Title: 110. Who the Bleep cares about Egypt, Goa and Revolutions? By: Selma Carvalho. Source: Goan Voice UK Daily Newsletter 20 Feb 2011 at www.goanvoice.org.uk
Yes, the events in Egypt have been momentous and now there is talk of such momentous events taking place in Goa. Talk of candle-lit marches on the corrupt politicians of Goa, the toppling of the powers-that-be and a new dawn emerging. Revolutions are wonderful. They are great photo-ops for foreign correspondents to capture; young, virile men waving flags from the top of city monuments, having brought down a government. What can be more empowering than that? It makes for riveting news headlines; streets with spilled blood, tear-gas, water-canons released on the mob; the powerful pitted against the under-dog and who doesn't love a great story of the underdog winning. It's the stone of strength from which heroes are carved out of and the strands from which epic tales are woven. But what happens after a revolution? A country in chaos before a revolution is a country in chaos after a revolution. Revolutions don't create the thought-processes that are needed to build a democratic society; they don't build the institutions that uphold democratic principles. They are only meant to be gateways to change. If the pillars of democracy are not in place, then calls for revolutions are misplaced outrage. What would a revolution in Goa entail, anyway? A revolution against its own people? We live in a democracy and we vote for the people that govern us. For all the talk about these politicians being corrupt and a need for change; let's not forget they have been voted in by people who support them. Do we ever wonder why the corrupt Catholic politicians of Salcete never fade from the scene? Goa's own Teflon politicians whose scandal-lit pants never catch fire. Perhaps it's because the disenchanted young men of Salcete become their caddy-boys and henchmen in between waiting for their visas to the Gulf or getting their papers notarized for jobs on board cruise ships. Gangs of youth roam villagers, forsaken by the education system, disillusioned by the job opportunities in Goa, unfettered by the Law of the Land and aided by rotting politicians and their underlings like the sarpanches. They rule these petty fiefdoms; physically terrorizing the helpless and instigating all sorts of illegalities. This is not a youth who is preparing for change. This is a youth who has given up on being rescued. Even if they did graduate and pursue a job in Goa; how much does private industry pay entry to mid-level jobs? A pittance - a pitiable pittance, which wouldn't keep body and soul together much less enable one to provide for an entire family. Their only salvation then, is these politicians who entice them with football grounds, tiatrs and bull-fights. When I hear of revolutions, I think of the Iranian Revolution of 1979; what was meant to herald in change but has put the country back several decades if not centuries. I am reminded of that iconic image of the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue in 2003; jubilation across Iraq followed by a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shiites that has claimed countless lives and spilled more blood than Saddam ever managed to spill. I am reminded of Goa's own parallel history: the 1910 Revolution in Portugal installed the First Republic. When news of the Republic reached Goa, Goans danced in the streets with the Portuguese. The Republic was built on a precarious foundation of quicksand; it never enjoyed a moment's stability and was replaced just sixteen years later by one of the worst and longest dictatorships in Portuguese history - that of Dr Antonio Oliveira Salazar. Goans have spent fifty years of their lives engaged in the most trivial of pursuits. We have invested in neither education nor appropriate industry. We are now an unprepared society. Let us not for one moment imagine that a street revolution will in anyway change our lives. Revolutions can only bring change if a foundation for that change has been established. There is a place in history for blood-thirsty, mob-fuelled revolutions. That place should never be Goa. Let our revolutions begin in the classroom; let them bloom in the minds of the young; let them be planted like overpowering poppy in the hearts of our men and women who determine to bring change through a real sense of responsibility towards their country - an involvement in the social institutions that bring about change and a partnership with people in governance willing to work towards tangible change. It will take time but those will be the revolutions that bear fruit, anything else will bear chaos and sectarian strife fuelled by an ideological and religious divide. Do leave your feedback at [email protected]
