soter wrote:
Some of my friends have been kind enough to personally point out that one of my postings on goanet gave the impression that I held certain type of jobs in contempt... It is in that context that I
> expressed that I am proud to be struggling in my
homeland Goa and not cleaning the toilets of europeans. I in no way hold that cleaning toilets is a lesser job but the comparison was used to drive home a point. In fact I have great respect for people doing jobs which are looked down upon by society. If we had the same in our home State we would not have hordes of migrants invading us. I myself do certain jobs which Goans look down upon.
Plumbing and sanitary engineering -- to give it a good name -- is a crucial task. Obviously, we in Goa have a lot of unfinished tasks on this front too. Unfortunately, we leave it to many of "shit jobs" (literally) to poor migrants to do, in Goa too. At the same time as we pour scorn and shit (metaphorically) on their head at the least excuse.
In this context, I would salute the foresight of a Bideshwar Pathak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bindeshwar_Pathak Foresights, concerns and agenda-setting by people like him have had a huge dent far and wide. It has, in fact, even helped urban Goa to have access to sustainable sanitation more in keeping with the needs of the time. FN
