I am from Europe so sometimes I do not understand the culture of America but sometimes its good to write experiences. My last visit to San Francisco was in 2017 for the Google IO Conference. We have a group online on which we planned to meet at several events on site and off site so this was, apart from a Google dynamic experience, a whole new paradigm in meeting women in computing from all over the world. I was excited.
I met Susana Craig in this network. Not sure if she was a coder but she was one of the more vocal connectors, you know one of the local mamas who would know everything about everything, connect people even if she didn’t know them enough in an endearingly desperate way, keen to be liked and included, to be of value.
Susana wanted to throw a party on the last day May 19, 2017. It had to be a burrito party because for all of us coming from all over the world; we could not have left California without having tasted the best South American food. We were looking forward to it.
On the day of the party, we got to the huge palatial house in a residential area where Susana introduced us to a lady called Meera Kaul. She said – this house belongs to Meera Kaul. There was a big Burrito Truck – a huge Churros outfit, tones of alcohol, lots of it. There were mosquitos, we complained but danced congratulated Susana for hosting such a wonderful Google IO party for all of us and clicked a bunch of drunk photos. Susana told us that she was hosting the party at a friend’s place since the friend had space and it was free. And although Susana said that she had a lot of other connections and she could have made other spaces possible she thought that it was central enough for everyone and convenient as well.
While all of this was going on, something strange happened. Susana Craig Left. Apparently, she had to go home so she left so we saw Meera Kaul and two of her friends start cleaning up the mess of the good and the garbage and alcohol that a whole bunch of us had created. We felt sorry since we had messed up the house so we apologized and started helping her move the heavy tables and the furniture, the garbage, the food that so many guests had just dropped in the grass instead of trash cans, alcohol that people has left in the bushes – it was a mess to clean way into the night. We noticed she was limping in pain but she didn’t make a huge deal of it.
Then she sat with us and shared a bottle of wine and we had a lovely time despite the mosquitos. We sat around a small fire pit and sipped talking work till late. When we left, she hugged us goodbye like she knew us forever.
Towards the end of March 2018, I sat on a flight in Europe when I glanced on my twitter feed to read some remarks that some old friends were making and something caught my attention; they were talking about Susana Craig. That was strange. In connection to Meera Kaul. Was Meera Kaul not the same woman who had hosted Susana Craig’s party? We had all clicked pictures, clapped and thanked Susana for the party that night. Why did then Susana then claim that she was an employee of Meera. Meera did not behave as if Susana was an employee. If that was the case, why did Meera not know that Susana in fact left the party.
If Meera was the employer of Susana then Susana was representing meera at Google for the conference which she was not. This was all very confusing.
What was even more confusing to me was that during Google IO; Susana Craig has mentioned to me that she was a co-founder of a company for which she was looking for funding. The other founder was a man.
I don’t know the truth. All I Know is that I was at the home of a woman who opened her warm home to us and we ate and drank at her expense and she smiled and cleaned up after us. She did not say anything bad or complain when we trashed her home or when her “ so called employee” abandoned her without notice.
I do not understand how silicon valley works; where we come from we stand up for other women in our clan and hold those who lie liable.
I could not stay quiet after reading what I did and wanted to tell what I saw.
