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BEING GOAN IN A GLOBALISED
WORLD
By Anibel Ferus-Comelo, Leeds, England Anibel Ferus-Comelo who holds a Masters degree in Sociology has worked at the Center for Labor Research, University of California, Los Angeles and has taken part in various campaigns on issues affecting people of colour in the US. She is currently (2002) working at her Doctorate at Queen Mary�s College, University of London. The full article appeared in the Goan Overseas Digest in April 2002. Below are extracts. _______ Introduction Over the last few years, I have come across many attempts to describe Goan culture and what being a Goan means. References, some amusing and others serious, are often made to language, food, religion, lifestyle, and an inexplicable sentimental attachment to a particular geographical place - India's smallest state. In some cases, those who call themselves Goans have never lived in Goa, or in India for that matter, but still have a strong sense of belonging to Goa, more than to any other place. Even though I was not born in Goa, Goan-ness is certainly part of my identity but instead of wading through the usual terrain in which identity is discussed and regurgitate familiar views, let me focus on a more important question: So what?? What difference does being Goan make in the world in which we live, or indeed to Goa as it is today? Addressing the theme of Goan identity should help to define and clarify the role that overseas Goans can play in the societies which we have adopted as our own. It is all the more important to place our cultural evolution as a community in a wider social and political context. The troubled world in which we live requires us not just recreate fossilised, idealistic images of our 'native place' in foreign lands but to be politically active world citizens. READ MORE IN www.goacom.com/overseas-digest/goan.html and click the name Anibel Ferrus-Comelo (next to her photo) |
