One of the first things I observed about David Whitehead Textiles was that among its three to four thousand workers and staff there was not a single Asian or Colored person, excepting myself. I inquired from a white colleague as to the reason for this and he replied quite seriously that it was all a question of toilet facilities.
There were no separate toilets for Asians and Coloreds. It was considered unfair and inconsiderate to expect them to use the African toilets, but at the same time it was out of the question that they be allowed to use the sacrosanct white toilets. So no Asians or Coloreds were recruited to David Whitehead. It was then that it dawned on me that I had the proud honor and privilege of being the first non white person to be allowed to use the White Man’s toilet at David Whitehead Textiles!
At the beginning, working at David Whitehead was somewhat of a traumatic experience. Both senior and middle management were not too happy about an Asian being appointed to senior staff, even though they were too polite to show their resentment openly. Even after independence many wanted to keep the current status quo intact, and they felt that the introduction of an Asian into their midst, was an interference with their way of life. To them it was the first sign of how independence was going to crumble their life style. However once they got to know me better the position changed dramatically and many of them became quite friendly.
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