Friday, November 27, 2009

Eid Mubarak to our Morning Chai Family - Ismailis celebrate Eid-Al-Adha



Uganda woos Canadian Ismailis it chased out decades ago

Zee's Notes: My friend Vali Jamal wrote this article a month ago when the Ugandan VP passed Vancouver to speak at the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby. So having been in Vancouver for the last 3 decades this really hits home as it's true there is a lot of Ismaili's who can be called millionaires and are thriving in Canada. Again the  amazing thing is that only a handful, like the Lalji (Larco), Magan Mawji (real estate) and Pirani (hotels) family, had money when they arrived in the early 1970's. The majority of the Ugandan Asians in Vancouver started out working in menial jobs such as parking lot attendants for Imperial Parking while they raised their families. Most of the 'rich' Ismailis at the time were from Kenya, Tanzania and Congo. The Eighties and subsequent real estate boom lasting to today created the business opportunities and wealth for most of the Ismaili's and their children have prospered prepped with their University educations and high paying jobs over the last 25 years - see BC Business article in 2006 The Ismaili Success Story in BC