"On this occasion, Khalifa helped him with some information that the owners did not know he knew, details about commission and interest that helped the merchant strike a better deal."
In the early days, business was conducted professionally, and all the structures governing business operations were established. The Indian brother who employed Khalifa operated a bank business. However, they did not know how to read and interpret the Roman alphabet. Therefore, the brother relied on Khalifa's knowledge in interpreting business deals before they could commit their money.
"It seemed like a blessing, opening the door to a livelihood for him and perhaps some adventure."
The quote shows how the Asian community valued education in colonial times. Khalifa was the son of an Indian father and an African mother. However, the father fully raised Khalifa as an Indian and ensured he fit into the Indian culture, education, and customs. Therefore, unlike local children who rarely went to school, Khalifa got an education, and after he graduated, he got his first job as a bookkeeper.
"Our brother Ilyas has come to work at the big sisal estate. He is a friend of the manager, the great German lord himself. He speaks German as if it is his native language. He is lodging with Omar Hamdani for the moment until his lordship finds him accommodation suitable for such an eminent member of his staff."
Ilyas is one of the children initially captured by German soldiers and assimilated into German culture to be used as a source of cheap labor in the plantations. When Ilyas comes to work in the sisal estate, everyone there is shocked to learn that he speaks German fluently. The Germans perfected the art of assimilating many locals to manipulate them easily.
