To Goanet - "We were happy. But we wanted to be happy and rich. That was a mistake." - an Icelandic woman.
That quote comes from "Meltdown Iceland," a book I have just finished reading. (See - http://tinyurl.com/meltdowniceland) The island went bankrupt last year, the first major casualty of the global economic turmoil. Iceland is a place of astounding natural beauty, with haunting landscapes the kind you don't see anywhere else on earth, and it remains the last unpolluted wilderness on the planet. I have had the good fortune of visiting it. The air is so crisp & clear that from the Reykjavik harbour, mountains 100 miles out appear as if they are only a couple of miles away. The fish in Iceland's waters is so fresh and free of contaminants that no American can dream of having anything of the sort on his dinner plate (Alaskans excepted). But Iceland today has been socked by a double whammy. It declared bankruptcy last year, having bought into the mirage of economic prosperity supported on a pack of cards. Many Icelanders who thought that they had made good are now left with no money and a ton of debt. And the country must deal with the new and advancing menace of large environment-destroying global corporations eyeing its rich resources. The situation is grave enough that a campaign to save Iceland has been inaugurated. See - http://savingiceland.puscii.nl/?language=en There are a total of only 300,000 Icelanders, an endogenous community, most of them related by blood. It is tempting to draw similarities between the situation in Iceland and that in Goa. But there are a couple of crucial differences (there are many more - such as, Iceland still has men in public life with a sense of shame - but we shall focus on the ones that discourage mass immigration). One is the unforgiving weather. Except for the months June, July, and Aug, Iceland can be a harsh place to be. For the second difference, you have to look at the map. Iceland is located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by its icy waters. You can't simply board a train and get in, and furthermore, there is strict control on admittance. With only 300,000 natives, Icelanders recognize that their identity is precarious and that they cannot allow an unchecked stream of outsiders coming in (their "ghatis" are the Eastern Europeans). The quote at the beginning of this post reminded me of my own father's recent refrain about Goa & Goans: "We did not have much but we were content. We had peace & quiet. Now we have all this money but there is unrest in our lives." I said to him that he is the lucky one. Now 88 years old, he is unlikely to be around when the final nail in Goa's coffin is hammered in. Whereas we, who still have some miles left before we run dry, will have to deal with the shocks to our system. Right now what we have in Goa is a zero-sum situation. With very limited resources of land area, water, and power, the system has a finite carrying capacity. The effect of stressing this capacity beyond its limit has adverse consequences for EVERY SINGLE GOAN, regardless of his financial position. And WE ARE ALREADY BEYOND THAT LIMIT. We have thus far enjoyed a relatively good quality of life because of our small numbers. But that is rapidly changing with the mass influx of ghatis, as well as other outsiders seeking homes and apartments. Every single outsider coming into Goa results in a subtraction in the net quality of life for everyone. Every apartment in a mega-project means that much less for the native Goan. For every newcomer contributes to the traffic & garbage, the use of roads & public spaces, water, power and food consumption, and other services. And he parks on limited land, legally or illegally. It is, as I said, a zero-sum situation. With every incoming Indian, you have to sacrifice a portion of your own quality of life, both in real resource terms and in other less-measurable ways. The conclusion is inescapable. We can hang on to the kind of life we have been accustomed to (although it is already diminished by now) only by denying entry to others seeking a permanent home here. When I say quality of life, I am not talking luxuries. I mean something very basic. Like the opportunity to take a quiet walk without the sight of paan and gutka spit on the sidewalk, ghatis loitering, or without being assaulted by professional beggars. The ability to cross Panjim in 5 minutes end-to-end - increasingly tough with all the zillion new apartments in Dona Paula. And so on. So - we have to close the gates. That is the cold truth. You may not like the sound of it but you cannot wish away the consequences of inaction. Think Mumbai, and the toilet that it is. The only real debate should be on the options available to us. To the outsider who may react indignantly to this, I ask: Where do YOU get the nerve to expect us Goans to sacrifice our quality of life to accommodate you? You talk about the Indian constitution. Did Goans have any representation or say in it? No! Yet you wave the constitution at us when all we wish to do is protect what we have had. Therefore - along with the issues of mega-projects, land conversion, and mining, we have to address the issue of in-migration. You cannot view these in isolation. Otherwise, as George Pinto says, Goa RIP. Warm regards, r
