Reading Fred's analysis of Godfrey Pereira's "Bleddy" piece, it seems to to me that Fred has struggled to find the right words to describe it. He has labeled it, albeit half-heartedly, as "viral marketing", a "missive" and a "wake-up call." To me the piece is nothing but Godfrey's angst against the prevailing conditions in which Goa finds itself today. Not just Godfrey but anyone returning to Goa after two decades will be shocked and angry to see the changes, most of it for the worst. There are bright spots such widened roads, etc. But, by and large, the deterioration of Goa's beaches, its cities and some villages because of the influx of migrants and because of the state is witnessing a tourist bonanza is an eyesore I see Godfrey's piece as a slap-in-the-rear for Goans to move foward and save their state from further deterioration. The piece perhaps served as pen-prick into the naked buns of khasti-clad Goans, and it perhaps hurt more since it came from a non-Goan. People from outside Goa have been mooning over Goa more than Goans themselves. Those who live in Goa has taken it for granted, a sin we all commit when we are too comfortable with the surroundings. Looking at Goa from a distance and having been to Goa very often during my stay in Dubai, I saw that the changes are part of an economic upheaval. The democratic forces are also in action with NGOs and other village-based groups taking up arms and fighting as hard they can to stop further changes in the name of development. Now development itself is a controversial word. How best to develop Goa? Nobody seems to have the answers. Some would want Goa to be free of polluting industries or maybe have industries that have passed environmental safeguards. Goa is going downhill. And perhaps it would need the hands of all to push it up or prevent it sliding further down, just as we used to push the cranky old Camiao (spelling?) when it would suddenly stop midway on its route from the villages to the cities. Goa is a new Camiao but its wheels are greased with money, thanks to the corrupt politicians and the corrupt businessmen. I don't understand why Godfrey is hard on Goan women and why he is angry that they send their sons to foreign countries. How much difference would it had been if these sons had stayed in Goa to fight Goa's cause? Maybe for someone like Godfrey who left Mumbai to USA for the same reason of leading a good life or earning more money, Goans working in the Middle East are feeding their families and sending their children to schools back home. Is it then a sin to sweat in the Gulf sun to earn more money? Nationalistic passion is one thing, putting bread on the table is another. Perhaps Godfrey should leave the USA and join his community is fighting Essel in Borovli. Easier said than done. Fred agrees with Godfrey that Goans are to be blamed for what has happened and keeps on happening in Goa or to Goa. Things happening in Goa are not mysterious; they don't happen in a vacuum. The development, whether good, bad or lopsided, is there for all to see and take into account. >From a developmental perspective, Fred takes an unwarranted leap into the >dirty world of race and caste politics. For God's sake, oophs, for Goa's sake, >let's not extend the points made by Godfrey and give it racial undertones. >Goans not trusting each other or the Catholic, the Hindu or the Muslim not >trusting each other and not coming together for "our long-term interest" are >not reasons for Goa's environmental problems, the focus of Godfrey's piece. No expat Goan worth his salt will "propose that Goa remains in its picture-postcard state." We expat Goans, like Goa-based or India-based Goans, are concerned, and would want to see a good balance between new development and retaining of age-old institutions and habitat that holds our heritage and culture. If expat Goans raise their voices, the local Goans hit back saying if we want to do something in Goa we should come to Goa and not just offer advice from foreign shores. Expat Goans are caught in a Catch-22 situation. When Fred says "skyline is important" he means perhaps that Goa should not have high-rise buildings or any monstrous edifice that would prevent Goans from getting a clear view of the sun, the moon or the stars. True, Godfrey's piece had a mixed reaction. I was one who felt he was not fully aware of some of the campaigns Goans have launched. Some of these campaigns have gained positive results, some have failed and some are sill being carried on. Godfrey is reinforcing the stereotype that Goans are lazy by his use of the much-loved as well as much-maligned word, susegad. I have had many East Indian friends and have gone into East Indian villages and forgive me for saying that Goans and East Indians share the trait of being laid-back. Like Goans, East Indians love the bottle. No wonder sometimes when Bollywood portrays a Catholic male character who is drinking to death and is good-for-nothing fellow, I, for one, is confused whether the scriptwriter is portraying a Goan or an East Indian male. On this particular aspect of easy living, I see no separating line. Those who applauded Godfrey for opening our eyes are those people who seem to know Goa's state well. I am sure Floriano Lobo is aware of the odds facing him, his party and Goans who have Goa's development at heart to tackle those robbing Goa of its soul, its heritage and its culture. The case of Seby Rodrigues is just one example. We have Dean D'Cruz as another person trying to salvage Goa's architectural prestige and pride. Well, Fred, the "meek" such as Seby and others have garnered headlines, some positive and some negative. Well, you are in a position to play up the "drama", if you think it is indeed a "drama" and not a real fight. I am unable to understand why our "colonised minds" are "unanswered mystery". Goans, like other Indians, were all subject to colonial rule, but 50 years has since passed and Goans, with the exception of a small number, have grown out of their colonial shells. There may be a substantial number of Goans who still carry the Portuguese hangover but the Goan society, by and large, have left the past. Fred is in a better position to answer whether Goans have absolved themselves of their responsibility while, at the same time, Goans are to be blamed for what is wrong in Goa today. Blame it on democracy. Blame it on the voters. Blame it one the media. Blame it on the politicians. Fred himself has pointed out to Seby's blog that shows the work he is doing and yet he says that Goans have turned a "blind eye." In fact, Goans have their eyes wide shut. Fighting for causes may have taken a toll on Goans, making them feel defeated and hopeless. Can you then blame them if lethargy has invaded their sturdy sinews and replaced their fighting spirit? >From trying to focus on what is at hand, namely Goa's current state, there is >no point for Fred to dig into the caste and racial morass of Goan society. >Isn't the whole Indian society caught in the same shit hole? I don't believe non-bhadkar Goans want to be bhadkar Goans but the poor and middle-class Goans would like to improve their standard of living. A good number of bhadkars are like emperors without clothes. I pity those who have fallen from grace and also become more like common folks. India is not yet a communist country and equitable distribution of wealth is not framed in our constitution. Bhadkariponn once lived in a palace and now lives in a maddo. Goans who were once at the bottom of the financial ladder are rich and care two hoots for those bhadkars who now move about in tattered clothes and worn-out pride. History teaches strange lessons. I say wow to the line "the other vision is to promise the moon but deliver not even the coconut tree." Who is promising whom? An abstract entiry like Goa cannot make promises. Goans can promise to climb the coconut tree and collect the sap, make feni, go into slumber on the beach while looking at the moon and dream to take Goa to that distance place and keep it safe from marauding foreigners and internal migrants. Or just indulge in mooning for non-Goan critics to see Goan arses! If his "other vision" is of higher GDP, more jobs and more money into each one's pocket, then Goans must help themselves. The reality, dear Fred, Godfrey, Floriano and Goans like myself is that Goa is facing crucial tests of the times. Ttides of times will shape Goa. In the meantime, let us keep on mooning!
Eugene Correia
