(Edited version of this letter was published in Herald, 25th December 2009)
The Chief Minister's very need to emphasise that Goa is a safe place for tourists in his address on Goa Liberation Day speaks volumes of the international image this Sate has acquired in the last one year. Goans have themselves to be blamed for this because of their greed that knows no bounds. The negative impact of State patronised and community tolerated social evils like alcohol and drugs, gambling, sex trade and other criminal activity takes time to manifest. The years of Goa's unregulated tourism activity which has attracted the riff-raff from other Sates and the globe, particularly in the coastal belt, is but expected to blow in the face of Goans. If Goa is safe then why at all does the Chief Minister and other ministers require police escort vehicles and bodyguards? In this last one month itself we have witnessed how crazy our police have started behaving. If those meant to give security to the citizens have started losing control on their desires then what security can we expect? Are our houses safe from prowling rag pickers and scrap dealers who do not waste any opportunity to steal given the slightest opportunity? Even apprehending the culprits and handing them over to the police is useless. It only fills the pcokets of the police as a deal gets struck with the concerned scrap dealer. With characters like Mahanand and others celebrating the lawlessness in Goa, how can tourist women feel safe if our Goan women themselves fear the worst. Goa is already a model State as it has slipped from a state of grace in 1961 to a state of disgrace in 2009. Citing crime rate figures and crime detection rates by our police in co mparison to other States is no consolation to us. We are one of the tiniest, most literate and an economically fairly well-off State in this country, so let us not compare our crime rate with huge States where abject poverty abounds. It would not be wrong to state that Goa has become a haven for criminal elements even in the political system and instead of pulling wool over people's eyes, let us honestly accept this fact and chalk out drastic corrective measures, Mr. Chief Minister. We Goans do not feel safe in our land anymore. Your Goa may be smiling but we Goans are crying. -Soter D'Souza
