Remo's anger is definitely reflective of the growing emotional turmoil within
many of us goans. Peaceful Society's work in the remotest of villages in 7
States of India has given me the opportunity to have a first hand experience of
cultures and so called unwritten codes within societies. I have had the
opportunity of listening to non-goans exhorting me to tell fellow goans not to
be fools in allowing Goa to be turned into another filthy Indian metro by
allowing indiscriminate migration and construction. Many states in
neighbouring Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, besides the scheduled
areas, have an unwritten code of not selling land to outsiders. When one goes
in their markets one will have to interact as far as possible in the local
language and they will not be courteous to you if you do not communicate in
their language. But Goa's markets are full of migrants who do not know the
local language and goans go out of their way to communicate in the migrants
language. Here we have our local vendors are being pushed out of the markets
with the help of local panchas and councillors. The migrant talks in a fashion
that he can buy out any one in this State, from the local Sarpanch, councillor,
bureaucrat to the MP. Some non-goan bureaucrats have contempt for goans.
Everyone has a right in this country, except goans. We goans are happy
squabbling among ourselves and sponsoring non-goans to feed us bull shit in
some newspapers and run systematic campaigns against goan initiatives.
-Soter D'Souza
Socorro
