------------------------------------------------------------------------ * GOANET **** C * O * M * M * U * N * I * T * Y **** E * V * E * N * T * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xavier Center of Historical Research presents HISTORY HOUR TOPIC: Waste Wise - An Interactive Awareness Presentation on Waste Management in Goa
SPEAKER: Clinton Vaz - November 16, 2007 - 5:30pm VISIT: http://tinyurl.com/222757 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- "Frederick [FN] Noron ha * फà¥à¤°à¥à¤¡ रिठन à¥à¤°à¥à¤à¤¯à¤¾" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Or the > collapse of > infrastructure here, thanks to corruption, > overconsumptiion (by the > affluent, that Dr Oscar talks about) and probably > even aggravated by > our own sanctimonous blame-someone-else approaches > of barking up the > wrong tree. > RESPONSE: Dear FN, I seldom respond point for point but I will on subject because rest assured I take matters of hygiene and sanitation very seriously. The diseases caused by fecal matter getting into our food supply are debilitating and often fatal, but easily avoidable. One can just as easily rail against the affluent as one can pillory the poor. To vaguely paraphrase Bertrand Russell, I have as much derision for (unbridled) capitalism as I have from communism. In Goa, by a strange combine of corrupt politicians and left-wing NGOs working not in tandem but as opposing forces, we've managed to detract capital coming into the State but encourage labour camps. Goa is accosted by 21st century problems of garbage disposal, poor road infrastructure, improper sanitation, inadequate health care, sub-standard educational institutions. Resolving them will take huge outlays of capital. Where do we propose this capital to come from? Frederick writes: > Selma, do you know of journalists who rush to Hotel > Mandovi (and face > the related embarassment) to visit rest rooms when > they run into an > "emergency"? RESPONSE: No Frederick, I don't know of any such journalists but I'd like to get to know them :-) > Frederick writes: But there > are no global standards. What you're used to in the > West would > probably not be attained even in our dreams here. So > hanging someone > caught on the camera might seem the apt thing to do, > but is it? Response: Global standards for hygiene? How about standards that respect human dignity and save millions of lives each year. I was reading up on sanitation in India, and interestingly one of the reasons reform has not taken place in this aspect is precisely because the middle-class has not pushed for any. They've been silent because afterall they are the recipients of better health-care. So ironically, the very act that you are trying to excuse causes repercussions for the poor rather than anyone else. When we absolve people of their most basic responsibilities, we rob them of their own dignity and infer that they cannot be re-educated to a better standard of living. In my lifetime, I don't hope to see India resolving its problems but I do hope in my life to see it make a start. India doesn't have the luxury of wallowing in self-pity. We have to make changes, sometimes motivated by the carrot and oft motivated by the stick. When it comes to open defecation especially in a tourist town like Panjim, where crores of income depend on its aesthetic appeal, using the stick maybe the only option available in the short run. selma ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better pen pal. Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how. http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/