Hi We in Delhi are having the sane problem Goan sports football team has has no Goan players and the St Francis Xaviers club <Kudd> has only one person staying. Most probably Goans prefer going to the gulf.Hence this sorry state of affairs On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 4:04 AM, J. Colaco < jc> <[email protected]> wrote:
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > August 25, 2009 - Goanet's 15th Anniversary > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Eugene Correia <[email protected]> wrote: > > As regards Goan associations, even the Toronto-based Goan Overseas > Association (GOA) is facing membership problems. The number of members > has dwindled down to about 700 from at least more than a 1000 some > years ago. > > So, what is the way forward? Is George's suggestions valid in the > context of what the GOA is facing? > > The GOA has tried and keeps on trying to have all kinds of events and > initiatives to make the young Goans aware of Goan culture and > heritage. Is is having little or no effect. > > I was told that the Viva Goa soccer tournament had two Punjabi teams > > The prospect of GOA shutting down is staring in its face. The > membership now has mostly patrons and life members. The number of > these two groups is getting less with deaths. > > It's sad but true that Goan associations everywhere face the same > problem of survival. > > == == == > > My two cents worth and this relates only to Goan Associations Overseas. > > In random order: > > 1: Every organisation depends upon the young folks participating, and > taking the lead. > > 2: It appears that whenever somebody tries to take the lead or > organise a function, someone comes and blows that function apart. Let > us, if we can, take the example of last year's Goan function in > Toronto. Despite ALL the good work done by those who participated, > just look at the damage done by a set of scurrilous (IMHO) articles > plastered all over GoaNet about two of the main organisers of that > function + the totally unnecessary "introduction" (for want of a > better word) of the couple's daughter. Did the alleged journalist even > bother to speak to the couple involved? > > 3: What are the chances that this couple and their children (and other > Goans involved in the organisation of that event) will participate in > the organisation of any future Goan events. > > 4: What are the chances that ANY other self respecting and respected > Goan in Toronto will take such an undertaking after that absolutely > disgraceful attack on the couple? > > 5: If there was a problem with the organisation of that function, > could it NOT have been dealt with internally FIRST? > > 6: Is it too much to ask that the person who writes this 'tabloid' > stuff, asks all the key players before writing? > > 7: What was the idea? To build the Goan organisation ......or to break it > down? > > I will omit at this time the type of chicannery which went on when the > Lion hearted Rene Baretto tried to develop Goans International. We got > wind of this undercurrent ONLY through two misdirected emails (reached > us accidentaly instead of just circulating in the Goan > cyber-underground). To his credit, Rene continues giving his 110% to > the cause. > > 8: Goans must accept that imposing 'Goan culture' and this 'S-Konkani' > will NOT work with the young Goans. If the parents speak in One > Konkani and the children are taught this different Konkani ..... it > will just be another subject to learn and forget like Sanskrit and > Latin. > > 9: In general, I believe that educated Goans have lost the personal > civility that educated Goans displayed a few decades ago. It is > almost that - after a few drinks - we are gone hunting. I do not see > us impressing the youth with this type of Goan culture. They might as > well look elsewhere. > > 10: As a young person, I would love to go back home to Goa. It was > clean, quiet and peaceful. Sure the only lights we had in the > villages, were the odd Alladin lamps, several Petromaxes, the Oil > lamps and the fire flies. But it was Home without this destructive > concretization, corruption choas and filth. Why would any overseas > young person want to travel to Goa except to see the grand-parents and > remaining relatives? > > 11: When one goes to a Goan function, what kind of music does one > hear? A fake, disaffinado version of some old Portuguese tune or some > Bhangra music. Do tell me what it is in the music that will attract > overseas Goans .....in terms of Classic and well conducted music in > the league of Maestro Antonio Figueiredo? (The good Victor > Rangel-Ribeiro's recent stint having been noted) > > 12: As young Goans travel and live abroad, they are likely to meet > young people in the communities they live. They are likely to develop > relationships there and marry there. That is beneficial mixing of the > gene pool. Imagine the gene pool if people from Carabolim (where we > hail from) married only others from Carambolim ...and so on. The > important thing to ask is the following: Are we displaying the > decency, class and civility in our inter-personal relationships > ....enough to attract the non-Goan spouses of our children towards > Goan culture? . > > For now .... > > jc >
