The "Sindhi and the Suitcase" Story

It was an ordinary day. Read a very interesting article written by Robert James titled "The Sindhi and the Suitcase". It seems that Robert was delayed on a flight from Miami to Jamaica in 1997 and was talking with another passenger during the wait. He was telling Robert all about the Partition of India and how it has affected his family. Why did the article interest me? You will see; and I will keep it simple and as accurate as I can, I hope. Sindhi is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. Pakistan borders India. After WWII, the British Government, who had occupied India for over 100 years, wanted out of the area. On August 14, 1947 they just up and left India. They told the people of the land they occupied that it's OK for you blokes to split your country in two, and do it on your own. Well the land was divided between Muslim and Hindus. They began killing each other for the land. The Sindhi population which lived west of the Partition line were given 30 days to leave, and leave everything behind. Families packed suitcases and kept them under their beds, just in case they had to leave quickly. It seems that the Sindhi's were a resourceful people and many were jewelers. As they left their native land, they took with them most of the jewels of the country. And they headed to the Caribbean. At the time the islands were crowded with slaves that had gained their freedom from their European masters, but had no idea how to run businesses. The Sindhi were good at that. So, they worked well together. Through the mutual hard work of the Sindhi community and the West Indian community (the slaves of the Caribbean), the Caribbean islands were turned into some of the most highly developed nations in the Western Hemisphere. The oil refinery as well as the Cruzan Rum factory were both developed in St. Croix. And, the huge jewelry industry that now exists throughout the Caribbean islands was developed. You take a cruise or visit any Caribbean island and you will see jewelry stores that were developed since the Partition of 1947. Jewelers with names like Daswani, Dadlani, Alwani, Khiatani, Sharma, ..... wait a minute, that is the name of the Jeweler my wife got a necklace from on our last visit to St. Martin. Could he be one of the families that immigrated to the Caribbean after 1947? Have to ask him next time we visit. And, to this day there are still survivors living in the Caribbean who keep a suitcase packed and under there bed ..... just in case! They can't forget what it was like during the Partition. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.