Before you guys get carried away by your own rhetoric... let me remind you of a few other facts.
If the (largely) tourism-lured foreigners had not come into Goa in the first place, bought so many houses, and inflated costs hugely in the local market, perhaps people like myself (who spent a lifetime living and working in in Goa) would have been able to afford and buy and maintain a house ourselves. No? Even if Goa has among the largest per capita rates of outmigration in the world (cf. Robert S Newman), there are still enough back home needing a roof over their heads. Let me make this clear: I'm not a xenophobe opposed to "foreigners" buying homes and properties in Goa. But if we're going to give them credit for maintaining homes here, then we need to also say that they (together with expat Indians, affluent locals and the rich from India's big cities) are responsible for huge speculation and inflation in the real estate market. To this, we have to add the local villians of the piece, the politicians and town planners back in Goa who know how to create an artificial scarcity and push up land rates through laws like the 1974 Town and Country Planning Act, the current new plans being hotly debated whether 2011 or 2021 and what not. In addition, if Goan expats can buy land and property all over the world -- in a globalised, capitalist, big-fish-eat-little-fish world order -- then it's only fair for others to be entitled to buy land here. As far as the action against foreign owners of properties here, things can be very complicated, and often there's far more than meets the eye (or gets reported in the screaming headlines). Our famed Mickky Pacheco case is reminding us of this once over again; it's very difficult not to notice the script between the lines. It is obviously unfair for politicians to change the laws after foreigners have made their property-buying decisions. And yet, in the year that marks the 500th anniversary of 1510, we need to remind ourselves that "colonialism" of various hues and colours can never be "localised", regardless of how high the local collaboration is sought to be pegged at. Just a few thoughts, deliberately devil's advocatish in clothing. FN Frederick Noronha +91-9822122436 +91-832-2409490 On 12 June 2010 00:06, Eddie Fernandes <[email protected]> wrote: > -----Original Message----- > From: soter > Joao Barros-Pereira has rightly observed that old Goan houses have been > maintained by foreigners... It is sad that several Goans support the > hounding of foreigners by the Goa government over land purchases... > ================================== > Response: > > Bravo Joao Barros-Pereira and Soter for speaking out! > > It is also perplexing that there are some overseas Goans, like the normally > rational George Pinto who are xenophobic regarding this issue and believe > that all foreigners must have their property confiscated even if bought ...
