A Life to Remember

By Hamza Simrick

I have written this memoir in the hopes that anyone who finds him or herself in the same situation growing up will not repeat these mistakes. I was on a path to struggle out of poverty. Anyone can get out of poverty provided one has the desire and the will. Poverty is like a disease. If you give in, it will suppress you to no end. You fight poverty in the same way you would fight a disease. You become ambitious and determine to find the mechanism that can lead you to a successful life. I was born in an undeveloped family who could not help me in my plight. However, I was rescued by a school teacher, Regis Henequin, who forcibly took me to school. Later in my life I was recruited by Major Butler of the Royal Signals of the British Army. After joining the army and serving for three years along the Suez Canal in Egypt, my eyes wide open.
While in the British Army, I was still on the prowl for a life after the army. I was lucky to share my tent with a man named Gopal who was a tailor and made suits for officers. I was fascinated and began to spend more time with him. Visiting the city of Ismaelia, I saw on a stand a magazine advertising fashion designing by the Jean dArroux Academy in Paris. I bought the magazine and wrote to them. They replied and hence, I found an answer that carried me through my life as a fashion designer. Even though what I had learned through correspondence courses was insufficient for me to function, it was enough to motivate me to continue the direction.
My stay with the Jean dArroux Paris Academy was brief but useful, and soon thereafter, I left for London. Life truly began to emerge from the darkness that had blinded me while growing up. I became curious and began to ask what made the British the way they were. In order to learn as much as I could I found that I had to learn the language of the people. No matter what you do, if you want to be successful, you will have to go through a languagein this case, it was English. I placed emphasis on the language and grew fast in London. I got married; my wife and I became engrossed in social work helping the Mauritian community settle in London. Officials recognized our efforts and that was when I met Mr. Wendel Coote, the First Secretary of the American Embassy, which resulted in our coming to the United States.
Life in America was different than was expected and having lived in London, changes had to be made. The original plan to stay in America was six months but that was changed by circumstance hence the disorientation. My wife was pregnant with our son and she could not work; my endeavor was not enough to carry us through. The expectation was missing and the visiting concept was based on misunderstanding. But that was in the past and having lived in a country for over fifty years, life couldnt have been different otherwise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524651367

Hamza Simrick

My name is Hamza Simrick, born in Mauritius. I studied fashion in Paris and London where I lived and practiced for twelve years until I moved to America in 1966. I am now retired and live in Fairfax, Virginia.

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© 2016 HAMZA SIMRICK. All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse 11/22/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5137-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5136-7 (e)

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1   Life in Pointe aux Piments

Family History

Move to Port Louis

Joining the British Army

Boarding the ship Ascanius

Chapter 2   Departing Mauritius

Arriving in Kabrit, Egypt

Posted at the Operation Base in Faid

Chapter 3   Fashion Design Vision

Departed Egypt

Chapter 4   Going to Paris

A Family in Paris

Leaving Paris for London

Stuck on Alp Mountains

Chapter 5   Arrived in London in 1955

Job Search

Ballroom Dancing

Searching for a Dance Partner

Met a friend in Fashion School

Visited Hammersmith Palais de Dance

Chapter 6   Enrolled in the Polytechnic Schools

Emphasis on Fashion Design

Charter Flights to Mauritius

Arrived in Washington

Strange Call

Three Incidents in DC

Chapter 7   Started Neckwear Business

Job Tenure in the United States

Calling Mr. Detwiler at Garfinchle’s

Chapter 8   Prime Minister Ramgoolam’s Letter

Formed Association

A National Sewing Association

The Importance of a Fashion Lab

Chapter 9   My First Book: The Art of Tailoring

The Second Book: Fashion and Artistic Dressing

Chapter 10   Health

Conclusion

To Patricia and Farid

Introduction

This is the history of how a five-year-old boy born in the remote part of the then-undeveloped island of Mauritius struggled and succeeded in life and is now able to write about it in this book. He ended up in the British Army and served for three years in Egypt. In the quest to become a fashion designer, he travelled to Paris, where he briefly studied fashion at the Academy of Jean d’Arroux, and soon afterward he left Paris for London. He continued with his fashion studies with Tailor & Cutter. He lived and practiced in London for twelve years, and he became an executive of a large manufacturing company in London: Robert and John Ltd. He has been living in America since 1966. He describes in detail his activities in America, sharing what he had to go through not only to survive but also to succeed and be able to write about it in this book. This book has a movie or TV adaptation potential.

The idea to write this book was born at a dinner party with friends in the house of Feroz and Bilkiss Dhomun, and present were Farah; Swadeka; Aslam Patmah; my wife, Patricia; and our son, Farid. In the after-dinner conversation, I briefly alluded to my life history. They found it interesting and urged me to write about it. I gave the idea some thought and felt that perhaps I should write this book, relating every aspect of my life as I have lived it since I was five years of age. Perhaps it may serve as a good example for those individuals suffering the same fate. It’s possible that those who read the book will find a point or two useful in their own lives, and as such, the book will have served its purpose. Further, it may motivate those who were born unlucky like me and empower them to struggle out of poverty as I did. This writing is designed also to convey the message that however poor people may be, they can struggle out of it if they try hard enough, thinking about why they are poor and what can be done to be successful and get out of poverty.

My personal experience tells me that the key factor for success in life lies in language. If you want to succeed in life, you will have to learn the language that will open the line of communication and make your life easy to function. But I was born in a family who spoke only patois, and since all progressive things are in written languages, one must learn and understand at least one language well enough to be able communicate with people who are successful. At the age of five, when my life truly started, I didn’t have a language of my own. Yes, English and French languages were spoken there, but I couldn’t call them my language because I was of Indian race. And even the Indian language wasn’t spoken in my household. The languages spoken were French Creole and Bhojpuri, neither of which were written language. I had to learn English and French, which wasn’t easy, but I forced myself to learn them the best I could because I knew they were the languages and insurance leading to success. I think that anyone aiming at being successful in life must first learn at least one language well, thus gaining the freedom of communication that can translate into success.

The little knowledge I had acquired at school and private tuition was enough to build on to get myself enrolled in the British Army Royal Signals (a trade corps). A certain amount of working English was required for the enrollment interview in the army, without which I wouldn’t know where I would be or what I would be doing today. My army life was fulfilling and provided me the opportunity to rub elbows with English soldiers and learn about their cultures. Further, it provided me enough time to seek out the direction I needed to go to build my future. I came out of the army mature enough to know the life I wanted to settle in: I had decided to go into the fashion trade. For this decision, I am grateful to the camp tailor, Gopal, who provided me with good insight into garment construction technology.

Having returned to Mauritius and realized that the little knowledge I had acquired in fashion design while in the army wasn’t sufficient for me to function, I decided to go to the Jean d’Arroux Academy in Paris. Having arrived in Paris, I found discomfort in the living quarters and went to London to join the Tailor & Cutter Academy. I felt comfortable in London because I could work and study. When you’re in a foreign country alone, especially in a developed city like London, you should have a hobby, and mine was ballroom dancing, which was very popular. Only one problem: I didn’t know how to dance. Since I was a beginner and had no rhythm to keep up with the music beats, I had to take private tuition. I sought and found a teacher. Her house was converted into a teaching studio. She taught me the culture involved in ballroom dancing and introduced me to the basic steps of the four ballroom dance: English waltz, quickstep, fox-trot, and tango (not Argentine tango). She also told me that if I wanted to practice my steps and variations in dancing, I would have to practice with a partner. She recommended that I should go to Hammersmith Palais de Dance, which was in West London.

I didn’t have to think about the direction I wanted to take; it was fashion designing. All I had to do was to find out how to get to the academy and find the way to achieve what I needed to become a fashion designer. Living in such a developed city, one must be equally developed and have a job to enjoy what London had to offer. Since my fashion knowledge was in the infancy stage, I had to accept any job to sustain me. I accepted a job packing potteries. This provided me with financial freedom to enroll in the fashion academy of Tailor & Cutter. I also went to Hammersmith Palais de Dance in search of a partner, where I met a partner who would become my wife.

Due to the British government immigration policy, immigrants from colonies were hording into England, and Mauritius was no exception. As a result, I was engrossed in social work, and my wife, Patricia, was an asset in this endeavor. Further, the chief minister of Mauritius had asked me to help Mauritians settle in London because they were experiencing difficulties. My social activities earned me some recognition by both governments, but they also slowed down my personal activities.