Dear readers Today is a new day. Saiba. I cannot po po on the news that two Goan organisations are intending to merge in Toronto especially Can Orient and the GOA Toronto. Our people are like magnets where like poles repel and unlike poles attract, hence if the above news is true then it must be good news for all of us around the world. Will there be two Presidents, two bank accounts or just one? Goan wealth combined, if co-ordinated, perhaps through the Alliance of Goan organisations could be of benefit to all.
I travelled to Toronto in my late teens for the Youth Convention, can't remember the year but it was after the death of Elvis Presley. The richness of the City of Toronto was very visible in all the glass buildings from down town to the habour front. What was strange was to see youngsters having a drink from paper bags just like in the movies. Having spent the whole morning looking for a pub I bumped into Walter of Save Goa Campaign in London. At the time the discussion was on water tables and locals throwing cow dung welcoming German tourists to Goa. With our joint efforts we located a bar in China town and had a go at trying out Molsons, Labatts and Budweiser, beers available on tap. I then asked for CanOrient thinking this is some sort of Chinese beer and everyone looked puzzled. I could not see why because Canada Dry is ginger ale. All the Goan Associations I have come across either have a caju fruit or a coconut palm tree as part of their logos. In my travels I found that people from Bombay were more distant to Goa than folks in London, United Kingdom. CanOrient I was told was mainly Goan people from Karachi. Here again there was no resemblance of having anything to do with Goa, were they ashamed? Just like our people overseas try to avoid our language Konkani. The educated Goan youth that I have come across appear to be *#?x they do not know their arse from their elbow. The Goans from Africa who were administrators imported British admin systems and hence the club houses and organisations we have around the world. Perhaps World Goa Day this year could be a starting point for one merger. Melvyn Fernandes Thornton Heath, United Kingdom 31 March 2014
