003.    Some experiences on my holiday voyage of 42 days from Durban to London on the  British
passenger ship WARWICK CASTLE.

In Rome do what the Romans do.

002.  In Rome do what the Romans do.
While walking in Rome I spotted someone across the  traffic crazy rondaval with the Italian drivers and I risked across and spoke to the person. Asked him if he was from South Africa ? Answer, YES.
He was the education head in the South African army, later principal of the then called NATAL University College. It was he who was disgusted with the facilities offered to Non-Europeans and took measures for improvement.

He invited me to join him on a few hours of sight seeing. When the time arrived for him to be at the airways terminal for bus to the airport we were met there by the South African Ambassador to Italy.
The diplomat shook hands with Prof. Malherbe and hesitated for a moment and offered to shake my hands, saying in Rome do what the Romans do.
(Those were the years in South Africa when NO GOVERNMENT CIVIL SERVANT IS ALLOWED TO SHAKE HANDS WITH NON-EUROPEANS.  Similarly no typist can address a letter to a
Non-European with the customary DEAR SIR, which had to be substituted by word GREETINGS.

001. Travel Experiences 1953 onwards

001.  I was on the British ship of Union Castle Company, WARWICK CASTLE, for a 42 days voyage from Durban to London via the ports of Lourenco Marques (Maputo), Beira, Mocambique,
Port Amelia, Tanga, Zanzibar, Dar-es-Salaam, Mombasa, Aden, Port Said, Suez, Genoa, Gibraltar and London.

Between Durban and Dar-es-Salaam I was assigned a separate bath room and wc toilet and to eat
on a separate table that excluded whites. After Dar-es-Salaam the racial separation was discarded.

I travelled Tourist Class. On Sundays the Roman Catholic Priest was assigned the Lounge Room for
service but the First Class Lounge reserved for the Anglican priest and where the Captain may be present.

The Roman Catholic  priest often complained about the inferior treatment meted out to them  by the Captain.

He often commented on RELIGION and advised me accept JESUS as SAVIOUR, and abandon my
faith. I told him I am not impressed by the animosity between his catholicism and protestents, but
I am a  admirer of the teachings of the  GREAT CHRIST. I regard the TEN COMMANDMENTS
is the teaching of ALL RELIGIONS.

Until Dar-es-Salaam I was the only non-european but from this port about six Indian passengers came on board.  Two were vegetarians and soon began to eat meat and beef. One passenger joked about my
veggie food which was indeed lousy on the ship. I was given double desserts as compensation.

This passenger became annoying and aggressive in his comments. After we passed Port Said, about 10 days, I offered him a challenge. I said I will now eat meat provided he eats PORK at the same time.  RESULT:  Harassment ceased. (Muslims do not eat Pork.)

South African Flag Hoisting at Vancouver City Hall.

South African Flag Hoisting Ceremony at Vancouver City Hall, Canada

South African Flag Raising Ceremony – April 25, 2014

Councillor Tim Stevenson and His Excellency Membathisi Mdladlana, South African High Commissioner to Canada, celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa by raising the South African flag at City Hall.

South African Flag Raising Ceremony – April 25, 2014

Councillor Tim Stevenson and His Excellency Membathisi Mdladlana, South African High Commissioner to Canada, celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa by raising the South African flag at City Hall.

South African Flag Raising Ceremony – April 25, 2014

Councillor Tim Stevenson and His Excellency Membathisi Mdladlana, South African High Commissioner to Canada, celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa by raising the South African flag at City Hall.

Front Row, Left to Right: Secretary of High Commissioner, Chairman

of the South African Club, High Commissioner Mr. MS Mdladlana, Mr. JV Desai of Durban.

South African Flag Raising Ceremony – April 25, 2014

The first voting paper. !

# 12 Sugar Industry is the Father and Mother of Racialism in South Africa

1.  The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in Cape, about 1652.
2.  They were searching for India for plundering  their gold and spices.  
3.  Cape seas seas were rough, so they called it CAPE OF STORMS, later changed to CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
4. The Dutch were not strictly racially exclusive like the later English colonists.
5. The Dutch appear to marry  Blacks quite happily, and this saw the emergence of the so-called 'Coloured' people. 
6. One Dutch Governor had a black wife. 
7.  The English, with their Scottish partners, had gained a major control in ruling South Africa.
8.  The English planted sugar cane in  coastal Natal, and needed labour. They were not happy with the local Zulu people.
9.  The English  had slave like labour in China, Ceylon and in in in India in tea plantains.
10.  The Englsh-Scottish farmers 'imported' into Natal labour from India,  by recruiting them by an  AGREEMENT 
11.  This was from the Indian port of Madras (now Chennai).  These labourers were called "geermittia" based on the word "AGREEMENT", ("Contract" in terms of U.S. language).
12.  They landed in Durban in1860.
13.  I would describe the so called agreement as legalized slavery.  The labourer's  thumb print on it was their "signature". 
14.  Some Indians boarded the ship for Durban from the Indian port of Calcutta (now Kolkata).
15. These Indians paid for the ticket and were called "PASSENGER INDIANS".  Those who boarded the ship were called "Calcuttias". They spoke Hindi, may be Bhojpuri Hindi.  
16. Similarly a few Indians came from West India boarding the ship from Bombay (now Mumbai) and Porbander.  Amongst them were some Indian Muslim Memons who were the nucleus of the Indian merchants. Few  Gujarati Hindu "Mehta's" were clerks and book- keepers came a little later.        
17. It was from one amongst these Memon traders that committed some crime under the legal law, (may not be against the TEN COMMANDMENTS), that the alleged criminal invited solicitor,  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, to come from Porbandar, India and defend him. Mr Gandhi bought a first class train ticket, Durban to Johannesburg-Pretoria to meet his client.
18. I  salute this "insignificant" trader whose act changed the history of the world and made the solicitor the Mahatma Gandhi. I also thank the English Gentleman who objected to Mr Gandhi sitting in the same cabin as him, and the Dutch ticket examiner throwing Gandhi out of the cabin onto the platform. I have a feeling that the  English objector may have objected also to a Jew,  English-Jew, Dutch,  Genteel other European or any non-european. The English learnt the Hindu caste system while ruling India. They took this system to London, perfected it in to RACIALISM and exported it to all countries in the Empire, Colonies and Second World War's "trusteeship" areas and all stolen lands like Australia and 
19. New Zealand etc.
20. My birthplace is Tongaat, 25 miles away from Durban. Some miles away was a large Sugar Mill owned by the Saunders family. (Edward, Douglas, Christopher).  The latter's brother was/is an academic.  I knew Douglas and Christopher. In all my dealings Christopher was/is a fine person. So is his wife, Pam. Both of them, my wife and our daughter and I travelled on a cruise to Mozambique and our cabins were adjoining each other. In Beira Pam joined us to tour Beira while Christopher remained on the ship. I GUESS he was busy scheming to resist the hostile bid by Hullets to take over the Saunders' Empire. Finally Hullets lost and Saunders took over Hullets. 
21. I witnessed the GREAT WAR between SAUNDERS (TONGAAT) and HULLETS with the Standard Bank supporting Saunders and Barclays supporting Hullets.
22. 
    
23. Just I say the FATHER and MOTHER of Racialism is the sugar industry, the banks are brothers of racialism.  The foundation of racialism  in South Africa started  on the Natal soil. So also the world renownd GROUP AREAS ACT, the father of the Pegging Act enacted by the English community under 
24. General Smuts, Prime Minister.
25. Racial  laws was mainly directed as ANTI-ASIATIC, elsewhere in the British Empire and in colonies as ANTI-ASIAN. The laws were drafted in London and were first legalized in Australia.  In South Africa the racial laws had a cosy home in NPA, NATALIA in Pietermaritzburg, and also in Durban, Pinetown, Westville, South Coast town of Margate, Drakensberg etc. 
26. The Natal Parks Board was, in my opinion, the worst anti Indian Board in South Africa, as bad as or worse than the Pegging Act or Group Areas Act. It was a European Board, and  later when marching towards freedom  it  became racially a Grey Board with some Black members the white CEO will not allow my letters  to reach  the Black  members. He would intercept and only chat with me for my letters.
27. The Natal Parks Board glorifies the Administrator of Natal,  Douglas Mitchell. It was he who said in parliament that if Indians want to swim in the Indian Ocean they must do so outside the International limit of THREE MILES. It was he who sabotaged the SMUTS-KAJEE agreement on  the "INDIAN PROBLEM".
28. The National Parks Board gave inferior facility to Indians.  BUT the then Natal Parks Board debarred  us totally. But when it opened one facility at Spionkop the lower portion  was for  Non-Europeans and the upper area was for Europeans. The sting was that Non-Europeans cannot dive their cars on roads  abuttingin the European homes.  UNIQUE ROAD APARTHEID. 
29. I exposed this unique apartheid in the newspaper, Natal Mercury, and the road sign of Europeans only was reluctantly removed.
30. Going back to the Sugar Industry. The Saunders Mill had a co-op business for their staff. Our large family departmental store  was allowed to give goods  on account of Co-OP  to any      European staff. The Co-OP will pay us LESS 10%. The Sugar Mills CO-OP was a convenience store and  also catered for the basic needs of non-europeans  whose purchases made a profit for co-op.  The members of the CO-OP were the Europeans and the profits made by the CO-OP  on sale to Non-Europeans was allotted to the European members.
31. A cottage adjoining the CO-OP store served as a medical clinic. European patients had their waiting room inside the cottage and the non-european "waiting room" was on the grass lawn outside regardless of the weather.
32. This sugar mill crushed sugar cane grown by European farmers separately from sugar cane grown by non-europeans. Mostly on Friday afternoons non-european owned and grown cane would be milled. And there was APARTHEID accounting. The sucrose content was recorded  race wise. (The European owned sugar cane was laboured and grown by non-europeans but European directed!!!!!!!!)
33. Sugar mills golf course was used by Europeans during daylight. In the late afternoon it may used by non-europeans  during failing sunlight and when not required by europeans. Those days there was NO lighting like to-day.
34. Mahatma Gandhi said that England ruled the Empire, Colonies and Trusteeship countries through clubs and commercial associations.  I have vast experience in the Durban Chamber of Commerce riddled in racialism and which I fought at most times successfully. The Chamber was under the influence of the sugar barons.
35. There were separate Cane Growers Associations. European and Non-European.
36. When the time came to abandon SEPARATE cultures the GENIUS of the MOTHER AND FATHER of RACIALISM invented a mechanism to retain effectively apartheid control for europeans. The VOTING for members was based on the quantum of sugar cane sent for milling. European farmers might be sending, say 85% of total, so they will have 85% voting power. What honesty for this democracy.
37. There was a housing around the Mill and all the houses were occupied by the European staff. There was an entrance  and exit  sides with cape Dutch architecture entrance display gates. No locking gates but guarded by security. My uncle and I had the privilege of entry and exit any time but all other non-euroopeans needed permission to enter the main housing area of  the mill and european staff quarters.Generally they were disallowed after business hours.
38. There was a club house, a nursery. tennis court for Europeans. Some facility for Indians and Blacks came elsewhere after many years in distant sites.
39. Similar or more strict anti non-white rules applied elsewhere in sugar industry.
40. In Mount Edgecombe there were red brick homes for Indian staff. No running water and no electricity. The family can stay but when the son becomes a major he must vacate unless he joins the staff in the company which is owned by a white  group. If the son gets married the wife will be permitted to share the house, IF SHE SLEEPS THE HONEYMOON NIGHT WITH THE OWNER OR HIS SON.  Another farmer who later lived near Pinetown and sold sugar mill equipment  in central Durban had similar rules.  One  Indian Principal in SASTRY COLLEGE told me that he was the product of such a honey moon union.
41.  In my Matric study I read the memoirs of Julius Caesar who conquered England in 54 BC. In his despatches to the Roman Emperor he described English social structure. Most wore skins, ONLY THE ELDEST SON got married and his wife was shared by all the brothers, and all children are registered as children of the eldest son. (see Caesar's Gallic Wars Book V.)  About this time  Emperor Ashoka ruled in  India, there was literacy, people wore cotton and silk, had marriage  and social laws and all the trappings of civilization. But this did not matter to the sugar barons. Some names of the Sugar Barons are  enshrined in the streets and round abouts in Umhlanga.

Note:   The above narration is a preliminary draft and I am publishing it as such. In the very near future I will revise, correct, place paras in proper sequence etc etc. In future I will relate other experiences relating to travel, educational schools around  Curries fountain, discrimination on various British passenger ships, Automobile Association, Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Industries etc.           I was  custodian of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes for 24 hours travelling to Johannresburg and return. The South African ambassador in Italy shook hands with me in defiance of Ministerial order of NO GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SHOULD SHAKE HANDS WITH NON EUROPEANS. He said: In Rome do as the Romans do.  I was with Prof Malherbe then Educatioal Head in the South African army. I was Guest of  Commander in Chief of India, Dinner with PM of India with Mandela, Dinner  with Japan Prime Minister and President of India, President of Israel invite to Music function. Nat. Party Minister dismissing chairman and senior member in the Travel Agents Board and  appointing me a member. Later  on narration about Laws.
          
           
 As requested I have removed name of one Samir Mistry and removed the Kendra listed official  e-mail address of Judge President KZN High Court, Chiman Patel, at his request  with    
 an apology to his Lordship. I am now in  my 89th year. 
          
         Jayantilal V Desai,  
         (J V Desai).
         5989 Hudson Street, Vancouver BC., V6M 2Z4.
         e-mail:  jvdesai1925@hotmail.com
         18th February 2014.

          Where ignorance is bliss it folly to be wise.
          Mahatma Gandhi wrote: TRUTH IS GOD :  and signed it on his portrait.


      

# 11 TRAVEL

My adult Travel started in 1953.  After Completing  building of  most modern post war departmental store and two residential flats above in Tongaat,  I battled with UNION CASTLE LINE
for a ticket on their  their passenger  ships,  between  Durban to East Africa and return.
They always told  me  "no vacancy".
The fact was that there was no vacancy for a non-european like me. But they will not say so openly,
unlike the Afrikaaners (White Dutch) who would proclaim loudly, segregation (apartheid).

 I told them,  please do not ask me when do you want to travel, tell me when can I  travel.               They replied that there is a vacant berth (seat) some 8 months later. They expected me to decline, but I accepted the offer just to resist discrimination.

This offer was for travel between Durban and Dar-es-Salaam/Mombasa and return. I mentioned this
to my great grand father, Abhechand Gandhi, with whom I was sharing the bed room above our store.
He expressed unhappiness about the trip. But a couple hours later when I went upstairs for tea he
suggested I should continue the voyage to London, and said he will ask my father (his grandson) to
give me the money.

There was no hesitation for the shipping company to extend the ticket.

On the voyage I was allocated a separate bath/wc and a separate dining table until we reached
Dar-es-Salaam. All the other passengers were Europeans and appeared loyal to the Union Jack
which flew on the ship.

No European spoke to me and officers were frugal in contact but after East Africa the atmosphere
changed. All of a sudden passengers and staff and the Roman Catholic priest kept me busy with chats.

From Durban we touched Lourenco Marques (Maputo), Beira. Mozambique, Port Amelia, Tanga,
Zanzibar, Dar-es-Salaam and Mombasa. At most ports we spent some days and i enjoyed the
hospitality of friends.  I had a ball of a time and the other passengers wondered how at every port
I had hosts to came to the ship every day to fetch  me. I earned the reputation
of having a wife at every port.

Magistrate Court Apartheid in Durban, South Africa

Opening of the NEW  MAGISTRATE  COURT  in Durban, South Africa.

Some years ago the Nat Apartheid Government  built a new multi storey Magistrate Court in Durban. The brief to the  design Architects was to incorporate complete separation of Whites and Non-Whites in all areas in the building.

The chief architect was Mr Poole. His firm Chick, Barthelemou and Poole were the Architects of the magnificent Durban City Hall. Archiect Mr Poole Jnr. told me  Pretoria had been most generous in compliments to him for designing the "PERFECT" apartheid building in the world. UNIQUE, I say,

The Whites' entrance was from the South and the Non-Whites' entrance  from North. Both the entrances were almost in the middle of this super structure.

The genius of the Apartheid  design was achieved by the design of the corridors.

NO CORRIDORS BISECTED EACH  OTHER. Goes up and down. Linked by stairs.

Also when one enters the building from North side he/she is isolated from persons entering from South.

The court room itself  was properly divided.

The Building was ceremoniously opened by the Minister of Justice,  Mr C R Swart. 

At that time more Attorneys (Solicitors) were white, and almost all Advocates (Counsels, SC's, QC's)

were whites. The criminal accused' and litigants were mainly non-whites with  only some white retailers as litigants.

After Swart's opening the Courts should function.

But the situation was CONFUSION COMPOUNDED. 

The non white accused could not locate his white attorney, the attorney could sight his Advocate and the other way round,  the white prosecutor is looking for an accused just like when one who  looks for a needle in a haystack.

The Magistrate feels frustrated, poor guy.

After a few days the NonWhite entrance was shut, and all Whites and Non-Whites entered the building from the South entrance.

J V Desai requested the Mayor of Durban,  Mr Dereck Waterson, to support him to declare the Durban Magistrate Court an International Monument to Apartheid.

The Mayor wrote that he had no right to say what he said. Mayor continued:

Your community has caste system, burn widows, smell with curry, poverty etc.

I  will not support you.

J  V Desai replied him YOUR COMMUNITY in 54 BC.,  the conquerer of England told his Roman emperor that your Society had only the eldest son to marry, and his wife sexually shared with all the brothers, and  all the kids are described as kids of the eldest.  Your community had no music until Elgar about only three hundred years ago while my community had scientific music from before the reign of Emperor Ashoka, more than TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO. My community had social and marriage rules and law while

your community shared one woman by ALL brothers in 54 BC. (See Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars Bk,5) 

Written by J V Desai on 21st January 2014.