Dear Mike: This refers to your post appearing in Goanet on October 4. While commending your enthusiasm and genuine interest in Goa's prosperity and good name, I take exception to your maligning indigenous Goans for being lackadaisical and disinterested in the goings-on in their Homeland. As I understand from reliable sources, many locals feel disenfranchised i.e. overwhelmed, overrun and under seige from aliens, hostile elements and exploitative special interests who ignore the core welfare of Goa. Their xenophobia is augmented by a sense of feeling dispossessed of their exclusive rights, entitlements and recognition as their unalienable inheritance. They believe they've been unfairly denied as the residuals of the original Goan population who chose to stay home through all the vicissitudes of Goa's chequered history and its vagaries of fortune and social changes, come hell or high water. Some of the other reasons for their apparent low morale are enumerated as follows. The consensus of our fellow home Goinkars opine they don't have good Government to protect them and run the affairs of state well. It is claimed the extraordinary "post-Lusitanian" era growth has not been properly planned and regulated. They fear Goa's seminal way of life and culture is being ravaged and the original Goan identity is fast disintegrating. It's contended the politics of Goa is in pandemonium and the law and order situation is deplorable. They also complain corruption is rampant. I could go on ad infinitum with this reported litany of Goa's woes and apparently unsurmountable problems engendered by chaotic conditions. Ergo, the "Last of the Mohicans" have apparently developed stoic indifference and pathetic fatalism predicated on a dismal sense of abject hopelessness. You probably know much more about the real prevailing state of affairs than I do. I appreciate your valour and loyalty to the Motherland by going down to our ancestral abode to make your presence felt. Granted you're a genuine corker, putting your money where your mouth is, I doubt you can catalyze the local inhabitants to action merely by harsh criticism. Visiting Goa and trying to help directly through social interaction as you're doing is the way to go. Let's be more sympathetic and understanding, senor so that your " Goan patriotism/fealty" can be more effective. Incidentally, I'm a denizen of Goan extract, now a citizen of the USA. I visited Goa only once 55 years ago. I'll never forget the genuine deep affection, boundless hospitality, honesty, piety and rich culture, especially in music that I witnessed among our Goan people back home. It was a beautiful, halcyon environment I enjoyed immensely. And the best of all, the fishing, coconut and mango tree climbing and cashew bulb gathering were the "icing on the cake". Keep up the good work. Have a great trip to Goa. Viva Goa!!! Sincerely Arnold Noronha Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
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