Gambling, Prostitution, Drugs: What to do?
All casinos should be a floating business on salty, very salty water, and if on land then away from residential areas. Far away! Goan neighborhoods should remain neighborhoods, away from gambling, drugs and prostitution. Prostitutions, the world's oldest and some even say, noblest profession needs to be updated. No room for hypocrisy in the twenty-first century as no one can afford the luxury of HIV. Sex workers have rights, too. Sex, besides being a commercial act of kindness, at times is also a danger to the health of the sex worker and the partner, far more dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and a lot of drugs. Prostitutes unfortunately get a bad deal from everybody: pimps, policemen, politicians and even from their respectable male or female customers. No prostitution however should be tolerated in neighborhoods. Prostitution services have to be located in special areas unless people in their neighborhood think otherwise. Few people would want a prostitute, however friendly, as a next door neighbor. Prostitutes or sex workers offer a service as do other workers and so they need to be protected and supported by the government through special housing in isolated neighborhoods - For Prostitutes Only! During the Portuguese era prostitution service centers were in special areas and even though Vasco da Gama was the cleanest city in Goa it also held the unofficial title of prostitution capital of Goa although relegated to the Baina beach in the neighborhood, an eyesore! A few years ago the people of the port town reclaimed this beach which now has become a social and cultural jewel for the residential community. A brave political and visionary step taken by former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar with the support of the residents of the city. Now compare the city of Vasco to the situation in Calungute where prostitutes are everywhere in the village, in disguise or otherwise. With call girl services available on the Internet and the pervasive use of mobiles, controlling this menace is going to take a lot more skill and talent than even Sherlock Holmes and Perry Mason working together. Do Goan villagers really want prostitutes in their villages all over Goa? If not, we need to control this problem before it is too late. Ask the MLA of Calungute Mr. Michael Lobo if it is now at all possible to get rid of prostitution in coastal Calungute and its environs. Small hotels, guest houses and houses of the residents are all interwoven into the architectural fabric of the village. It is too late for Calungute to turn the tide, and no matter how much money prostitution brings into the local coastal village economy, the erosion of the quality of life of the villagers is nothing less than a Goan tragedy. A beautiful village at one time but now gone forever. Some people in Goa are of the opinion prostitution needs to be legalized. The government should call for a public discussion on this deadly issue. How much longer can we continue to pretend the problem does not exist? Calungute is gone, and nothing can be done to reverse the situation. Are we Goans going to act only after the whole of Goa has become one big whorehouse? Some countries have made gambling legal as our State has, others smoking marijuana and still others prostitution although they have outlawed pimping! By not legalizing the three vices they will not disappear however much we may wish, especially in a popular and booming tourist destination as is Goa. They will go underground destroying the integrity of our police and politicians. And youth too. All three activities involve big money. Drugs, the control of which is going to be the greatest challenge for us Goans who live mostly in the villages. Villagers who live along coastal villages of Goa appear to be able to control if they so desire prostitution and gambling more easily than drugs because they are easier to hide. Matka which is similar to cockroaches as it is everywhere in Goa should be legalized as small time gambling does not do much harm. Casinos and matka are gambling activities on opposite ends of the social and economic scale. If the government sees a gold mine in casinos then it is obvious there is a diamond mine in matka. Matka can be a good way to support poor children - Hindus, Christians, Muslims and others - who want English as the medium of instruction, making for a level learning field so the children of the poor can compete equally against the children of rich parents who can afford to send their siblings to private schools where the medium of instruction is English. We need to open the gates of governments schools much wider along with our minds and hearts. Former Chief Minister Parrikar wanted taxes from the casinos to go towards cancer research or some other noble cause. Is giving the poor children a fair chance to compete against children of the rich an act of evil? If not, let's do it. Gambling, prostitution, drugs are are three major evils for Goans living today, and for future generations too. And so, as we love to say in Indian English: What to do?
