Debate http://www.oherald.com ------------------------- Don't blame the foreigner
By Anders Colin To any foreigner who's loved Goa enough to be drawn back over the years, it is clear that the tourist industry has reached critical mass and is poised to demolish the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) and transform the whole State. The pressures of change have evoked a wave of introspection and the Press has been full of articles on what it is to be a Goenkar, Goa's colourful history and where it's headed now. Laced through these, an anti-tourist sentiment is evident, especially in ill-chosen expressions such as "tourist infested", used in the Herald. One reads historical reviews of Goa's development that suggest that only two events formed Goa: the Portuguese era that ended in 1961 and the arrival of the hippies about five years later. (See "Canacona, the last frontier" by a Goan who has Anglicised his name to Tony Martin, Herald, Jan 15, 20045) Three aspects might be addressed here; What is a Goan?, What was a hippie?, and Why are Goans so confused and divided? Goan identity seemed unique to me in 1975, as Bengali identity had seemed in Calcutta, as Kashmiri identity was in Srinagar, and Bombay's as well. i.e. Goan identity is simply an expression of Indian diversity. First, then, Goans are Indian. They were different because most of the families from whom we rented our rooms in the fishing villages were Christians. Similarly, Kashmiris were different because the house-boats were all owned by Muslims. Immigration has changed the demographic in Goa, so there's more stress in the society, as the new Hindu majority has taken the reins of power from the old guard. Like rulers the world over, they favour their supporters and work to encourage opponents to change sides. This stress seeks outlets - someone to blame. The Press is agitated by big money from outside dominating development and side-lining Goans. But Goans are entangled in restrictive property laws that grew out of 450 years of Portuguese systems of land and property registration, taxation and title. These foster legal challenges to every sale and they take years to get to Court. Meanwhile, the coast is littered with unfinished or empty buildings that stand as eyesores for years on end, as ugly and seemingly permanent as the River Princess. Mostly the work of Goans, not bhailes. Hence the answer to the first question is that a Goan is a confused and frustrated Indian in painful transitional phase. The second matter is the projection of hippie as bogey-man, known only for sex 'n drugs 'n rock 'n roll and the root of all the evils associated with the tourist image of the State. That is, a narrow perception of a long-gone phenomenon is being used to demonise today's young travellers. No one seems to recall those '60's that spawned "hippies", how the world was returning to prosperity after the War, but was oppressed by the Cold War and the threat of nuclear annihilation. The U.S. had adopted the Domino Theory and, after Korea in the 1950's, had invaded Vietnam. Young Americans were fleeing the draft and new chemical drugs were racing around the globe, their popularity fueling the desire to escape increasingly souless and militaristic governments. Freedom was the catch-call and India, land of the spiritual, beckoned. In 1975, to neophytes like myself, Goa's reputation was daunting, but the lure of a palm-fringed beach on the Arabian Sea was irresistible to an Australian. So we came down to Colva, safe from those hippies hiding in the remote and road-less Anjuna area up north. Of course, we came up to Anjuna for the Full Moon parties on the beach. It took all day: three buses, two ferries and a climb over the headland from Baga. It was so rewarding! There have been few centres that matched it for its eclectic mix of wonderful characters in an intensely creative environment. There was drug use, but it was so common as to fall below the attention level. We don't see this today, but then, Goans were not averse to the strange mores of this first ever influx of modern Westerners. In fact, the villagers who suddenly found the spare room bringing Rs 150 a month were all smiles. Look around you now and wonder just how many of your well-heeled, middle-aged tourists once smoked a chillum under a banyan tree. They look pretty normal now, don't they? And, though they might have put on a few kilos, they still seem to lead creative and exciting lives, don't they? A closer look might reveal areas where they've caused changes that benefit all. Take dogs for example: Goa's always had a dog problem. Too many of 'em. But compare them today with the dogs of the 1960's! Very nice dogs now; very ugly dogs then. Clean dogs now; fleas jumping out of the sand then. Healthy dogs now; mostly neutered and vaccinated. Ghastly disease-riddled curs then. Westerners caused that transformation. The hippies are long gone, but their energy is still evident here, especially in Bardez. Blandness is death to international tourist destinations, yet Goans appear in denial of the very attractive effects of this energy, including the freedom to be outrageous and the threat of meeting something or someone unusual. So how do Goans want tourism to develop? The signs are clear. If you don't pull together, you'll pull apart. If big money works to its logical end, the best places will soon have starred resorts lining the dunes and the depth of your market will narrow to a class of jet-setting short-stayers. This class is notoriously fickle and very susceptible to security concerns. Everyone's aware of the potential for loss of employment of Goans in this scenario. Yet Goans haven't any credible long-term plan for development. No outsider can say which way it should go; but we can urge you to reflect upon your own attitudes and note the role of the Press in shaping public opinion towards the tourists of the new century. It's helpful to appreciate your market potential, but if you lose sight of who's bringing in the money right now, there's danger of miscalculating the value of what's to replace them. Meanwhile, please expunge such pejorative expressions as "tourist-infested" from your columns. Your problems are yours and to blame the tourists for them is to yield to that all too familiar Indian trait of blaming someone else. It saves having to take responsibility for ones own failings. - The writer is a tourist in Goa, and can be contacted via email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or on mobile 9822 583892. 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