Dear goanet readers It is good to see Roland Francis's writing has migrated from his column of "Stray Thoughts" on Goan Voice to "Straw Thoughts" on Goanet providing Christmas humour badly needed in the UK which is experiencing such depressing weather.
To assist Roland Francis from Canada understanding my posting from the United Kingdom, attached below is what the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom had to say on this matter and European Migrants as a whole. Our fellow Goykars from Goa will come under this category as they enter the United Kingdom clutching their Portuguese passposts. Quote David Cameron has defended plans to toughen welfare rules for EU migrants, saying he was sending a "clear message" to people that the UK was not a "soft touch" for claiming benefits. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25114890 Unquote Roland Francis has also written: Quote: That Goans arriving in London must do the same as East African Goans did a generation ago i.e. worked hard and prospered. Does the author assume that was only his monopoly or that he forgets that unlike in his days good jobs are no longer there for the asking but that despite this, new immigrants do what is required to get by. Perhaps he is not aware enough to know Churchill's famous "KBO" - keep buggering on - something immigrants do all the time. Unquote Roland Francis may have missed reading a report including its 40 comments made which was published in Goan Voice on 18 December 2013. The report was following inspection by the Care Quality Commission at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon and titled "Damning report on cleanliness at Swindon's GWH". This is a hospital where I understand a number of our fellow Goykars coming from Goa are reportedly working under contract. http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/NEWS/10883455.Damning_report_on_cleanliness_at_Swindon_s_GWH/?ref=rss Here is just one of the comments made by a member of the public on the report: "Maybe now we can expect the cleaners to be replaced. Get in people who are willing to work and not strike. It is a golden opportunity to have a full clear out so get on with it Carillion." I had hoped that this current generation of unskilled workers learning on the job would pass their skills back to fellow countrymen while they go on their annual holiday. Incredibly this is not the case as even those in work appear not to be up to standard but also appear ever ready in true traditional manner fighting with a system that keeps them in employment. Our fellow Goykars look like they have sold up lock, stock and barrel in Goa to follow a dream in the UK that will remain for many, a dream. If you can call moving from the tranquillity of Goa with spacious housing to a room shared by "day shifts" and "graveyard shifts" in a complex hotbed sharing system just to make ends meet and pay the rent on property that they will never own, then your version of a better life in the UK is in the eye of the beholder. I wish to thank Roland Francis for his interest and comments and trust my explanation and related attachments will assist in a better understanding of this matter in the United Kingdom. Melvyn Fernandes Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom 27 December 2013
