Goanet next meets in Goa: January 7, 4 pm (meeting point: Kala Academy canteen). Goanet founder Herman Carneiro will be there. See you there! ------------------------------
What would you call it? .......Words don't come easy..... to define Goans. I thank all for the well thought-out responses and posts on this interesting and important topic. Here are some thoughts to advance this dialogue further. �migr�?, Migrants?, Expat?, Disporic?, ...... Diaspora? Many terms have been tossed around to describe /define the Goan communities scattered all over the world. What's the Konkani translation for the above terms? The names recommended / appealing appear to be related to the domicile of the writer. Also nobody seems to have sought the opinion of the people most likely to be described by the nomenclature - the second and third generation Goans in the foreign land. Native Goans who look upon the scattered Goans (with yearning) to some day return home would tend to use the word Migrant or Immigrant or Emigrant to describe the scattered Goans. Second and third generation Goans certainly do not look on themselves as Migrants or Immigrants or Emigrants. Dispersed Goans in situations where they are likely to return back to Goa would tend to use the word �migr�. Expat is a term tended to be used by those who indeed have returned home. As the name suggest they claim their right as expatriates (ex-patria out of the fatherland) from their homeland. Second and third generation colonialists who had a right to their home-land may use this term. Disporic Goans sounds a bit of "tongue-in-cheek" terminology as it rhymes with despotic or in the Goan (Konkani) context ghusporic ani ghuspottic. Diaspora in my opinion is a very appropriate word. While undoubtedly the name is best known for the Jewish people, the mistake some have made is to identify the term with their (Jewish) painful dispersal starting with the destruction of their Temple by the Romans and continued down the millennia. But, in fact many people through centuries have been dispersed due to wars and other traumatic situations. But they have not been termed Diaspora. IMHO the reason the term Diaspora is so widely used for the Jewish people (and this is something that we may need to note) is that the Jewish people in their dispersal have maintained their Jewish identity through their religion, cultural practices, Hebrew language and script. Thus IMHO, if we Goans are to use the term Diasporas, which incidentally is used by several other groups including Parses, we assume the responsibility to maintain our identity as Goans - down the generations. This will most likely have to be done without a set-apart (distinguishing) religion, language and script. Before I get angry responses, how many think the second and third generation Goan Diaspora will know Konkani in Roman script? There-in lays the challenge for the current generation of Goans in the Diasporas. That is why IMHO Diaspora Goans need to determine what is it that will identify us and our subsequent generations as being Goans. And how can current generation of Goan as a group introduce and implement those identifying characteristics. But for now perhaps we have to settle for a defining term! Regards, Gilbert, NY ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
