I read Jeremy Page's as well as Andrew Buncombe's article and a few Goanet posts on this topic.
If the Goan police were efficient, they would have cleaned up Anjuna beach a long time ago. If Goans were smart they would close it down today. Instead some academics are "researching" Anjuna beach and the Rave social scene for their thesis and their PhD degrees. The issue to focus are the drugs, illicit alcohol, Trans- and Rave-parties, pedophilia and prostitution - for drugs, money, food and even transportation. The unsocial and criminal behavior would not exist if the European tourists did not 'demand' these vices for a cheap price. These social trends in conservative countries are destroying native culture, society, environment and the unfortunate tourists. For a FEW extra pounds / dollars / rupees a day, (on hotel, travel and food) the tourists (foreign and domestic) could make it safe for everyone including the local residents. Instead we and they encourage cheap tourism and permit youth and adults to vacation in Goa doing stuff that they would not / cannot do at home. Living on the edge at some point will catch-up with danger. Common Sense! When foreign tourists visit Goa, they should behave as tourist. And not continue an extended stay, take up jobs and make a nuisance of themselves. In America there is a saying, "Guests are like fish. After three days, they smell." One cannot play with fire and then complain when one gets burnt. There is only so much the local police and the British consulate can do. The social scene in Anjuna (the extreme rag tag bon vivant life) does not even generate enough taxes to pay for police, security and other basic services, that most communities take for granted. Reading Page's article, this tragedy, the totally irresponsible way the mother and daughter behaved in Goa and Anjuna beach, and its aftermath investigation should reinforce that cheap tourists do not contribute to Goa's economy and tax base and are a drain on Goa's meager resources. Andrew Buncombe said it right, "Much of the friction appears to be the result of the desire of the Indian authorities to attract a different kind of tourist, and impatience or worse with the counter-culture types who persist in coming. 'The backpackers still come here, but it has become more expensive,' said Mike Rudd, a British writer who first visited Goa in the 1980s, sitting poolside at an Anjuna hotel. 'The Goan government has made clear they do not want backpackers, but people with money.'" I am shocked to read Mike Rudd, the British writer say about Goa "has become more expensive". India is still darn cheap as a tourist destination compared to England, Europe, South America and rest of Asia. Am I the only one to get the feeling that people like Mike Rudd give the back packers the impression to come to Goa and live cheaply? In India, vegetarian thali meal is available for less than one pound. Yet, this young girl had to work for food, seek free shelter in a shack on Anjuna beach, and in addition find some way to pay for her drugs (addiction). I wish the victim's mother was half as concerned before the tragedy (to make the fifteen year old accompany the family to Karnataka) as she is now with the situation in Goa. Kind Regards, GL > A girl's death reveals grim party paradise by Jeremy Page: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3508351.ece
