-----Original Message----- From: Cecil Pinto 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
============================================ Folks, Cecil is generous in devoting his energy to tackling what appears to him and no doubt some others, to be a trivial issue. How I wish it were so! Eight years ago friends of mine from the UK accompanied us on a holiday to Goa, loved it and expressed interest in buying a holiday home. I encouraged them to do so, took them to the RBI, the lawyer (not Aires I hasten to add!), etc. and they got the clearance. They visit Goa regularly and are very generous to local charities. Now there is a threat that their property will be confiscated and I cannot stop blaming myself. I have met other foreigners who had bought properties in Goa. I have also been approached by the media asking to be put into contact with some of those affected and because of this I have met others. Some of these have invested their life savings and heart and soul in Goa. Others have sold their UK homes and have nothing to return to. I must avoid the temptation of picking on one or two exceptional case and generalising on them but I know of one case of attempted suicide and another of nervous breakdown. I find many of the cases I have encountered deeply distressing. Sure, introduce controls by all means but do not apply them retrospectively. Besides, it could be the thin end of the wedge for there have been murmurs that PIOs and OCIs will be next in the firing line. I was hoping to understand how the opposition thinks. Guess not much chance of that. Time to bury the hatchet instead! Eddie Fernandes
