To Goanet - Today for every Goan there are 2 'security guards' from Jharkhand/UP/Bihar/Orissa. This is not much of an exaggeration, mind you. I put scare quotes around the term security guards because they are anything but. In truth, they are a menace.
Today I was at a well known private bank on 18th June road. As I made my way up to the ATM I saw a fellow loitering by the chair meant for the security guard. Turned out that he was neither a guard, nor a customer. He was, instead, a ghati friend of the security guard on duty. The fellow had absolutely no business being where he was, and the security guard, instead of securing this space, was in fact an accomplice in endangering the customer's security by allowing access to a stranger in an area where a degree of privacy is called for. Would you feel safe going to an ATM knowing that someone has been watching your movement in and out, especially with all the crime wrought by these ghatis? And this was during office hours. I have seen knots of ghatis at the bank steps at night. How in the world are you supposed to feel safe accessing the ATM here? I had a word with the manager and he has promised 'action.' Let's see. It is not only the bank. The same situation prevails at other places, such as hotels. An iconic city hotel (name begins with the letter M and ends with the letter i) now has 3 'security guards' at the entrance, one to salute you, the second to say "Good maarning saar" and the third to - well nobody knows what the hell he is for. Early morning you see their fellow ghati friends loitering at the front door of the hotel. And these guys are going to provide us security? Why in the dickens does Goa need so many of these useless fellows posing as 'security guards'? Is this the 'change' you wanted coming to Goa? Regards, r * * * Read Selma Carvalho's warmly-received book *Into the Diaspora Wilderness*, a journey through Goan life in Africa, the Gulf, England and North America ... gripping and well-told real-life stories. See http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/ Buy in Goa via Broadway Book Centre, Panjim. Ph 9822488564. * * *
