19 Aug: Herald Review. . I had met Romola briefly a couple of times before
at Betty Pires' house, one of London's influential businesswomen and
socialites. I had presumed the role of the demure, dutiful wife [to Fitz de
Souza] for Romola. I soon realise, in Romola's calm and composed demeanour
lies the strength of Samson and the resilience of Job.

Romola was born in Zanzibar and lived in a one-storey building at the centre
of Stone Town, where a lot of Goans lived . In her school there was a " sort
of apartheid"; the European students were taught in a separate room.

After a long stint in London studying medicine she head for Nairobi and
married Fitz de Souza . He had to endure the assassination of close friends,
Pio Gama-Pinto and then Tom Mboya, who was killed just below Fitz' s office.


She recalls driving through Nairobi city after the failed coup of 1982, a
ghostly scene of deserted streets, smashed glass and looted shops.

As I leave their house, I can't help feeling a deep sense of gratitude for
these Goan lives whose stories are rich slices of our own history, and which
sadly the Goa government has done nothing to preserve for posterity.

Full text, 1056 words at GVUK Daily Newsletter of 19 Aug. 2012 at
www.goanvoice.org.uk



)