Vol. 60. No. 1 A Publication of UMA, Inc. January – March 2020 Editor: Daniel Gomes, 2021 Ptarmigan Drive #1 Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 E-Mail:[email protected] UMA Website: www.uma-casademacau.com. Webmaster: Maria Gomes. E-Mail:[email protected]

Memories of World War II Henry d'Assumpcao, An Oral History

It was December 8th 1941, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, one of the ten Holy Days of Obligation. For me, then seven years old in , it was a holiday from school, for my older brother Carlinho’s a half-holiday. So breakfast was leisurely served that morning when our father announced solemnly: "War can start any time: next month, next week or even tomorrow.” In fact it started about an hour later that morning. This is a potpourri of memories of World War II – some my own, many passed on from my parents and others.

My parents had moved from Macau to Hong Kong in about 1930, along with thousands of other families seeking jobs. We lived in Ho Man Tin, the suburb developed by Anthony Correa’s great-grandfather Francisco "Frank" Soares. There were some grand mansions there but we lived in a small rented 3-bedroom apartment— my parents, three children and our devoted amah. Let me introduce you to a couple of our neighboring families, because they feature in this story.

Behind us, on one side, lived the Gosanos. This is a picture of the Gosano family taken after the war - Mrs. Adeliza Gosano had been widowed tragically and had to raise not only her own nine children but also four orphaned nephews. Those were the days before social security and I cannot imagine how they coped, but cope they did. The older boys left school at the age of 14 to work to support the family and give the younger children an education. UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 1 of 20

Old Mrs. Gosano was tough and devout; one of my earliest memories was of her urging me to pray: "You can pray anytime, anywhere", she said, "even when sitting on the toilet". The Gosano boys were famous in the Portuguese community for their prowess in a variety of sports — soccer, cricket, athletics, baseball, rowing and swimming. Also at the back lived the Yvanovichs, Portuguese but with their surname from an ancestor from Dalmatia. Ours was a close community. This is a photo of a birthday party for my brother Carlinho in 1936, You may know some of these people: Calau Yvanovich and Chappy Remedios; Therese Remedios between Gerald and Shirley Van Langenberg (Arthur’s brother and sister); Frank and Bosco Correa, Anthony’s father and uncle; and me in the arms of one of the Yvanovich girls.

Life seemed to me secure. But in 1941 war threatened: Japan had already occupied Canton (Guangzhou) and preparations were made in Hong Kong for likely hostilities: there were air raid wardens and practice blackouts and we had been trained on what to do if bombed: crouch under a table, lock your hands over your head and open your mouth wide so that the blast would not burst your ear drums. My parents had stocked up the larder with food in anticipation.

At 8am on December 8, not long after breakfast, the Gosano men at the back called to us from the roof of their house to point out Japanese planes attacking Kai Tak airport. So war came to us in Hong Kong just four hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hurriedly we took shelter next door in the Houghton’s underground garage. I was not at all worried and sat on the floor reading my comic book. An older boy — Danny or Bobby — shoved my head down when we heard bombs fall — I do not know where — but they could not have been too far away.

I can remember clearly the shrill whistle of bombs, sliding down in frequency. Now that I know a little physics, I understand that that changing Doppler frequency meant that the bombs would miss: if the frequency had remained steady, the bombs would have been heading straight for us. UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 2 of 20

The Japanese invaded Hong Kong with overwhelming military superiority, launching three Divisions against two Brigades of Commonwealth troops, with complete dominance of air and sea. It took only a few days for them to overrun the defences of and drive the British in retreat to Hong Kong Island which surrendered on Christmas day.

All British men, women & children were put into concentration camps. We were Portuguese national, and Portugal was neutral in this war, but many Portuguese men had enlisted in the HKVDC; they too were imprisoned.

In the short interregnum between the retreat of the British to Hong Kong Island and the Japanese occupation, there was a collapse of law and order in Kowloon followed by widespread looting.

For safety, we with 393 other Portuguese citizens took refuge in the home of Frank Soares, who was the Acting Portuguese Consul.

We were all cramped in and sleeping on the floor. I cannot imagine how toilets were managed because there were no sewage system. Of course we had to pull our resources and my father’s carefully hoarded supplies were shared with those who had not prepared.

We were not sure how the Japanese will respect our Portuguese neutrality? Would the women be raped? Fearing for her safety, my Aunty Bachay made herself as unattractive as possible, even dusting her hair with ashes, in the event, the Japanese did respect our neutrality and we could return home.

My Uncle Assau had taken the decision to stay on in his apartment in Kowloon with his family. I remember that his front door had a small square glass peep-hole through which one could look out, and also look in. When looters came they saw his young children through the peep-hole and threatened to harm them unless they were admitted. Now before the war everyone was supposed to hand in their hunting rifles to the British authorities but Uncle Assau had retained his. He raised the muzzle up to the peep-hole, fired and heard the looters scamper away. A little later he noticed some liquid under the door and thought someone must have urinated, but it turned out to be the blood of a looter he had just killed.

This anarchy did not last long: when the Japanese took over, order was restored, instantly and ruthlessly. I was told that looters who were caught were lined up on the waterfront and machine-gunned. One day my father chased and caught a petty thief whom he turned over to the Japanese. He later regretted his action because he saw the poor fellow, crestfallen, being led away in a party of criminals, no doubt to his death.

There was another story about a family friend who was taking a walk through the hills when he came across a Japanese execution party beheading prisoners. He was ordered to help and was handed a sword. He started by holding the sword in one hand above his head but they corrected him: the proper way, they instructed, was to grasp the sword in both hands and bring it down. This image shows the execution of Australian commando Sgt. Leonard Stiffleet in Papua New Guinea.

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One hears so many accounts of Japanese atrocities during the war but we also saw their humane side. Japanese soldiers came to our apartment demanding my mother’s sewing machine. She begged them not to take it, offering instead to repair their clothes herself. So they brought their torn and bloodstained uniforms to her and made themselves at home while my mother did the mending. They repaid us with some food: I can remember a steaming hot tray of corned beef from their canteen.

My first impression of the Japanese soldiers was their odd boots, with split toes. The Japanese soldiers were fond of us children and obviously enjoyed being again in a family environment. I had some American comics about US pilots fighting in China with the Chinese against the Japanese and was worried when they started to leaf through them, but was relieved when they only laughed. Here is a photo of me with Gilberto da Silva and two Japanese soldiers in our apartment. I didn’t want to be in a photo with the enemy so I cut it in half. That was the action of a seven year-old which to day I regret. One of the visitors was a Japanese officer. I was told that a samurai sword is never drawn in anger, but this officer showed me his sword. One evening some soldiers came to our apartment armed with bayonets and took my mother to a back room. I can imagine what was going through my father’s mind, but it was needless. It turned out they were protecting my mother from some drunken Korean and Formosan officers on a rampage looking for women. The Japanese soldiers were protecting my mother. That was one side of the Japanese. The Yvanovich family were not so lucky. Uncle Pito had been travelling between Hong Kong and Macau on business. On suspicion that he was a spy passing messages for the British he was captured and tortured by the Kapeitia, the Japanese Secret Police.

One of his daughters Lolita brought a precious food parcel to camp every week for over three months before a kindly Taiwanese guard let her see her packages neatly arrayed along the wall. Her father had died some months ago.

His oldest son Philip was a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps and had, with many other Portuguese, fought in the battle of Hong Kong; he was interned as a prisoner-of-war. The younger son, Avichi, was only 17 when he, too, was imprisoned and tortured. He was eventually released to his family, broken physically and mentally. .

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Portuguese citizens were encouraged to leave Hong Kong. To enable British subjects to escape internment, Frank Soares, the acting Portuguese Consul, issued hundreds of travel documents — illegally — to Portuguese who had become British subjects, thereby saving them from incarceration. After the war he was punished by Portugal for his actions and deprived of his diplomatic pension.

Most Portuguese left Hong Kong and took refuge in Macau; however, some families, like the Yvanovichs, with husbands or brothers in POW camp, chose to stay on in Hong Kong. Lolita Yvanovich told of their hardship. She and her mother Aunty Palmira and sisters sold their jewelry to buy food and managed to survive on vegetables grown in their garden. At one stage they had nothing to eat but bran. They would spread newspapers on the floor, put a pile of bran in the middle and wait. After some time, weevils would crawl out of the bran onto the newspaper and could be scraped away. When cooked the bran tasted awful; the Yvanovich ladies had some empty chocolate wrappers and would sniff them before taking a mouthful of bran. There were other innocent civilian victims. You will no doubt know the case of Carlos “Henry” Basto, the President of Club Lusitano, who was sitting idly in the Club one day scribbling notes for a theoretical game of bridge when the Japanese Secret Police, raided the club; convinced that his notes were some secret code, they arrested and beheaded him. In late January or early February 1942 my mother took us children and our faithful amah – who was like a member of our family – by boat to stay with her parents in Macau. My father followed us shortly afterwards, bringing some furniture with him to the wharf. Now the Japanese had forbidden the removal of furniture. A Japanese soldier shouted at my father and slapped him around, but when my father uncovered our bedheads to reveal the carved images of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, the soldier waved him through. No one knows how many refugees moved into Macau during the war, but there were hundreds of thousands, almost all Chinese. We saw many examples of disease and starvation. I remember a poor old man begging daily in the street; one day he was gone, presumably dead. Once I was walking in a street eating a banana when a young man ran by, grabbed it from my hand and continued running, desperately stuffing the whole banana into his mouth, skin and all. The Government of Macau did its best to look after the thousands of Portuguese refugees from Hong Kong and Shanghai — feeding and housing families and educating children, even selling off antique cannons as scrap to buy rice for them, but the Chinese were left to fend for themselves. Our family was comparatively well off: my maternal grandfather, who had come from Portugal, was now retired with his military pension. He had built a spacious house with what was for Macau a large garden in which he grew fruits and vegetables and raised chickens, turkeys and rabbits. We stayed with him for probably a couple of years. My father managed to get a job as a waiter in a Portuguese club. My mother contributed substantially to the family income by knitting clothes for wealthy Chinese, using wool unraveled from old garments.

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There was ample food for those who had the money but there were many dishonest and desperate practices. To increase weight, tiny stones were added to raw rice; you could easily break a tooth on them, so one of our daily chores was to spread rice out on a tray and laboriously separate stones from rice, grain by grain. You would see all kinds of meat for sale including, if my memory serves me right, rats. People were dying in the streets. At one time the police were mystified to find corpses with chunks of flesh removed. It turned out that the chef at a prestigious hotel had been serving human flesh to his customers — including, one imagines, to senior members of the government. When he was caught he never went to trial because — so the story goes — he “died of cholera”. Justice was rough and ready. For us children life was fairly normal and secure – we went to school, did some chores, played and occasionally even went to the movies. We never really wanted for anything essential but many items were in short supply. For toilet paper we used either newspapers or “chou chi” (a coarse paper made from grass). I still remember the pain of having a molar tooth pulled out without an aesthetic by the dentist with pliers. The Portuguese refugees sympathized with the British and a handful managed to sneak out of Macau through Japanese lines to join the British Army Aid Group in Southern China to gather intelligence information and facilitate the escape of prisoners of war.

We children experienced nothing of the violence of war. A couple of times late in the conflict we could see, in the sky in the distance, tiny silver dots which were US and Japanese planes engaged in dogfights. In January 1945 US planes from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock bombed Macau’s aerodrome — just 300m from my grandfather’s house — because it housed fuel that could have been passed to the Japanese. Thus the war years seemed to pass quickly for us until it all ended suddenly when Emperor Hirohito surrendered in 15 August 1945. The Pacific war had begun on one Holy Day of Obligation and ended on another, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Let us return now to the fate of the Portuguese who fought to defend Hong Kong. By my reckoning there were 239 of them, of whom 25 died. The survivors were incarcerated in the Sham Shui Po Camp and later shipped to Japan where they formed a tightly knit community. POWs were put to work as slave laborers and suffered hardship and deprivation.

There were serious health problems – dysentery, tuberculosis, scabies, beriberi and diphtheria, and a painful disease they called “electric feet” — neuropathy caused by vitamin deficiency. The Japanese had captured large quantities of medical supplies but kept them for their own use.

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The army prison doctors worked wonders, operating with razor blades and knives; for drugs they used salt and peanut oil. One of them — Arthur Rodrigues (Tito's father) — was knighted after the war for his services.

Some prisoners were assigned jobs as carpenters, bricklayers, cooks or toilet cleaners; others were sent out on work parties doing hard labor — enlarging the airport, moving munitions, transferring equipment and digging tunnels for ammunition storage. However, they were still able to poke fun at themselves, as these cartoons show. Elderly or unfit prisoners were given light duties. Officers did no work; each had a batman to look after him: make his bed, draw and serve his meals, wash his clothes and so on. There was an active black market, trading in cigarettes, medical drugs and food. To get medicines prisoners sold to sentries all they had, even their gold teeth. The families of prisoners were allowed to bring them parcels once a week but there was also smuggling. Philip Yvanovich used to say that, dressed only in a fundoshi loincloth, he could sneak anything past the prison guards. The UMA Bulletin has featured many of the exploits of the POW at Sandai and Sham Shu Po Camp. You can read “The Life and Times of Father Zinho Gosano”in the Sumer Issue 2011 of UMA-Casademacau.com website or the “Familia Macanese” website.

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE March 13, 2020.

Dear Members, I trust this finds you in good health. It has been a quiet quarter for UMA. However, in the last few weeks, because of the CoronaVirus outbreak, we had to make several decisions which will affect our upcoming Social events. The Game Day has been postponed, and going forward until the virus is under control, decisions will be made as each event comes up. We will keep you posted. This is Election year for UMA. If you or know of any individual interested in serving on the Board of UMA, please contact Micki Remedios, our Nominations Chair. Her address is 1301 Ptarmigan Drive # 2, Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595. Her email is: [email protected] The term of Office is for two years beginning January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022 Meanwhile, be safe and have a healthy second quarter.

Sincerely, Sandy Souza

2020 DUES ARE NOW PAYABLE

Regular Members $20.00 Senior Members (+65) $15.00 Subscription Members (no hard copy) $10.00 Canada & Overseas (U.S. $ Draft only) US$25.00

Checks payable to: UMA, Inc. Mail to: Joanne Segovia, Treasurer 1417 Oakmont Drive # 1 Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595

NO REMINDRS WILL BE SENT

UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 8 of 20

"THE UNIÃO MACAENSE AMERICANA SCHOLARSHIP" & “THE JORGE & ELISA ROSARIO SCHOLARSHIP”

I. Amount of Scholarships & Frequency of Scholarship Awards:

$1,000 each to be awarded annually for the UMA Scholarship & the Rosario Scholarship to the Recipients who meet all the requirements of an “Applicant”, and is selected by the Scholarship Committee to receive the Awards.

II Names of the Scholarship Committee Members: Oscar Collaco Maria Gomes Raquel Remedios Joanne Segovia Sandy Souza

III Responsibilities of the Scholarship Committee: a) The Scholarship Committee must publicize the availability and requirements of the scholarship in the UMA Bulletin at least one month prior to the application deadline. b) The Scholarship Committee will establish appropriate procedures to review all applications and make the award selection within one month after the application deadline. c) The Scholarship Committee will maintain records of the annual Scholarship Applications and Selected Recipient(s).

IV. Application Requirements: a) The Applicant must be the child or the grandchild of a current UMA member, and the parent, grandparent or legal guardian of applicant must have been an UMA member for at least two (2) years prior to date of application. b) The Applicant must have completed and graduated from the 12th grade in high school and will be attending college the following semester. c) Application must be made in the semester prior to graduation from high school. The Application Package must be submitted to the Scholarship Committee postmarked no later than JUNE 30th, 2020 d) The Application Package must include a completed application; an official high school transcript; a personal essay; a record of co-curricular and extracurricular activities; a copy of the acceptance letter(s) from the college or university; and two letters of recommendation, one of which must be a teacher.

V. Criteria for Scholarship Awards:

The selection shall be at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee whose decision shall be final. The Scholarship Committee will be guided by their overall assessment of the Applicant.

UMA Scholarship Committee 1800 Golden Rain Road # 2 Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595 Tel: 925-639-7708

UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 9 of 20

UMA, INC.

APPLICATION FOR SCHOLARSHIP – 2020

Name ______Date of Birth ______/_____/_____ Home Address ______City ______State ______Zip ______Email Address ______Home Ph ______Cell Ph ______Name of High School ______Date of Graduation ______Parents or Grandparents are UMA Members: Yes ______No ______Father’s/Grandfather’s Full Mother’s/Grandmother’s Full Name ______Name ______Number of Advanced Placement Classes ______Honors/Awards ______Leadership Positions ______Service Activities ______Is the Applicant a Life Member of C.S.F. Yes _____ No _____. If No, How Many Semesters ______Number in Applicant’s Graduating Class ______. Applicant’s Rank in Class ______Name of College or University You Plan to Attend ______Date of Entrance ______Major Subject ______i.e. Science, Business, English For what business or profession are you preparing? ______Provide: a) a personal essay, (minimum 250 words, on a separate sheet of paper), describing your plans for your future; b) Official Transcript including: GPA (weighted/unweighted), PSAT Score and SAT/CAT Score; c) a record of co- curricular and extra-curricular activities; d)a copy of the acceptance letter from the college or university, and e) two letters of recommendation, one of which must be a teacher. Add any other pertinent information that will assist the Scholarship Committee to better understand your qualifications. I hereby declare that I have read all the statements on this application and to the best of my knowledge they are correct. Signed ______Date ______

Send completed application to: UMA Scholarship Committee – 1800 Golden Rain Road # 2, Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595

UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 10 of 20

UMA, Inc Officers & Directors Title Name Home Address Phone (Fax) Email President Sandy 1800 Golden Rain Rd #2 925-639-7708 [email protected] Souza Walnut Creek Ca 94595 Vice- Flavia 1232 Skycrest Drive, #2 925-285-2051 [email protected] President Greubel Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Treasurer Joanne 1417 Oakmont Dr, #1 925-639-2464 [email protected] Segovia Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Secretary Pauline de 1124 Singing Wood Ct, #5 925-943-2003 [email protected] Assis Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Director Maria 2021 Ptarmigan Dr. #1, 925-482-0711 [email protected] Gomes Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Director Lucy 1129 Avenida Sevilla #3A 925-934-1827 [email protected] Guterres Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Director Magdalen 2424 Pine Knoll Drive # 2 925-954-8974 [email protected] Pereira Walnut Creek, Ca 94595

Director Vilma 2616 Saklan IndianDr #2 925-937-7079 [email protected] Remedios Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Director Ramon 2061 Pine Knoll Drive #1 925-934-2618 [email protected] Xavier Walnut Creek, Ca 94595

UMA EVENTS' CALENDAR FOR BALANCE OF 2020

Game Day Postponed - TBA Mid-Term Board Meeting Tues. May. 26 - Event Center Thanksgiving Mass Sat. July 11 - Pacifica Noite Tropical Sat. Aug. 8. - Event Center Lawn Bowling & Dinner Sun. Sept. 20 - Diablo Room Annual General Meeting Sat. Nov. 14 - MCC X’mas/Members’ Appreciation Lunch. Sun. Dec. 13 - MCC So. Calif. Dim Sum Lunch TBA

Joint Casa Events:

Dia de Sao Joao Sat. June 20 - MCC Our Lady of Fatima Mass/Lunch Sun. Oct. 11 – Creekside

UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 11 of 20

Come Join Us for a Day of Celebration on

Saturday, June 20, 2020

DIA DE SÃO JOÃO

at the Macau Cultural Center 109 J Street (corner of 37695 Niles Blvd), Fremont, CA 94536

Event organized by the Macau Cultural Center

11:00 – 12:00 PM Mass Celebration 12:30 – 2:00 PM Lunch

Cost per Person: $12.00 Casa de Macau, Lusitano & UMA Members $20.00 Non-Members

RSVP by June 1, 2020 to Flavia Greubel Tel: 925-285-2051 Email: [email protected]

Please make checks payable to Macau Cultural Center and mail to 582 Market St # 2001, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Please list names of attendees and contact info when making your reservations. Thank you.

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You Are Invited To Our Annual

It is Time Once Again to Give Thanks for our Blessings, to Pray for União Macaense Americana, Inc. (UMA), our Relatives, Friends, And the Sick, the Poor and the Dear Departed ~~~~

Place: Church of the Good Shepherd 901 Oceana Boulevard, Pacifica, CA Date: Saturday, July 11, 2020 Time: 11:00 AM

Lunch will be served following Mass at the Church Hall Cost: $10.00 per Person - Reservations required for Lunch Deadline for Reservations: June 26, 2020

For more information, check our website: www.uma-casademacau.com

------Please fill in name(s) for Thanksgiving Mass, enclose check, made payable to UMA Inc. and send to Flavia Greubel at 1232 Skycrest Dr #2, Walnut Creek, CA 94595 Tel: 925-285-2051 Email: [email protected]

Name: ______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______

Please Note: There Will Be No Refunds for No Shows

UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 13 of 20

UMA News Bulletin Winter Issue 2020 Page 14 of 20

Obituary BAPTISTA, INA FREDA of Sparks, Nevada, went home to God on March 7, 2020. She was the beloved wife of Deacon Antonio M. Baptista, mother of Annamaria Francesca and Antonio Luis, mother-in-law of Cheryl Ann Louie Baptista, and grandmother of Robert Martin, Joshua Alexander and Jade Nicole. Ina was the daughter of the late Luis Alberto Rosario and Elizabeth Justine Ward Rosario and sister of the late Luis Leonel Rosario, Eduardo Rosario, Reina Lacey and Doreen Real.

CARNEIRO, JACQUELINE (BROWN), age 92, passed away peacefully on February 27, 2020, in San Bruno, California. She is survived by her husband, August (Sonny) Carneiro; sons Gary (Audrey) and Glen; daughters Monica (the late Rick) Moody; and Suzanne (Jesse) Perez, and 3 grandchildren: Samantha, Justin and Savannah. Jackie is also survived by her brother, Bernard (Mildred) Brown of Daly City, California.

Carion, Melina, beloved wife of Francis, passed away on February 19, 2020.

MAHER, ANATOLE MARIA “SOS”, 96, passed away February 2, 2020. Born in Shanghai, China, on July 9, 1923, to Conrado Maria Maher and Tani Yokomiso Maher, he was considered by many to be a child prodigy. The youngest of seven children, he attended St. Francis Xavier College and later received a Bachelor of Science with First-Class Honors in Mechanical Engineering from the Henry Lester Technical Institute in Shanghai. He lived through the Japanese Occupation, WWII, and the Chinese Civil War before immigrating to Brazil via Japan. On January 29, 1955, he married Nair A. Pinto de Carvalho in Rio de Janeiro. With his wife and four children, Anatole moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1967, where he worked for 20 years at Maxwell House Coffee. He never stopped learning, obtaining an MBA from the University of North Florida and a Master of Engineering from the Florida Atlantic University. Later, he took guitar lessons, a Chinese language course, and learned to play the harmonica. After various jobs in Shanghai, Anatole joined the crew of the Danish freighter Leise Maersk as an engineer's assistant to see the world. This took him across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, through the Panama Canal all the way to California. Thanks to his love of ships, after retirement he often went on cruises with his wife. Anatole was very musical, loved listening to classical music as well as Bossa Nova and samba, danced the tango and often played "Happy Birthday" to relatives on his harmonica. An avid follower of politics, he stayed tuned to current events and partook in heated discussions online. Late in life, he became inseparable from his IPad. Deeply religious, Anatole was a member of the Nocturnal Adoration Society for 48 years and generously helped those in need. A great storyteller, Anatole relished relating events from his youth with his unique sense of humor.

Anatole is survived by Nair, his beloved wife of 65 years, his sons Conrado and Cousy, his daughters Tani and Rosa, their spouses, 16 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

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Obituary

Sales, Commendador Arnaldo Augusto de Olivera “Sonny” Sales, GBM, CBE, GCIH, JP

It is with great sadness that we bring news in this Spring edition of the passing of the former President of Lusitano Club of Hong Kong.

Sonny was a constant at Club Lusitano for over 70 years, serving as President from 1968 to 2002 and the General Committee prior to this. He brought great pride to the Portuguese Community with his service to Hong Kong as Chairman of the Urban Council, President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee and member of the Basic Law Consultative Committee.

Members will recall he would use the same table in the restaurant at Club Lusitano every day and hosted many a dignitary and guest there. He was also long serving Chairman and President of Lusitano’s reciprocal clubs Victoria Recreation Club and Club de Recreio. He was 100 years of age when he passed away on 6 March 2020.

YVANOVCH, MAGARIDA MARIA TERESA (MARGARET) – passed away on January 13, 2020. Reunited wither husband Phillipe (Deceased) of 62 years.

Much loved and loving mother and mother-in-law of Marina (Deceased) and Bruce, Bruno and Jill, Gerard and Denise.

Adored and proud Nana and grandmother of Philip, Amy, Isabel, Theresa, Will, Shaun, James and Paul. Our gracious lady is at rest – her work is done.

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The Macanese Family Tree and Photo Archive Project goal: To fill in the blanks in the existing genealogy and to collect as many photographs and documents as possible to make the historical record more accurate, tangible, interesting and accessible on the internet through Ancestry.com (through free registered guest accounts). You can help preserve and share your family documents and photos by uploading them to each person’s profile on Ancestry.com and in turn, you can explore and see what others have shared about their family. Here is the process: 1. Get a Free Registered Guest Account at https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Creating-a-Free-Ancestry-Account 2. Email Robert Leitao at [email protected] that you have signed up, and he will send you an invitation from which you can view the Macanese Family Tree the first time. Include information about who you are (full birth name, and parents’ names), a phone # and info about if you are on Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp… In the future, to access the Macanese Family Tree, just go to the Trees drop down menu from your home page. 3. The tree is still being built but stands at 48,100 people with 12,000 photos as of 8 Feb 2020. If you join in the project, Robert will ensure that your family is immediately entered into the database if it is not already there. 4. Finding a starting point: Go to the magnifying glass symbol above a person’s silhouette that says TREE SEARCH or FIND A PERSON and begin typing last name first. No Commas. The search box will autofill so type slowly and look for matches. Make sure the last name comes up to ensure that the spelling is correct or that no special characters are involved. Genealogically, people are listed by their birth name since names can change over time due to marriage, immigration, etc… If you have trouble, call Robert for a quick tutorial. 5. TREE view will give you an overview of the tree, the people in it and the breadth of it. The PROFILE view will show you the complete details about an individual person. Make sure you are on the FACTS page when viewing profiles. 6. The left-hand column is a timeline of the person’s life, and you will notice source references for many events (there is a drop down menu that will reveal additional names for the person). 7. The middle column lists all source documents available (you need a paid subscription to view document links directly, but, if there is a document you want, Robert will convert it to a picture/pdf which you can view in the GALLERY). 8. The right-hand column shows the immediate family. Parents at the top, siblings in a drop down menu, and spouse and children at the bottom. Click on any relative to go to their profile. 9. Always check the GALLERY of a person’s profile to see if there are additional photos attached. 10. Uploading photos or documents. You will NOT be able to amend or add data to the database. If you have additions or corrections, please email them to [email protected] or call 510-406-4184. In order to upload photos and documents, from the GALLERY page, go to the ADD drop down menu and press Add Photo, search for the file on your computer, upload and save. Be sure to describe the picture in detail so that it makes sense to anybody looking at it. Full names (first, middle, “nickname”, last) location. event and dates. Do not use pronouns like mom, dad, sister, brother… unless in conjunction with full name. Additional people in the photo can be linked so the same photo shows up in their profiles. Do not upload it multiple times to each person individually. See Manuel Emilio Leitao and Angelina Maria da Costa for examples of what a profile should look like. There are subject profiles such as Sports, Music, Shanghai Volunteer Corps, Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, School names, Hunting & Fishing that photos can be linked to.

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Pirates of Macau & Hong Kong By Daniel Gomes

Long before British sailors quenched their thirst at the freshwater streams of Aberdeen and Hong Kong, these islands were known as the ‘Ladrones-Islands of Thieves’ by Portuguese seafarers. At the turn of the 19th century, these islands were the dominion of pirate admirals with thousands of war junks under their command, terrorizing ships and seaside settlements in southern China. Why was the string of islands between Macau and Hong Kong chosen by the pirates to be their home base? A confluence of events during the Ming and , created a perfect storm for the Chinese Pirates to gain power, organize into a sophisticate confederation and settle in the islands between Macau and Hong Kong. It started with a “sea ban” prohibiting private overseas trade and forcibly relocating coastal communities inland by the founding Emperor of the . The Qing Dynasty ordered a Great Clearance, evacuating coastal populations to starve out support for the Ming loyalist . They also instituted the ‘’ where only a hand full of compradors were allowed to participate and profit. For the imperial court, it was a way of limiting foreign influence and entrusting a small group to police their behavior. It also meant that even as trade increased, most of the surging coastal population was systematically shut off from trade. For centuries, Chinese pirates had been amateurs – fishermen who, when their catch was meager, gathered some kinsfolk and spent a few weeks pirating to supplement their incomes. During the peasant rebellion against the Qing, the pirates became the ‘sea power’ for the rebels who had established a base in Vietnam. The pirates were outfitted with bigger, better- armed junks, received military ranks and titles, and found safe harbor among the islands of the South China Sea. Seven would-be pirate kings fought bloody and endless battles for leadership before eventually agreeing in 1805, to form a confederation with regular procedures and a strict code of Devil's Peak conduct. After one of the chiefs surrendered, their fleets were reduced to six: the Red, Black, White, Green, Blue, and Yellow Flag fleets. The confederation’s principal founder was a local legend, Cheng I, who was the great-great-grandson of Cheng Chien, an officer under the Ming Loyalist Koxinga. Cheng I, did not join Koxinga in where he spearheaded the revolution. Instead, Cheng I sailed for Hong Kong’s Mirs Bay and in the narrows straits of Lei Yue Mun, his descendants created a stronghold atop Devil’s Peak to command passage through the mouth of the harbor. The business was then turned over to his adopted son Cheung Po Tsai. As an “inspector " it was their duty to sail from one fishing fleet to another and see that no harm should come to them from pirates. There were also other “inspector " junks hanging about and levying taxes on the fishing fleet when the “official” inspector was not around, and thus the helpless fishermen usually paid tribute to several inspectors in order to prevent trouble. It is up to the ‘protectors’ to undo the work of these bad actors to avenge any wrong done to the grieving party. Naturally, there is continuous (profitable) warfare between the gangs. When the Royal Navy offered to help defend Macau and anchor a fleet off the ‘Bocca Tigris’ to protect local trade in 1804, the Qing Governor General ridiculed the thought that they couldn’t handle the pirates themselves. But after Cheung Po Tsai captured the Governor General’s boat, on his way up river to Whampoa, this same official turned to the west for help. “The muddy waters of the river ran red with blood,” according to a Portuguese account of how they chased Cheung from the port of Whampoa.

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As the summer of 1809 turned to autumn, the pirates retreated to their base at Tung Chung and a joint Sino-Portuguese flotilla closed in for a final and decisive battle against the confederacy. In the ensuing chaos, Cheung had his large vessels towed out past the wrecks and escaped to the open ocean. After the smoke cleared, both the Chinese and the Portuguese made grand claims of victory and the killing of over a thousand sea bandits, but according to Richard Glasspoole, fewer than 40 pirates fell and not a single vessel was lost. The Pirate Confederacy had fought off the Sino-Portuguese assault but soon started to turn on themselves. The Black Flag Fleet attacked the Red Flag Fleet inflicting far more damage and casualties than the Sino-Portuguese blockade of the Pirate Confederation. Kuo, the Admiral of the Black Flag Fleet, in a parting salvo against his former allies, surrendered a month later following negotiations which he insisted the Portuguese mediate. Cheung swore he would never follow suit, and in January 1810 he defeated the Sino-Portuguese fleet guarding the Inner Passage. However, later that year he surrendered to the Sino-Portuguese Armada because he saw that he was outclassed by the Portuguese warships that now came up against him. In his negations with the Qing representative, he said: “For 14 years you have experienced the power and vigilance of my scepter. You now know from my own mouth that the Portuguese valor was what destroyed it.” Many of the Portuguese ships that engaged the Pirate Confederation at ‘Bocca Tigris’ were “Lorchas” a mix between a Portuguese schooner and a Chinese junk (Portuguese style hull and “Chinese junk” rigging) designed and built by the Macanese as fighting ships to operate against the pirates in the South China Seas. Battle at ‘Bocca Tigris’

My great grandfather Joaquim Antonio Gomes was the owner of a “lorcha” in 1800’s. My great great great great grandfather Braz Joaquim Botelho received his sea pilot’s license on December 16, 1812 and was Captain of the vessel ‘Confianca’. He was an Officer in the Portuguese Navy. Did they engage Cheung Po Tsai ‘Red Flag Fleet’ in the battle at ‘Bocca Tigris’ in 1810? Unfortunately we will never know, since their exploits were never documented.

Painting of a Lorcha-Notice the deep Portuguese Hull

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