Goannetters have now begun questioning the purpose and motive of the Goan NRI Meet. Perhaps Goa did not want to lag behind in welcoming, entertaining, honouring and listening to NRGs, just as Kerala does. When the Pravasi Divas was first conceived by the then BJP-led government, many raised the same question: why must India honour its NRIs? As I may have written here, the push for such came from the Friends of the BJP, with its headquarters in New York. When the Congress came to power, there was a mild rumour that the Divas would be cancelled. The Congress realized that it would hurt the NRIs and it would be seen as an anti-NRI party. So, the party went along and kept the show going. The Pravasi Divas has both its advantages and disadvantages. Similarly, the Goan NRI Meet has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is necessary to take stock of the previous meets and check if what was discussed and promised has been realized. I doubt if even 25 percent of what was put on the plate has been addressed. The BJP will say that it was ousted and tghe Congress will say that it still to settle in and, hence, not much time could be devoted to NRI issues. When it was announced that Eduardo Faleiro was appointed NRI Commissioner, the gloabal diaspora committee welcomed his appointment. However, the fact remains that Faleiro is part of the government because he is given a cabinet rank. Herein possibly lies his dilemma. As mentioned here, the number of "real" NRIs has been less at this meet, just as it has been in the previous ones. At the one I attended there were many Goans from outside Goa, mostly from Mumbai. Whether Goans from the rest of India qualify to be called "NRIs" is debatable. By the same token, can we still call ex-NRIs now settled in Goa as NRIs? At the 2005 meet, the majority of the delegates were members of the BJP. It was more of a grandstanding by the ruling party. As I reflect on it, I can firmly state that the meet was "defeatist" in nature. Aires Rodrigues may now deride the the NRI meet as waste of taxpayer's money. I don't know who financially supported the first meet held under the NRI Felitatioon Committee, which came about from the launch of a global goan associaiton by Aires. Aires neither voiced the same feelings of wasting people's money at the 2005 meet, and I don't if he did at the 2006 meet. Aires falls into that category of ex-NRIs, having lived in Portugal, Canada and England. His heart is obviously in Goa. I tend to agree that Aires's politics are now self-centred. He was different as a student leader, where the cause of fighting for the rights of students was supreme. I, for one, wouldn't trust him for a paise. His politics abhors me. He is now more of a political opportunist and a publicity seeker. Goans in Goa should bypass his Save Goa group, and look at other creditable organizations to fight for making Goa a progressive state. Aires accuses Faleiro of "highhanded dictorial behaviour". In my personal experience, I have seen Aires trying to show his "might" even in place like Toronto where he was an unknown in the Goan community. He bent backwards to please one of Goa's famous "Gaoons", though he later fell out with this political muscleman. Leave Aires aside, and let's hear from those who attended the meet if anything fruitful came out of it. If such meet do not serve the purpose of NRGs, then NRGs must demand no more of such tamashas. In this respect, I would like to know what role the new Global Alliance of World Associations (or whatever it is called) played at the meet. I was never aware of it till reading it on goannet. I take it to be a parellel body to the International Goan Organization (IGO), which "exists" but in a form and shape that is ridiculous. It is largely run by the Uganda mafia in Toronto, with Zulema de Souza as the guiding light. It seems the global image of Goans has now been placed in the hands of Goans Down Under. I wish if the people behind this organization would send me personally or post it to goanet how the association came about to be formed and its constitution. Floriano's little details on the RP-2011 threw some light on this much-discussed and much-hated plan. Thanks to him for also informing that the RP was taken off the agenda. I had asked for such information in my first post on the subject, whether there was lenghty and fruitful discussion but there was no reply to it. This is serious error on the part of Faleiro or the committe. Since the meet is under the auspices of the Goa government and since Faleiro is part of it, I, as I said ealier, think Faleiro had only one option: to resign as Commissioner if the government insisted on removing the item from the agenda. This brings me again to the question whether the meet should be ever held in future. NRGs can directly deal with the central government's ministry for overseas affairs. A supplementary question if whether there is a need for a NRI Commissioner if the post is not independent of the government. That's all for now.
Eugene Correia __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
