I know both George Pinto and Eddie Fernandes, first through Goan cyberspace and then in person. Both perfect gentlemen.
Both of them are highly respected in Goan overseas circles and are a big presence in Goan cyberspace, and most importantly, do a lot for Goa and Goans. I find this recent bickering between them on a trivial issue completely uncharacteristic. I write this in the hope of convincing them to bury the hatchet and use their considerable energies for loftier objectives than scoring brownie points in juvenile debates. Without going into the intricacies of the matter being debated let me use analogies. In his many years of doing great charity work George has always done due diligence in identifying and investigating worthy causes. Despite this I am sure a few cases might have slipped his radar and he might have raised funds for a cause that was not really needy or deserving. But does that mean he ceases all charity activity? Not at all. He rallies forward acknowledging, and learning from, his mistake. Eddie too in all his years of keeping us informed of Goan, and Goa related, activities worldwide has surely occasionally slipped and reported something without proper crosschecking for authenticity. Bound to happen with the sheer volume of data he goes through every day. So he keeps fine tuning his news gathering skills and perseveres and learns from his mistakes. I am sure both sides of the argument have their plus and minus points but let it be. If respected people like George and Eddie behave in such a petty fashion I don't think we can expect much more from new entrants into Goan cyberspace. Please retain the high standards you have set. This is what happens if you think only with your heart. If someone tells George a sob story and he reacts only with is heart and not his mind then he will be doing his own reputation an injustice. So too with Eddie. Forget foreigners. Goans and Indians to get ripped off by crooked lawyers, brokers, owners, tenants etc. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Many British property owners I know who were making the biggest noise have now been proven to have knowingly committed a lot of illegalities. I am sure there are also others who didn't quite know what they were doing was illegal. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. But let's not go there again. George and Eddie there are far more important things for you two than argue about this petty issue. Cheers! Cecil =========
