Canadians Celebrating their Goan Heritage Since his parents were born in the Portuguese colony of Goa, John Nazareth is mindful that his roots, culturally, are Goan. Because the people of Goa are genetically Indian in origin, John recognizes that he is, in principle, Indian. Because he was Ugandan-born and lived in Uganda for the first 26 years of his life, there is no question in John’s mind that he is also an African. Living in Canada since 1973, a Canadian citizen since 1981, the passport John carries assures the world at large that he is very much a Canadian. A graduate of Makerere University, Entebbe, Uganda, John Nazareth was one of thousands victimized by dictator Idi Amin’s policy of expelling Asians from Uganda in the early 1970s. Taking up residence in Canada, 1974, John completed his M.Sc., University of Toronto, 1975, and earned his M.B.A., York University, 1985. John, his wife Cynthia, also a Goan from Uganda, and their two children live today in Mississauga. Currently working for Bombardier Aerospace as FRACAS Program Manager, John Nazareth has been a Reliability Engineer for the past 22 years. In this view, John, left, as President, Goan Overseas Association (Toronto), shares a G.O.A. Christmas Party with the then Secretary of State, the Honourable David Crombie, 1986. [Photo, courtesy John Nazareth]

Goan in Nova Scotia Meets Hockey Hall of Famer Born to parents from Goa who had earlier immigrated to Uganda from Goa, Milu Fernandes was working for Coopers & Lybrand in Uganda at the time he and other Ugandan Asians fled Idi Amin’s ethnic cleansing policies of 1972. Settling in Nova Scotia, Milu first worked for Bendix, then for Premdor, as comptroller, before this door manufacturing company merged with Sauder Industries. Now an administrator and manager of regional sales for Sauder, Milu is married to Plassey, a Ugandan-Goan herself. Their first wedding anniversary was celebrated in Amherst, Nova Scotia, where they have lived since 1972. Milu has served as an Amherst town councilor, serving as well as Deputy Mayor of this Nova Scotian community, the birthplace of Sir Charles Tupper, one of Canada’s Fathers of Confederation. In this view, Milu chats with Darryl Sittler, Member, Hockey Hall of Fame, at an annual awards banquet in Amherst, 1988. [Photo, courtesy Milu Fernandes]