Dear Armstrong, Thank you for your kind words. It is very rare that a Goan congratulates another Goan.
However I would like to set the record straight. It was not Ravi Vaz who organised the Global Goans Convention. It was a team effort, headed by Flavio Gracias the President. Richard Fernandes as Finance Director was pivotal and has so far escaped mention. He took charge over large parts of the organisation. The rest of the team was broken up and each given specific responsibilities. It worked well that way. Some of the names of people who worked like mad are Norma Menezes, Bernie Gracias and Anita Gracias. Alvaro Colaco was not part of the Organising Committee and played no role. People often say, its always the same people. Well, in Goan Associations abroad, yes it is always the same people because other people don't come forward. They talk a lot from the outside about how things should be done but when it comes to doing, they are always mysteriously busy. Another complaint is that too many family members are involved. Well yes, it so happens that once you become involved, the spouses and children too get involved. Finally it becomes a family affair and some families become prominent. But why not? This was a wonderful opportunity for Goan Youth to get involved and yet we hardly had their presence. It is only the Directors' children that came on the days to help out. Bravo, I say to families who acquaint their children with their culture and involve them in such matters. In short, we had a great time organising it. Yes, there were many challenges especially for Flavio and Richard but the team really bonded and we had super fun. As I said to Mr Faleiro, why have just one Global Goans Convention, have many. And as I said in my speech, which is partly in response to Mr Aires Rodrigues lament about the purpose of Global Goans Convention; the purpose is dialogue. We can never quantify the value of dialogue but we must constantly engage in it. It is integral to the development and evolution of every society. Finally, I would like to dispel one other great myth that has been perpetuated by Aires Rodgrigues, that it is a party at the expense of the Goan taxpayer. This is not true. The host country contributes greatly to the finances of this "party". Also the entire team was voluntary. There are other institutions such as Cultural organisation in India, who sponsore the dancers and folk singers. There are private doners who sponsors musicians - for instance a benevolent sponsor from Germany flew in Agnelo Fernandes to entertain us, which was a real treat. Finally even if the NRI department spent money on folk-dancers etc, it is not Chinese or Japanes folk dancers they are spending on. It is Goan men and women. So the money goes back into the Goan economy. People should get their facts right before they make public prounoucements. Best, Selma
