--- On Sat, 8/2/08, Roland Francis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Diaspora Goans are a pretty useless lot as far as the > political problems in Goa are concerned. We huff and we puff and we > pretend that we have to be kept informed of what happens. We give all > sort of opinions and comments but the truth is we don't know > any of the ground realities of modern day Goa.
Dear Roland, A brief reply - I do no know if your opinion has been formed based on your recent (alleged) bad experience in Toronto or some other source or a Catholic Goan experience. But what you have written is not entirely true (however, I grant there is some truth in it). Since you mentioned political problems in the first paragraph, I will beriefly respond. To wit - 1. The shrewd Manohar Parrikar would not have come here with two MLAs and other BJP party members at their OWN expense to the G.O.A. convention in Silicon Valley last month if overseas Goans are "null and void". He certainly did not need a social visit to the USA. 2. Are you aware of the top 5 contributors to the two major parties in Goa in this Year? Might surprize you how many are non-Goa based and certainly not "null and void". 3. Who provided seed money to start the GOAN OBSERVOR? Rajan Narayan is a colorful character but there is more truth in his weekly, than in the three mining-owned English dailies combined. 4. Are you aware of the current effort of overseas Goans to contribute to the political landscape of Goa? I am not at liberty to publicly discuss now but I suspect you are not aware of what is happening based on your post. I would not write off overseas Goans as "null and void". In fact some of the arguments you made applies to SOME Goans in Goa with the same old politicians benefitting from the same old support (although this is not a Goa-based versus Goan overseas issue). But you won't score brownie-points with some Goa-based Goans for writing that. Regards George
