I was disappointed not to attend the International Goan Convention (IGC) in
Toronto held earlier this year. I’ve been reading the exchanges about the
convention and feel compelled to express my thoughts on it.
First off, I’d like to congratulate the organizers on what I heard was a very
successful event. You deserve a great deal of praise for taking the initiative
to bring the Goan diaspora together to make them more aware of issues in Goa
and in the international Goan community, and to share in the traditions and
culture that make us Goan. All too often we talk and nothing comes of it.
It’s refreshing to see someone take some action. We’re indebted to you for all
the hard work and time that you invested selflessly in community. We need more
people like you in the community. Congratulations on a job very well done!
The organizers of the convention have shown us that it doesn’t matter who you
are or where you are; any one of us can make a difference in the community.
Don’t be afraid to step up to do something for Goa or the community; whether
you do something for your local community or something on a larger scale.
There are lots of people who can help you. I, for one, am happy to support
anyone who does anything for Goa and the Goan community. I think this is an
important message, especially for the youth. We need more young people to get
involved and we need to have an encouraging environment that gives them a
chance to do so.
As a community it’s sad to see that we’re largely unsupportive of each other.
I was disappointed to hear what the attendance was given that convention was
organized in Toronto, which is meant to have the highest population of Goans
outside of Goa. I’m ashamed, too, that to a large extent we’re so critical as
a community. Here we’ve had a group of us trying to make a difference and do
something good for Goa and the community and instead of being showered with
thanks and praise they’ve faced lots of criticism. We’ve got to make a
concerted effort as a group to change this. We really have.
I had a friend who told me once that Goans as a community as a whole never look
out for their own. He then went on to give me an example of how Keralites take
care of their own. One Keralite working in a company will bring in another
Keralite and together they’ll bring in more. They are happy to see other
Keralites succeed. That’s such a good example of a community being supportive
and everyone trying to help one another. Unfortunately, my friend has had the
opportunity to give business to another Goan in the community but he didn’t.
The point is that we’ve got to stop talking and take responsibility for
ourselves. Don’t tell me that Goans never help each other; you be the first to
reach out to other Goans.
Folks, it’s high time that changed out ways and became better as a community.
No one likes the “crab mentality”. So why not change? We need to take it upon
ourselves to make a concerted effort to be more supportive.
Now there’s always be some among us who either can’t change or won’t change.
There’ll always be someone with “critical insights” or someone who discourages
you. And, there’ll always be politics. In my experience you just have to
ignore all of this and do what you need to do. Constructive criticism is
healthy but ignore the rest.
At the end of the day if we’re unhappy about ourselves as a community then we
have to take it upon ourselves to change. And, we *can* change as a community.
Change starts with each one of us.
Great job again to the organizers. Congratulations again! Many thanks to all
those who attended the convention, especially those who travelled from far.
And, many thanks to all of you doing you part in your local communities.
Best wishes,
- Herman :)
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