Dear fellow goanet readers, Not so long ago, my best friend waved furiously goodbye to goanet with no forwarding address, but I am pleased to see that she is still on planet earth, appearing calm, relaxed, sipping the sweet waters of tender coconut and enjoying the refreshing breeze sweeping through the palms of our national tree. This has made a difference because in her new found "cool" she has written a five star article in OHeraldo "Forgetting the Past Dishonours the Future" as shown on a link in Goan Voice dated 2 September.
The first line of her article will be very topical for some of those who have been interviewed for the Oral Histories of British East African Goans project to ask themselves "What good is a society that doesn't honour its past?" If readers agree, it would have been good to see the project honouring our past life in East Africa, in the workplace, academically, socially, sporting and involvement in religious activities which has been the fountain of all our education. Instead, as seen on video uploads, in the public domain, the project appears to be more focused on "uncomfortable truths" with very little to honour or remember the many historical achievements of our community. The comfortable truth is that the majority of us not only led a good life in East Africa, thankfully, we continue living it to this day. Have those participants in this project portrayed a proper picture of our time in East Africa (that will be a permanent e-record) or, using the words in her article will this project become "a bleak reminder that we are a society beset with amensia"? Rose Fernandes Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom 2 September 2012
