The controversy about Portuguese nationality makes me wonder why the Portuguese authorities don't require all applicants to demonstrate proof of familiarity with Portuguese language and culture. Sound crazy? Well, it could be a win-win situation for all concerned - here's how
>From the Portuguese perspective - 1. It will bolster the moral basis for the law in the first place and prevent Portuguese from perceiving (rightly or wrongly) that people seek Portuguese nationality ONLY for the benefit of working in other EU countries. 2. It will rejuvenate the Portuguese language usage of which is shrinking everywhere except Brazil. 3. It will pose an additional hurdle to non-eligible illegal applicants, who will then have to choose between the pain of learning when to use the subjunctive past and the past-less-than-perfect tenses, or alternate methods (such as being locked up in a shipping container for days on end) >From the Goa perspective 1. Portugal has a declining labor force, and has been growing faster than the UK and Germany for many years now. It's probably just a matter of time before the Portuguese labor market offers salaries competitive with the UK, specially, but not limited to skilled workers. This is what happened with Ireland a decade ago. Knowledge of Portuguese will help Goans avail of these opportunities. 2. Brazil has recently made a move to greatly expand business ties with India. Knowledge of Portuguese will help Goans get a first stab at jobs in Brazilian owned firms in India 3. It will make a few people's grandpas and grandmas very happy =) regards, Daryl ########################################################################## # 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 # ##########################################################################
