Venantius, thanks for responding to our GFDO press statement. Yes indeed, it
is becoming increasingly clear to us here in Goa that our world is fast
evolving, but as you have expressed, it is hardly a natural evolution. The
stage has been set for the disempowerment of Goans - all Goans irrespective
of North, South, caste or creed in a skilfully run race to capture the
resources of the state and force people into a soul deadening, mechanical
and colourless way of life. While there may be varying shades of opinion
about this, what is worrying is that people's choices are being eroded and
limited to suit vested interests. When the erstwhile ruling dispensation was
propagating and supporting casinos and Mopa and mining, the then opposition
screamed themselves hoarse against it. Now in the seat of power, their
modus operandi mimics their predecessor, in fact taking it to a far higher
level, except that while the Congress did it stupidly, the BJP does it
astutely, blaming the Congress for all the pitfalls, even as it consolidates
and builds upon it while maxmising the profits.
However, I do not think that official religious bodies must plunge into
fighting these menaces. The leadership must spring forth from ordinary
citizens. Of course, just as some of these citizens may be doctors, bankers,
lawyers, they may also coincidentally be Catholic priests or Hindu Bhats.
The thing is that their role in these campaigns are as concerned citizens.
With regard to GFDO, it must be clarified that while the Convenor happens to
be a Catholic priest, this is essentially in his individual capacity. The
GFDO core committee has a number of members holding various religious
beliefs, but united by one strong, single belief that we must pool our
resources in fighting the imposition of a system that is destructive for a
healthy, human way of life and the fear that time has almost run out. The
Church or the temples may or may not support or subscribe to this campaign.
That is their choice. In any case, I strongly feel that religious bodies
like churches, temples and mosques, must focus on broad spiritual qualities
like justice, courage, the universality of human beings, and our
interdependence and inter connectedness with each other and with the
environment. If people imbibe these qualities well enough, they themselves
will be able to better analyse and understand the situation at ground level
and take the necessary action and get involved with the affairs of the
community. That would be more enduring than having someone else fight our
battles. This of course, is must my opinion.
Best regards,
Edwin Pinto
-----Original Message-----
From: Venantius J Pinto
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 8:17 AM
To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!
Cc: Edwin/Diana Pinto
Subject: Re: [Goanet] Press Note from GFDO
The ecclesiastical intelligentsia is finally coming out promising to
take on the hydra. I hope we will not have a repeat as in the recent
past where Christian idiots (supposedly clear thinkers) questioned the
priests getting into politics and what not.
The political machine is a juggernaut and all parties are siblings of
the same entity. In their rapaciousness some benefit for some time,
but generally speaking, its a skinning and burning of what was Goan,
and I mean it from a pan-cultural perspective.
There was no need to remake Goa into something grotesque by allowing
the worst in the Indian social fabric to become commonplace in the Goan
imagination. The political will was an exercise to snuff out Goan life
not just as it was, but to go even further by not allowing for any
possibility to allow for an empowered evolution, ergo empowered
development. It simply did not behoove Secretaries of State, and the
malignant politicians to embrace and promulgate ideas across the
lines. This is the worst part of the Indian political imagination.
Many Christians did embrace ideas, effulgences, aesthetic tropes,
values, even poshak albeit within reason. Having been not exactly
slack in my observations; lived (really lived) as I have, as it were,
smack in the middle of the other culture, in an existence that saw
fruition on account of where we were raised, the values inculcated by
my Father, along with the rank and file at BPT, and also the
neighborhood we lived in--I am now in no doubt that certain classes
simply saw Christians as strange, in some cases a bit more progressive
than what was kosher at the moment, having a bit more fun (sounds
retarded but true), for some cocky, cool, flaunting a western lived
aesthetic, all traits and embraces which deserved to be emasculated
somewhere down the line. In the meanwhile others have found a
resonance with the attitudes of those same classes, strive for all
that they earlier loathed, and which they now possess in abundance and
cannot have enough of--yet remain Janus-faced. We truly are a strange
people. Feudalism and sleight of mind!
Some will still manage to persevere, but the smaller ones are done in
unless grace settles ON the various minds playing out such violence,
which in real terms is Malthusian. These movements like pushing MOPA
is another way to depress the worth of the individual worth, of
villages, and productivity at all levels by shifting the nature and
form of the economy to cause essentially death and a surrendering of
the will and spirit. Most cannot last such an onslaught.
I am very happy to hear that more priests are getting into this, and
the opportunity must be seized by Hindu priests, and those of other
beliefs to stand together, come together at these moments of
reckoning.
Best all.
Venantius J Pinto
On 3/18/14, Edwin/Diana Pinto <[email protected]> wrote:
PRESS NOTE FROM GFDO
GOANS FOR DABOLIM ONLY said that Chief Minister Parrikar needs to explain
to
Goans why he is so determined to hand over the entire tourism industry of
Goa to Maharashtra by going ahead with the setting up of the private
airport
at Mopa. All Goans are well aware that the centrally located Dabolim
Airport
has benefitted North Goa tourist spots immensely. The famous hotspots of
Goan tourism like Candolim, Calangute, Anjuna, Vagator, Morjim, Mandrem,
Arambol etc. are all located in North Goa and have been benefitted and
well
served by Dabolim Airport over the decades. But all that will change once
Mopa Airport becomes a reality to serve as the international airport for
the
virgin beaches of Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, since Chipi is only a
domestic
airport. The commissioning of Mopa Airport will deal a death blow to both
the North as well as the South Goan tourism industry, resulting in a
massive
loss of jobs and livelihood of tourism dependent Goans and downscaling of
the Goan economy as Mopa Airport facilitates a tourist exodus to
Sindhudurg.
For almost a year now, the Chief Minister has doggedly refused to refute
the
facts and figures put out by experts like the International Civil Aviation
Organistion (ICAO) and ADPi and give any concrete and credible reason to
justify his obsession with building Mopa Airport. The Chief Minister also
needs to clarify whether the 10,000 jobs he claims will be generated by
Mopa
Airport will be for migrants or for Goans. After all, Goans have not
forgotten the track record of this government. For the Lusofonia games,
taxi
driving jobs were handed over to outsiders on a silver platter. Olacab
too,
was allowed to ply in Goa under the watch of the Parrikar government,
until
the people protested. In Goan Industrial Estates, it will be noted that
80%
of workers are migrants. If the government cannot ensure jobs for Goans in
projects where it is supposed to be in full control, then Mr. Parrikar
needs
to explain how his government (if it manages to survive till then), will
succeed in forcing a private entrepreneur who operates Mopa Airport solely
on profit basis, to give jobs to Goans?
It is abundantly clear that while this government on one hand, goes with a
begging bowl to the Prime Minister asking for Special Status for Goa, on
the
other hand, it is itself unscrupulously handing over Goa and Goan
interests
not only to neigbouring states, but also to every non Goan who lands here
with money jingling in his pocket and ambitious dreams implemented at the
cost of our beautiful land, its people and identity.
GFDO therefore, plans to hold a massive public meeting at Azad Maidan in
Panaji, to expose the stand of various parties who are in the fray for the
2014 Parliamentary elections. In the meantime, GFDO urges the people of
Goa
to closely scrutinise and assess the stands of their respective candidates
and their respective parties that have taken a stand for Mopa against Goan
interests - North as well as South.
For GOANS FOR DABOLIM ONLY
Fr. Eremito Rebelo
Convenor
