influence that the Barbadian authorities deported him to Trinidad on July 26th, 1937. Crowds gathered at the news of his deportation and the anger and frustration that had built up erupted into riots that lasted for four days. The immediate result of the riots was 14 dead, 47 wounded, 500 arrests and millions of dollars worth of damage. The long-term consequences were far reaching.

The British Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by Lord Moyne was appointed in 1938 to investigate disturbances and unrest in the British West Indies and it recommended in its 1939 report that Britain invest in development and provision of social services.

The years following the riots would witness significant social and political reform in Barbados as black Barbadians emerged to rule a country where they were a majority. Payne, who died in 1941, did not live to see his dreams realised but his bravery in rebelling against the status quo was not in vain as generations of Bajans have benefited from his actions. Payne along with O’Neal are National Heroes of Barbados, an honour many also believe should be accorded to Clennel Wickham.

70 years to the day the riots began, Barbados is at a crossroads, with a widening gap between the rich and poor, extremely high cost of living, dissatisfaction among the population over widespread sale of land to foreigners and the inability of normal Barbadians to afford land and a lack of opportunity for the youth. I often wonder what Barbados will look like in 10-15 years time and I think I have a clear picture. It saddens me. I cannot imagine what it will look like in 70 years!"

Articles about Climate Change and the Environment

These are some interesting articles I read recently about climate change, big oil and oppression of earth defenders:

Hopes of Mild Climate Change Dashed by New Research
“Planet could heat up far more than hoped as new work shows temperature rises measured over recent decades don’t fully reflect global warming already in the pipeline.”

With at Least 200 Killed, 2016 Was Deadliest Year Ever for Earth Defenders
"New report finds 'activists are being murdered, attacked, and criminalized by the very people who are supposed to protect them'"

Jerry Brown's Climate Plan Just Another 'Handout to Big Oil,' Green Groups Say
“Gov. Brown's legislation "doesn't do enough to protect vulnerable communities or to achieve California's ambitious targets for reducing carbon pollution," argued 350.org's Masada Disenhouse”

What Possessed Barbados to Withhold Support for a UN Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons?

Today, July 7th, a majority of the world’s nations voted at the United Nations to approve a treaty banning nuclear weapons.  Officially called the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, it aims for the ultimate destruction of all nuclear weapons and the prohibition forever of their use.  The treaty will open for signature in September and once fifty countries have signed on, it will enter into force.  The negotiations on the treaty had been taking place for many months, culminating this week in New York.  The nine nuclear armed countries and some of their allies had boycotted the talks arguing that nuclear weapons were a necessary deterrent required by international security concerns.  

Disarmament issues were one of the areas under my portfolio when I represented Barbados at the United Nations and I still have former colleagues involved in disarmament matters.  Some of them posted on social media today expressing their happiness at the successful conclusion of the negotiations and there were even some photos taken of the voting board.  The vote had been passed with 122 countries voting in favour, 1 against and 1 abstention.  Imagine my shock when I saw nothing next to the name of Barbados.  Barbados had chosen not to vote!  Yes Barbados had chosen not to join most of the world’s countries in an international effort to rid humanity of a weapon of mass destruction capable of destroying countless people in one strike. 

For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Barbados chose not to support the treaty.  First, as a small island developing nation we are more vulnerable than most countries to the threats facing the world, whether environmental, economic or security.  Any use of a nuclear weapon in our region would devastate us and our neighbours with our small land masses and dependence on the sea around us.  Nuclear weapons are an existential threat and as a country we have always opposed them.  Why would we suddenly change our stance? Second, this recognition of the severity of the threat posed by nuclear weapons led to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean establishing the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) in the 1960s.  The Treaty resulted in the establishment of the world’s first nuclear weapons free zone (NWFZ).  Barbados is a party to that Treaty and I fail to grasp how we can adopt an antagonistic position on a universal treaty with similar disarmament intent. Barbados, Dominica and Nicaragua were the only three countries from the 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries party to the Treaty of Tlatelolco to not vote.  I am unaware why Dominica and Nicaragua did not vote but what interests me most is ascertaining why Barbados opted to act like it did.

Five years ago in 2012, Barbados also chose to vote in a contrary manner to most of the world.  On that occasion it was the UN General Assembly vote on Palestinian statehood, a course of action that lacked in principle and betrayed all the comments successive Barbadian administrations have made about self-determination.  While I remain fundamentally opposed to how Barbados voted then and the justification offered by the Prime Minister for its vote was nonsensical, I understood why it was done.  The Zionist pressure on his government was not something he or his Foreign Minister could resist, especially when a prominent Christian Zionist holds much sway with their party.  Political and economic expediency trumps principle every time when it comes to politicians.  On this instance though, I am at a loss to comprehend why Barbados would have a problem with an international treaty banning nuclear weapons. 

Developing Countries taking the Lead on Climate Change

This is a very good article written by Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, about the climate change movement.  She points out that in the face of a flawed global governance reflected in the bare minimum nature of the Paris Accord, developing countries which suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change that they did not cause are doing the most to combat it. 

Timothy Morton and the Anthropocene

This Guardian Long Read article makes for a compelling read.  Its about the philosopher Timothy Morton who has articulated some interesting and controversial ideas about nature and the Anthropocene.  I think the writer does a good job of presenting Morton’s arguments objectively while also outlining the very valid criticism that has been levelled at him. 

Half a Century of Further Occupation

On June 5th, 1967, Israel launched an attack on Egypt, Syria and Jordan, decimating their armies and air defences in a few hours. At the end of the so-called Six Day War, Israel had succeeded in capturing even more Arab land- the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, along with the Sinai and the Golan Heights- and had basically doubled the amount of territory it controlled. Sold initially by its officials, Western backers and media as a pre-emptive strike against an increasingly threatening Egypt and Arab world, later pronouncements and admissions by Israeli government officials along with declassified documents and information have discredited this claim and revealed that the attack was an aggressive move aimed at gaining territory.

The War led to the displacement of 400 000 Palestinians, about half of whom were already refugees from the 1948 creation of the Zionist state. These people and their descendants, numbering in the millions continue to live as refugees in various parts of the Arab world today. Forty years later, the people who remained in the West Bank and Gaza continue to live under a brutal and oppressive military occupation (and the settlement regime that accompanies it); an occupation which endures contrary to international law and despite various Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions.

The Six Day War is often viewed as a watershed in the history of the region, but in reality, the real watershed occurred in 1948 when the right to self-determination was denied to one people, the indigenous Palestinians, and their land was taken to create a state for another group.

Reflections on the Racial Complexities Confronting America

Last month a video emerged and went viral of an African-American man, Tyrone Mazyck, being abused and beaten up in a horrendous fashion by Arab store owners in North Charleston, South Carolina.  The video prompted a variety of responses, from defence of the store owners and derision of the victim to xenophobic and Islamaphobic attacks on Arabs and immigrants.  I do believe that what was missing in the aftermath was an honest examination of the different angles to this incident. My intention here therefore, is to distil a few pertinent points and add some much needed perspective.  

What the store owners did to Mr. Mazyck was wrong. There can be no excuse for this brutality and humiliation.  It has been claimed that Mr. Mazyck has a troubled past and had been caught stealing.  Even if this is true, the correct way to proceed would have been to call the police, not the bone chilling treatment involving a gun and a sword that was meted out.  One does not have to venture far to locate where this behaviour stems from and I have no hesitation in saying it unequivocally- racism.  Many Arab and South Asian immigrants harbour deep rooted racist beliefs towards persons of African descent.   Some of them deny it and those that are also Muslim spew the expected clichés when confronted that “there is no racism in Islam” and reference Bilal, the companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).  The evidence however, is overwhelming.  It can range from violence, use of words like “Abeed”, “Kala”, “Cheedee” and “Nurdo”, the spouting of rhetoric centred on black pathology, and both subtle and open discrimination to obsession with light skin and systematic aspirations to whiteness. 

I am of Gujarati origin and I grew up in a small, insular and rabidly racist Gujarati community in Barbados where the views held about black Barbadians are akin to those of white racist Southerners from the USA. I have been to India, North Africa and the Middle East.  I have interacted with Arabs and South Asians there and in other parts of the world- people born in those countries and people a few generations removed. I am speaking from intimate and vast personal experience when I talk about the racism of many Arabs and South Asians.

We know all too well the story of Arab and South Asian corner store owners in working class black neighbourhoods selling alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets. These storeowners, despite whatever they may claim, are not there for altruistic reasons. They are there for one reason- profit. That this profit is based on exploitation and on contributing to the socio-economic decay of these communities is of no concern to them.  What makes it even more insidious is that many of these storeowners are Muslim, peddling the very evils that Islam prohibits.  If they were genuinely interested in helping the community and in displaying how a Muslim should behave, their businesses would be socially inspired, contributing to the upliftment of these communities.  Instead, they demonstrate a callous disregard for the black communities on whose backs they enrich themselves, a disregard rooted in their racism.  It is this contempt and racism that most likely allowed the storeowners to abuse Mr. Mazyck so freely, contrary to every single statement of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about how a Muslim must treat another soul.

The reaction of right-minded people was outrage, and rightfully so.  Unfortunately, the press conference of black leaders degenerated into a farce where these leaders in speaking out against the actions of the store owners, decided to spout xenophobic, Islamaphobic rhetoric.  It was quite ironic to hear black leaders talking about “this is America”, “foreigner” and “go back to your country” and appealing to the same very ideals and institutions that oppress their communities in a city like Charleston. A city where Walter Scott was murdered in cold blood by a policeman who was then incredulously found not guilty, a city where Dylan Roof murdered nine black churchgoers, a city where the rates for incarceration, school drop outs and poverty of black people are alarmingly high, a city where black people are routinely racially profiled and stopped by police, a city where gentrification is fast pushing black people from their neighbourhoods, a city where all of this is part and parcel of a deeply entrenched structural and institutional racism.  In resorting to anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant vitriol, they align themselves with the same very right-wing forces who hate black people.  It is these types of “leaders” that Malcolm X denounced with some very apt descriptions and whose failures to truly advocate for the people they pretend to speak for led to a new generation of younger leaders exemplified by Black Lives Matter.

Which brings me to the right-wing.  The most ridiculous part of this entire episode was witnessing Trump supporters online using the incident as justification for Trump’s Muslim ban.  These are racist white folk who espouse black pathology and who in their droves find themselves online justifying the murder of black people by police.  The irony of them pointing to the beating by Arab storeowners of a black man as a deplorable act that shows why Trump is right to want to ban Muslims! I’m still trying to process this and I don’t think I ever will manage to. 

This incident highlights how multi-layered the problems facing this country are.  On the one hand, it is quite depressing to see such polarisation and hate and often-time I throw my hands in the air and wonder what will become of all of us.  On the other, I feel encouraged when I see the voices of reason, of protest, of solidarity.  Voices that cross boundaries and form alliances to fight against hatred.  My sister, Dr. Haajima Degia, is a sociologist and she often talks about people confronting their discomforts in order for society to progress as a whole.  She makes a case for people to deconstruct the way they view the world, step outside of themselves and look into society as outsiders. The result- the revealing of uncomfortable truths but also a means of understanding why people do what they do and hopefully a society of people working together for the common good. There are signs that just as racists feel emboldened by recent political victories, others are willing to become allies and fight back. We just need to find a way to convince some of the right wingers to confront their uncomfortable truths.

A Board Game in a Coffee Shop- Much More than it Appears to be

I wrote something light about technology and human interaction today and posted it on LinkedIn. Click here and have a read. 

Of Dogs & Slaves: An Ex-Diplomat’s Perspective on the Egyptian Minister’s Comments

I wrote an article about the despicable language used by an Egyptian Minister at a recent African Union conference.  It was published today by MuslimARC, a group that focuses on education and awareness about racism, particularly amongst Muslims.

The article can be read below or here.

The news broke on May 31st of an incident at a United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) held in Nairobi where the Egyptian Minister of Environment called Africans “dogs and slaves”.  Egypt currently holds the Presidency of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN).  African countries were justifiably outraged and a statement dated May 29th was issued by Yvonne Khamati, chairman Africa Diplomatic Corps Technical Committee (ADCTC), condemning Egypt’s behaviour and calling for an apology.  The statement also requested that Egypt does not negotiate or take any leadership position on behalf of Africa and that the country should resign as president of AMCEN with immediate effect.
 
In response, and unsurprisingly, the Egyptian Government took an adversarial stance.  The Egyptian Foreign Minister denied that the abhorrent language had been used and instead attacked Ms Khamati, accusing her of committing excesses in her statement.

This incident does not shock me in the least.  I met and worked with a number of Egyptian diplomats in my fifteen year Foreign Service career.  I want to offer some context to this incident so that it is not viewed as an isolated slip of the tongue but rather understood within the prism of how certain segments of Egyptian society operate.

Egypt is located in Africa but as a whole Egyptians identify themselves as Arab and Muslim and not African.  However, in the world of multilateral affairs where countries form different alliances to advance their interests, Egypt finds it convenient to claim its African background and developing country status.  It thus straddles various negotiating blocs within the United Nations system, with the Group of 77 and China, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Group, the Arab Group, and the Organisation of Islamic Conference being the main ones.  They play a leadership role in most of these groups and in particular the African Group.  They exert a significant level of influence amongst African countries and from my perspective, often time their behaviour in leading the African Group bordered on the patronising.  I often observed the African Group, at the urging of Egypt, adopt blanket positions on issues that were not necessarily in their interest.  While repeatedly making claims of being African, I never in 15 years saw an Egyptian diplomat who was dark-skinned. The same can certainly be said of other North African countries like Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. 

The issue of Palestine is used by Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries as a convenient tool and one constantly sees Egypt making an elaborate show of championing pro-Palestinian resolutions.  The fact is that the Egyptian government along with the Palestinian Authority are the main enforcers of Israeli apartheid.  There is an inherent contradiction in Egypt taking the floor at the United Nations to criticise Israel and table resolutions on Palestine when it allies with Israel in blockading Gaza.  A key component of this Egyptian facade is lobbying within the negotiating groups it belongs to in order for its resolutions to win bloc support.  At the United Nations, bloc sponsorship provides the perception of popular backing.  When their petitioning efforts fail, they are incredulous and particularly at those “weaker”, “smaller” or “lesser” countries whose support for the more enlightened Egyptians should be unconditional.  It appears that something similar happened at the UNEA meeting in Nairobi where Egypt was unable to obtain the collaboration of all African countries for a position concerning Gaza.

I remember quite vividly an incident that occurred when I was working at my country's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.  The Egyptians wanted the states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to agree to a collective position on a report of the Human Rights Council (HRC) because one issue of many in the report related to Palestine.  I was negotiating on behalf of the Caribbean Community countries (CARICOM) and refused to give our backing because we viewed a common NAM policy on the report of the Council as outside the mandate of the group.  The Egyptians were furious and accused us of betraying Palestine.  My Egyptian counterpart then accosted me and berated me for forgetting my roots.  This is nothing as reprehensible as calling Africans “dogs and slaves”, but her behaviour stemmed from a similar place of feeling superior towards “those” African people.  In accusing me, a non-black Muslim of abandoning my roots, the underlying questions being asked were: how can you small islands, many with populations predominantly of African descent, have the audacity to differ with Egypt; and furthermore, how dare you, a non-black person and a Muslim, not stand with your Arab brothers.

Egyptian diplomats are overwhelmingly from the country’s secular elite and clearly disconnected from the average Egyptian.  The make-up of their government and diplomatic core is a reflection of the rigid social stratification of Egyptian society centred on skin colour and class.  My views were only reinforced by what I witnessed when I spent a few months in Cairo- the class structure, the way the elites behave and live, the manner in which skin colour is closely linked with class, wealth and standing, etc.

The unfortunate reality is that this furore will blow over because in international affairs, principle and ethics are more often than not trumped by interests.  The countries involved will for the sake of mutual convenience “make up” and the usual order will continue.  Moreover, with the fast pace at which news stories become stale, some other matter will overtake this in prominence.  Unless of course, we as Muslims concerned about the racism being espoused and practised by our own, raise our voices, speak out and take action.     

The Proudest Brother in the World

I am always happy to be in London but this morning I am sitting at Heathrow airport waiting to fly to Bonn and feeling a bit sad. Tomorrow, God willing, my sister will graduate and receive officially her PhD. I went to her graduation ceremonies when she received her first degree and Master's but this would have by far been the best. My sister, who already possesses a plethora of academic and professional achievements, will add one more to her list. May the Almighty continue to bless her so that that list always grows. She, despite all that she has achieved, remains immensely humble and she has maintained fiercely her independence and integrity as a scholar. Her research and her work continue to be ground-breaking and of the highest intellectual levels. She is simply quite outstanding! I may not be there in body but halfway across the world, I will be smiling, the proudest brother in the world! Dr. Hajra Degia- I love the way that sounds!!!

P.S. I was able to watch it online. I admit I shed a tear as she walked and collected her scroll to the sound of loud applause and cheers.  I also saw some pics that the university and the newspapers posted online and my wife sent me the pics she took :) 

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, March 6, 1927 - April 17, 2014

“Wherever they might be they always remember that the past was a lie, that memory has no return, that every spring gone by could never be recovered, and that the wildest and most tenacious love was an ephemeral truth in the end.” - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Thank you Gabo, for sharing your literary brilliance with the rest of us.

Tony Benn- The Best PM the UK Never Had

I did History, Government and Politics, and Sociology for my A’ Levels during the years 1994-1996. History was divided into two components- Caribbean and American- as was Government and Politics- British and American.  It was during that time when reading about the 1981 election for the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party that I was introduced to Tony Benn.  I was a 17 year old who identified with leftist politics and as I did more research on him, I became a fan.  I again came across him shortly afterwards when I did a British politics course in my first year at LSE.  His outspoken statements, his criticisms of New Labour and his leadership role in the anti-war movement continued to endear him to me over the years.  Tony Benn was a man whose intellect I held in high regard and whose willingness to speak truth to power I respected a great deal.  It was with great sadness that I woke up to the news of his death this morning.  His loss is a huge one for the UK and the world, especially at a time when voices like his are rare to be heard.  He was for me the best Prime Minister the UK never had.

What Makes One a Bajan?

I was born and grew up in a working class neighbourhood in Bridgetown. I went to school with Bajans from all walks of life.  I also interacted with Bajans in rural parts when I went out with my old man on his itinerant sales job (“coolie man” as Bajans of all ethnicities refer to it).  I studied Barbadian and Caribbean History.  I know more about Barbados, its history, culture, government, politics, economy, etc. than the average Bajan.  However, to many Bajans, I am not a real Bajan because my ethnicity is Indian and added to that I am a Muslim.

When I was younger, I would be bothered by the various comments questioning my Bajanness, expressing shock at my Bajanness or insisting absolutely that I am not a Bajan.  I was a patriotic Bajan and who were these people to question my Bajanness?  One of my favourite ways to react to the ignorance displayed in these comments was to not only speak the rawest Bajan possible in my retorts but also to spice them up with a gigantic dose of Bajan “cussing”.  The shock on the faces of those who dared to question my Bajanness was always worth it.  You see, growing up in the heart of Bridgetown meant that I was exposed not only to everyday Bajan cuture like food, norms and language but also cussing and by cussing I mean cussing of the worst kind.  I was known for having a potty mouth from a young age and it has only been about two years since I severely restricted my use of colourful language, to the disbelief and relief of many.

Over the past five years though, my patriotism has increasingly waned to the extent that I find myself detached from Barbados and I no longer care whether Bajans accept me as a fellow countryman.  I have always had a global outlook but this was alongside a fierce Barbadian patriotism. Working for the government and my mostly negative experiences with this, growing older and seeing things differently have made me realise that in reality, I don’t fit in in Barbados. There is much to unpack in this disconnect I feel with the country of my birth so I won’t delve into it now and will leave it for a future blog.  Needless to say, when Bajans question my Bajanness because of how I look, it does not trouble me anymore and if I do counter, it is just to bother them as opposed to responding because I am upset.

This brings me to an incident that occurred this morning.  I am attending a training course for public sector managers this week. Each day there are different sessions with different presenters. This morning we had a session on “Diversity in the Workplace”. The “instructor” in her introduction says she will be speaking in Bajan so that everyone can understand her. Then she proceeds to look at me and ask if I will be able to understand her. Needless to say, I blew my top and let her have it, albeit without the insertion of any cuss words! I did not lose it because she questioned my Bajanness. Nope.  I lost it because it upset me that a retired senior civil servant was presenting on diversity in the workplace and had the bleeping audacity to question my Bajanness because I am not black! Then the idiot instead of recognising that what she did was wrong tried to make it seem as if I was the one who did not understand what was going on and again because I am an outsider to this group of Bajans.  I therefore decided to have some fun and on a few occasions questioned what she was saying.  I also made a point of expressing my absolute contempt for the silly personality exercises she wanted the class to partake in.  I took great satisfaction in knowing that she did not at all enjoy my challenges to her supposed expertise on the subject of the session.   

I have always relished making life difficult for teachers, presenters, trainers, religious folk, bosses and persons in authority when they make ridiculous claims and are unable to defend them.  Inevitably, they make fools of themselves because people who issue asinine pronouncements are generally the type that are incapable of offering solid arguments and hate being challenged.  They will get riled up and dig an even bigger hole for themselves when you tear their weak cases apart.  They expose themselves rather easily.  I guess I am getting old because I don’t usually do this anymore.  However, there are times like this when “hard ears” Mohammed does cahn help he self and he does gots to have some fun 😎

People like this woman occupy large swathes of the civil service, many in senior positions.  It is persons of this ilk that ensure my refusal to buy into this farce called public sector reform.   Big loud stupz! But no Rs and other such vivid words : )

New York City and Multilateral Diplomacy

I travelled to NYC on Sunday and am due to leave tomorrow.  This is a work trip so nothing much to be excited about.  Not to mention, the weather, which had been relatively well-behaved for a stretch of days before I arrived, decided to return to sub-zero levels.  I have experienced many winters, both in the UK (London and Durham) and the US (NYC), but I don’t think I will ever become acclimatised to cold weather.  I am a mild weather person.  I love spring and autumn and am not a fan of extreme summer heat.

I have been back a few times to NYC since leaving the last day of December 2009 but this was the first time I had returned to go to a meeting at the UN.  It was like déjà vu.  The UN may have undergone some physical changes but substantively it remains the bureaucratic talk shop it has always been.  It was a painful few days.

On a positive note, it was nice to see some old colleagues, eat some food that I don’t have access to in Barbados and be able to purchase a few items that are either unavailable in Barbados or priced exorbitantly.

Of Fads, Followers and Moringa

A lot of people are inherently shallow.  They buy into the latest fad with utmost ease, spending freely and acting as if the newest craze is the best discovery in the history of man.  Of course, issues of suitability, cost, consequences, etc. are rarely considered.  We see evidence of this mostly in fashion (clothes, hairstyles, make up, beauty products) but it also extends to foods, diets, exercise and entertainment choices.  Something that is particularly noticeable now is the manner in which the “new craze” phenomenon has successfully cut across the exercise/food/diet sectors.  From quinoa and Brazilian drink to Zumba and the Atkins diet, people have embraced what corporations and clever marketing gimmicks have sold them.

Barbadians are enthusiastic about any new fad that emerges whether it is a diet, an exercise programme, a hairstyle or a fashion.  What is ironic is that Barbadians are generally conservative when it comes to change and are resistant to anything outside of their comfort zone.  It is almost as if they reject anything different unless it is superficial, dangerous or ridiculous.  One therefore finds that weaves, fake eyelashes, fake nails, ugly chemical laden make up, processed foods, fast foods, hairstyles like the Mohawk, unhealthy diet fads and SUVS and other large vehicles are all embraced.  Last year I popped into a popular beauty product store with my wife who had been told that a specific natural hair product was sold there.  I saw half of an aisle filled with skin lightening creams.  Unsurprisingly, the store is owned by non-blacks, in this case Arabs.  I would not be in the least bit surprised if the skin lightening self-hate trend catches on here very soon.  It is after all very popular in Jamaica and Jamaican dancehall music is a favourite of a large section of the Barbadian populace.

Which brings me to Moringa.  Moringa is the new craze in Barbados.  Almost everyone you speak to is touting the health benefits of the Moringa.  People are spending large sums of money to purchase different parts of the Moringa tree, Moringa products and on seedlings to grow.  The demand for Moringa has even led to the increasing problem of theft of Moringa plants!

The Moringa or Hikta nee Heeng as we called it when we were growing up was not well known in Barbados.  There were 2-3 trees and the Gujaratis would take the pods to cook and eat.  I therefore grew up eating Moringa.  I remember Barbadians would scorn us and many would say that the Indians did “baku” or obeah with the Moringa.  So it is rather ironic that this same tree is now touted as a savior because some American or European has said so.  I actually find it annoying when people who I know are the type that would have turned their noses up at us for eating Moringa now come sermonising about the tree as if we know nothing about it.

I guess one can argue as one of my sister’s Hanifa does, that the best thing about this latest trend to be adopted by Bajans is that there will soon be an abundance of Moringa plants around the place that no one wants and which we can take advantage of.

A Passion for Imparting Knowledge

I wrote about the wife taking one of my sister’s cooking classes in a previous entry.  All of my sisters are excellent cooks.  I like to think that I am also.  My mom was amazing in the kitchen and I believe we all inherited that from her.  My sister has been able to take that talent to another level through her unique idea to teach Indian cooking classes.  Her classes have proved to be very popular and having attended quite a few to take photos for her, it is clear that one of the main reasons is her ability to teach a complex subject quite easily to people unfamiliar with it.  I remember my mother demonstrating her techniques and passing on various tips to us and I am reminded of her when my sister does the same thing while teaching her cooking class.  A lot of it also has to do with passion for the topic at hand.  I think people who are teaching a subject they care deeply about, who possess significant expertise in it and who are able to connect with their students do a much better job in conveying knowledge.  Students in such an environment are much more willing to learn and feel much more satisfied.   I have seen my sister Hajra, who has been teaching for thirteen years, lecture to a class and she is similar to Hanifa not only in mannerisms but in her passion for the subject.  She has a comprehensive grasp of what she teaches, is an expert in the field, is able to relate to her students and extracts the best out of them.  This love for teaching seems to run in our family because another sister of mine loves teaching young children and she had taken a course in early childhood development although she did not pursue teaching as a career.  I love standing in front of a class, speaking about a topic I am passionate about and engaging in discussions with students.  I can see myself doing this permanently at a university at some point in the future.  I think that this desire to pass on knowledge stems from our mother and the way she would always relate secular and religious stories to us, teach us prayers and interact with us while she cooked.

The “About Me” section of Mircha’s facebook page speaks about the influence of my mom’s culinary skills and teaching on Hanifa’s cooking.  I have cut and pasted it below:

"Hanifa Nakhuda is an Indo-Barbadian cook with deeply embedded roots in traditional Indian cuisine. Born in Barbados to parents of Gujarati Indian origin, she learnt how to cook Gujarati food at a young age at the feet of her mother, Hawwa Degia.

Hawwa, an extraordinary cook, would have polished her culinary skills in her village of Kaphletha before moving to Barbados. In a Barbados of the late 1960s/early 1970s, she was faced with constraints in locating certain spices and ingredients, leading her to develop the art of improvisation. As her children grew older and demanded Barbadian and Western food, she began to experiment with those cuisines as well as fuse Indian and Western cooking. The increasing number of Gujarati immigrants in the late 1970s and early 1980s was accompanied by a more expansive availability of Indian spices. Therefore, Hawwa took advantage of this to showcase fully her talent in cooking a wide array of Indian dishes and desserts.

It was no wonder that growing up in this type of environment, Hanifa and her siblings emerged as master cooks in their own right. Hanifa began cooking Indian, Bajan and various Indo-Bajan fusion dishes for her immediate family before graduating to extended family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. Widespread encouragement from family and friends to take her skills to another level led her to enter a few local cooking competitions all of which she won. She also started a small catering business, focusing on authentic Gujarati food. Her burgeoning popularity resulted in her being asked to fill a serious dearth that existed in Barbados- the teaching of authentic Indian cuisine to Barbadians. Her cooking courses proved to be an immediate hit with classes being constantly oversubscribed.

Hanifa’s latest venture, Mircha, is aimed at bringing her expertise and experience as the standard-bearer of Indian cuisine in Barbados to a wider cross-section of Barbadian society."

A Special Barbadian Woman - Haajima (Hajra) Degia

I mentioned my sister Haajima (Hajra) Degia a few days ago in an entry on World Hijab Day.  Barbados Faces, an online magazine that highlights Barbadian women, did a feature on her recently.  The article focuses on the severe obstacles she faced and overcame in her quest to live a life outside of the norms of her Gujarati community and the significant achievements, academic and professional, that she has attained with the help of the Almighty.

I had penned a much longer entry that delves into the internal dynamics of the Gujarati community but decided to save it for another entry in the future.  The entry is hard hitting and I know that Gujaratis here would find it offensive.  Of course, what they feel or think is of no concern to me but I decided that it would be best to leave this mention of the Barbados Faces article as a standalone and present my commentary on Gujaratis in Barbados later.  You can therefore look out for that at some point soon.

Stuart Hall, February 3, 1932 - February 10, 2014

I first came across the name Stuart Hall when I did A Level Sociology.  Reading him at age 16/17 was somewhat challenging but the manner in which he contextualised colonialism, race, politics, identity and British society, all with a leftist slant, made a lasting impression.  I did not study Hall’s work closely as an undergraduate but over the years I would see mentions of his name periodically in the media and while I was unable to read his work in depth I did manage to peruse some chapters and articles from time to time.

When I was doing my Masters in 2011/2012, I took some courses that were inter-disciplinary in nature and which provided me with the opportunity to revisit some of Hall’s work as well as study some which I had not been exposed to.  Reading Hall at the age of 34 allowed me to recognise how important his nuanced thinking on issues of race, identity, media, culture and society as a whole had been in shaping my own ideas.  As a teenager wrestling with issues of marginalisation and identity, I tended to see a world of neat linear divisions functioning solely in the interests of power and with the masses possessing no agency at all.  Economic determinism was central to my world view at that point   Of course, as Hall demonstrated, while the forces of neo-liberalism do wield significant power which is reinforced by the output of a media allied to them, the economy alone is insufficient in explaining how society functions.

I started my Masters with eleven years of diplomacy behind me, eleven years of my brain being dulled by the Foreign Service.  It is difficult to describe the sort of intellectual stimulation I felt and the intellectual liberty I experienced in my one year sabbatical.  Stuart Hall’s writings, although a small part of the vast amount of academic reading I did in one year, are for some reason associated indelibly with my year in Durham.  I had a very good friend when I was there who did a paper on Hall and who formed a close bond with Hall through his work.  When I emailed him to inform him of Hall’s death he spoke about this bond and how affected he was by Hall’s death.  Hall had that ability to resonate with you because he so ably described the dynamics of our lives.  

This morning when I read about his death, it occurred to me that whenever I think of West Indians who have made their mark in the UK, the first name that comes to mind is not a Trevor McDonald, a John Barnes, a George Lamming, a Gus Young, a C.L.R.James or a Darcus Howe.  It is always Stuart Hall.

The following are some articles which pay tribute to Hall:

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Mosheera and Mircha

My wife is a Southern girl- Charleston, South Carolina to be exact.  Her mom is Egyptian so her culinary skills are diverse.  It has been a constant battle with my weight since I got married! I love to cook and cooking was my way of relaxing when I was a single man.  However my wife also likes to cook and as far as she is concerned, the kitchen is hers.  The most cooking I have done in the past five years was a six month period during the time I was studying for a year in Durham and she was in Charleston and Cairo.  Once she joined me in Durham, she took over cooking duties!

The wife has always been envious of my ability to cook mouth-watering Indian dishes.  She finally decided that the best way to deal with it was to learn to cook Indian food. However, not just learn to cook, but to learn from the best- one of my sisters.  I learnt to cook Indian food from watching my mother, who was an excellent cook, and from my sisters.  One of my sisters runs a Gujarati Indian cooking class and at the beginning of this year, she started a set of classes at her new location.  The wife was first in line to register!

The wife has so far cooked two of the dishes she was taught in class.  I have to admit that they were delicious and I wanted to eat the entire pot of food at one sitting!  This is testament not only to her culinary prowess but also to the excellent teacher she has!

If you want to learn to cook authentic Indian cuisine, then Mircha is where you need to go.  Check out their Facebook page and contact my sister Hanifa Nakhuda.  She offers eight week sessions with classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  The next two sessions are February 18 – April 8, 2014 (Tuesdays) and March 12 – April 30, 2014 (Wednesdays).  In addition, she also conducts half-day workshops on Saturdays as well as personalised classes for individuals and small groups.