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* * * 2007 ANNUAL GOANETTERS MEET - GOA * * *
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WHERE: Foodland Cafe - Miramar Residency - Miramar, Goa
WHEN: December 27, 2007 @ 4:30pm
More info:
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-December/066098.html
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Where have all the Goans gone ?
By Adelmo Fernandes
Herald - Dec. 10, 2007
Take a walk down the streets of Panaji and what strikes you the most is
the number of people from outside the state who are seen almost every
where. This makes one wonder where all the Goans have gone. In the
market place, you could be brushing shoulders with a Keralite, a
Maharashrtian, you could bump into family from Ludhiana or a newly
wedded couple from
Gujarat, but to find a Goan in the crowded market place seems like
looking for a needle in a haystack. Where have all the Goans gone I
wonder ?
You enter a hotel to sip a hot cup of coffee and the chaps sitting
across the table could be talking in their mother tongue i.e. Tamil.
Indeed, the capital city has become a metropolis, mini India. It may
seem that Gonas have become a minority in their own state. Don't get me
wrong. I am first an Indian then a Goan. But then my heart beats for Goa
and Goans. And what pains me more is the fact that I now come across
fewer and fewer of my fellows and in the market place. It won't be long
before Goans could find themselves as strangers in their own home land.
The scene is not all that different along Goa's vast coastline. On the
beaches you come across Kashmiris and more Kashmiris. They have probably
given a red carpet welcome since most of them are supposedly selling
kashmiri carpets. I believe beside setting shop in the state, some have
even married the Goan girls and set home here in Goa.
So, now you can no longer call them 'outsider' or the more widely used
term 'Non Goans'. They have become Goans by marriage. So what if they
are not Goans by birth. Along the beach-line you will find more
white-skinned foreigners and dark skinned Lamanis than our very own Goan
brothers and sisters.
I happen to live in that part of the state where I sometimes wonder if
the place is still a part of Goa. Yes I live in Vasco, which appears to
be more cosmopolitan than Mumbai. In Vasco, if you wish to meet Goans
you have to literally 'hunt' for them. Every new business venture is
started by someone who is not a Goan. Every new flat is occupied by a
person from outside Goa. Goans are known for their hospitality. So, they
let out their houses to outsiders not making any effort to find out if
the person is really a tourist or a terrorist. In Goa it may seem Goans
come second when it comes to job opportunities. While Goans wait
eternally to get a white collared job, people from other states who come
to Goa grab any job opportunity with both hands. That brings us to the
all-important question. Where have all the Goans gone ?. Well it may
seem that many have fled (read as migrated) to other countries. In doing
so, they have sold their land, home, vehicles and everything they
possessed to a non Goan and of course Gond pride . While many Goans go
abroad never to come back. There are foreigners who have made Goa their
home. What a pity, we Goans are selling Goa bit by bit. A time will
probably come when we will have sold the whole of our beautiful state to
people coming from Kashmir or Kanyakumari.
Lending a helping hand in this entire exercise are our large-hearted (?)
politicians. They let migrants settle in our state not because they love
these people, but because they (the politicians) are in desperate need
of their votes. So, it is also the politicians who are 'selling' Goa to
satisfy their own selfish desires. Take it from me, without the migrant
vote bank many of our present day politicians would have bitten the
dust. All in all, it won't be an exaggeration to say that slowly but
surely, Goans are losing Goa. What a pity !
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Spread the Christmas Cheer, even when you're not here!
Send classic greetings to your loved ones in Goa.
EXPRESSIONS - 2007 Christmas Hamper
Visit http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/xmas/
Or e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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