My dear friend Constantino,
I fully agree with your argument. One needs to be a
Goan at heart, just like you. I, for one, is proud of
you. As someone said to me that you are a bright
prospect and hopefully will do well in your field when
you return to Portugal. There is lot of hope riding on
you with respect to Portugal-India relations in the
fields of history and culture. Having met you once in
Goa two years ago I was confident that you are the
voice of young Goans who could strengthen the bridge
between the two countries with Goa as one of the
strongest supporting arch.
As for the other point regarding giving him an award,
the Indian government gives awards to 12 eminent NRIs
every year, no matter if these people consider
themselves Indians or not. My memory fails me now but
some from the Caribbean islands were honoured though
these people are far removed from India as perhaps
Antonio da Costa is.
Perhaps someone can enlighten me if those who received
the Goan NRI awards were indeed "Goan" to the core or
if they have contributed significantly to the progress
of Goa. I don't think one of the criteria is that the
awardees or the nominees must be Goan or have some
connection to Goa other than being born of Goan
parents or mixed parentage, even though born of
foreign nationality.
What you said is what many of the Goans say or said to
me. Antonio is NOT a Goan. But one cannot find facts.
I am a Canadian now but I am still consider more of an
Indian than a Canadian by many. Even on my travels
when I say I am from Canada, people raise their
eyebrows. I have come to expect such reactions and it
does not bother me. One thing that being Canadian
helps is free travel in Europe or in most countries.
The immigration officers look at you twice before
saying welcome.
In my short time I have found out that Goans are doing
well in Portugal, though not all Goans as I have
provided one or two examples in my previous posts.
Jobs everywhere are hard to find and there are some
who may not be lucky.
I end by saying that no matter what Antonio is or what
he is not, it would not harm Goa or Goans to honour
him. Maybe it could awaken his consciousness and
perhaps he can then find his roots.
One of the Goans I met told me that everytime he goes
to Goa he often joins Antonio's uncle in Margao for
drinks. As you mentioned Antonio has been to Goa but
involved himself with events related to his father.
Maybe someone like you can address questions to him
directly and also suggest that he do something to help
India-Portugal relations grow stronger. It is a
challenge, Constancio. Go for it.
With regards,
Eugene Correia
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