Good morning, dear brothers and sisters,
We have, in very recent times, been reading some articles on these
issues and, to be honest, we
gain the impression that they are bordering. on 'hate or dislike'.
We are really amazed ... and
shocked at the extent of anger, hate, negativitism that we, Goans,
are generating!!
Why in the name of Christ, do we not conduct all these, instead, in
a peaceful and dignified
manner? Sincerely, we hesitate to pose these questions, as we would
probably be embarking on
yet 'another furore'!
Do we have to display all of these emotions to non-Goans, our
children and our grandchildren?!!
We ourselves, as Grand-parents, would certainly not want to. Are we
making 'a laughing stock of
ourselves' by using the four letter words, now converted into six?
What will our children and grandchildren
think of us 'grown-ups' who cannot control their emotions, anger,
feelings, when we, their parents
and guardians, should be there to guide them through their teenage,
19 - 40s, and beyond. Let's please
reflect over these issues and move forward with love, dignity and
peace, particularly so as we have been
given gifts of beautiful children to bring up, nurture and live on
this planet.
Additionally, the Goans have also been bestowed with a beautiful
fertile land complete with its long stretch
coastal belt on the Arabian seas and 11 great Rivers. Let's protect
all of this for ourselves, our children,
our grandchildren, just as our ancestors acquired these with their
meagre income and preserved them for
us to live on, enjoy ... and let's then pass these on, in a better
condition than we found them, as the rightful
inheritance for our children and Grand-children.
Let's not give these non-Goans any chance or opportunities to think
of us, Goans, as those unable to
control our emotions, hate, anger, or whatever. Let's demonstrate to
them that we are united in our
thoughts, words and deeds.
A worthy note!!
Incidentally, Grandparents of both our families emigrated to
Africa at age 18 - 25, sailing in the 1890s for
between 40 - 60 days in Dhows through rough seas and storms in
search of jobs and income not only to
feed, educate, sustain themselves and put away something for their
retirement ... but to also do likewise for
their siblings. We then pose the question: Would there be
sufficient numbers of jobs for all in those days??
We then continued to live in Kenya for five generations and, when
our own retirement time was approaching,
needless to say, our first option was to return to our own
homeland. So, we would again pose the question:
'why should we be labelled differently from those who chose to
stay home to keep the home fires going and
for whatever reasons?'
Many of us are unable to choose our destinies, well, some can.
some cannot ... and some others will just go
with the tide, as it were! So what is the problem, really?
Viva Goa and Viva Goans. Betsy and Richard Nunes
