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Cornel's post is excellent.
His friend said ""Now you must know why I can't stand Goanet. It is so damned inward looking".
The inward looking aspect is true. Even more true is how we like to enjoy (wallow) in the past. Be it pre 1961 Goa or the "good old days" in Africa. We seem to caught in a "time warp". No more is more evident than in the G.O.A. dances in Toronto.
There was even a short-lived movement to replicate the Clubs in Nairobi the G.I. and the G.G. For those of us from E. Africa, we know the implication of such a movement.
The Goans here have a very good time when it relates to the past. Very few have a vision for the future. That is why, IMHO, the G.O.A. days in Toronto are numbered. When I look around, I do not see many Goan children marrying Goans. The G.O.A. Toronto is dominated by African Goans. Middle East Goans have now started their own organizations. There is little love lost between these organizations. Good examples are this year's St. F.X. Feast and the 31st Dance. There will be at least two St. F.X. Feasts. The G.O.A. refuses to acknowledge or join in with the feast celebrated by the St. Francis Xavier Church of Mississauga whose pastor is Monsignor Terrence D'Souza - Goan ex-Karachi. There is even a holy relic of St. F.X. at the church - donated by the Goa Church (via Rome, or by the usual protocol)
The 31st will see at least two dances - one hosted by the G.O.A. and the other hosted by a break-away group of the G.O.A. There will also be numerous other dances hosted by the ex-Middle East people and ex-Mumbaikers.
I find the Goans (Hindu/Muslim/Catholic) in Goa much "freer" in terms of baggage and more forward looking. I see them proudly say they are Indian and not try and pretend they are something else. Many Goan children are taught at home that they different from Indians and do not call themselves Indians. This was relayed to me by a (white) Canadian teacher. She said that she was surprised to see the Goan children get visibly upset if they were classed as Indian (or East Indian - as we are known here). They would say "We are Goan - not Indian!".
I have lived with this situation in Canada for close to 30 years. I understand it and it does not bother me any more. But I do not condone it.
If Goanet is to be a useful forum for discussion and education it needs to be free to debate issues that are of interest to Goans - be they the US elections, war in Iraq, Kasmir, Bhopal, pre 1961 Goa, whatever. We need to understand what makes us Goans tick. Cornel puts it rightly as "The Goan
Diaspora, in many new locations, has too much to offer Goanet . . . for the better . . " It is only then that we can grow. Degenerating discussions to ridicule and name calling means that we not only lose credibility ourselves but that our point of view has lost its case.
There are two social issues that I feel deserve more attention from the members of this forum but for some reason the forum seems taciturn.
Child Sex in Goa is a growing social problem and needs overseas Goans in particular to stand up and be counted.
HIV/AIDS is growing rapidly in India and threatens to reach epidemic proportions soon.
What can we on Goanet do that can make a difference? Just idly discussing these issues and other issues does nothing. We need to get passionate.
Can we?
Tim de Mello [EMAIL PROTECTED] CANADA
