Great review. Seems like you are better Augusto. Happy Christmas, while I'm about it. Stay safe in the new year baba. dd
On Dec 24, 2015, at 3:59 PM, Goanet Reader wrote: > By Augusto Pinto > [email protected] > > Consistent with Hartman De Souza's background in > theatre, Eat Dust* is a very dramatic book about > the devastations that mining has caused in Goa. It > reads like a documentary in print, for his > descriptions of landscapes before and after mining; > and encounters with people feel like a camera is > recording what he is doing. At the same time, his > style is full of adjectives and metaphors that aim > to persuade you to think his way. > > For us in Goa the basic story of the degradation caused by > mining is quite familiar, but Hartman adds a personal touch > to it as he weaves his sister Cheryl's fight against five > powerful mine-owners who wanted to devastate her farm in > Cawrem, Sanguem taluka, into the narrative. Along with this > are struggles of other mining activists with the governments > who were totally bought out by the mining lobby. > > Although I get the feeling that the audience for *Eat Dust* > are Indians outside Goa, the book is a great primer to the > people of Goa because it does not just focus on mining but on > the social and political and historical context in which the > mining is carried out. Hartman is pretty bitter about the > role of the elite in Goa and about the way they have remained > silent spectators. > > To understand this Hartman points his fingers at > not just mining and the infrastructure and the > tourism and real estate lobbies but he regards the > greatest danger of all to be "consumerism". What > that means is all of us who are hooked on to the > good things of life all of which cost money, money > which has to be got somehow or the other to feed > our greed. The poor who sell their land to > mine-owners for a pittance become part of the > problem because to survive they then buy trucks to > transport ore for a livelihood and now have a stake > in the destruction of the environment. The middle > classes don't have the time to care much one way or > the other. > > So what Hartman is saying is that while the demoniacal greed > of the mine-owners is definitely deadly, the common people > also have no clue as to what they are doing while the > intellectual class (you and I) who may be able to see what is > happening have all also let Goa down. > > The author is quite bitter with the approach taken by NGOs > such as Goa Foundation of Claude Alvares who have used the > legal route to stop the illegalities of mining. By the end > of the book he seems to be accusing Claude to have sold out > by abandoning the ideal of stopping mining and of being > willing to accept that mining is okay if regulated and if the > money goes into the State's coffers. I think this is a bit > unfair as the Shah Commission which the author praises for > its role in stopping mining for a while would never have been > appointed without the ground work done by Goa Foundation. > > Among the institutions which are seen to be playing > a dubious role in the rape of Goa is the Catholic > Church. It does not raise its considerable voice > and allows the Gavdes who are the ones most > directly affected by mining to suffer. And nobody > seems to care about the long term loss of a basic > necessity of man through mining: water. > > But what is done? Hartman advocates force. > > Hartman's family who bravely try to display the courage of > their convictions by literally putting their bodies on the > line by for instance chaining themselves to the gate of a > mine in Cawrem discover that such attempts are too feeble to > work. His octogenarian mother Dora participated in this > incredibly crazy protest. However the problem was that this > was not properly prepared and neither was it widely known > thanks to the stranglehold the mining lobby have over the > media. Maybe Hartman has a point but unless there is a huge > mass opposing mining such physical displays are easy to get > rid of. And there are lots of Right wing actors who will be > happy to disrupt mass mining protests. > > At the end of the day this is a book that needs to > be distributed read and discussed widely in Goa. > Right now mining may not resume at the ruinous rate > it was formerly used to, because the demand for the > low grade ore of Goa has gone down and so have the > prices for this commodity. But there is no saying > that it won't resume in future -- and then what? > > -- > Eat Dust: Mining and Greed in Goa > Hartman de Souza > Pp 288. Rs 350 > HarperCollinsIndia > > -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. > Goanet annual year-end meet in Goa: if you're reading this, you're > eligible to join us! Dec 28, 2015 @ 11 am Fundacao Oriente, Panjim > Confirm your participation with a short email to [email protected] > -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Goanet annual year-end meet in Goa: if you're reading this, you're eligible to join us! Dec 28, 2015 @ 11 am Fundacao Oriente, Panjim Confirm your participation with a short email to [email protected] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
