As various people have held forth, the situation in Goa is very concerning for parents; especially of daughters in school-age group. We would like to believe we are a civilized society and the law and order machinery will be a deterrent to wrong doers and the men-in-uniform are a sensitized, upright and strong force to send shivers down the spine of people with criminal intent.
But sadly, as frightening events unfold in our peaceful state, this is not so. We hope and pray that they become so. But that would be insufficient action on our part. I think we need to think of how we can proactively address this situation. As Parents we could approach our elected representatives, government bodies to increase the number of personnel, give them awareness programs, etc. We could also have local meet with the heads of each police stations and form a parent-police body that could give a boost to patrolling and awareness. And last but not the least create awareness in our children, how to be alert and the steps that they should follow when they feel there is impending danger. Its sad that when our children need to experience the freedom and open mindedness of a free society that we have to bring in a dose of alertness - which may even bring in a certain amount of 'fear of strangers' or even imaginary fears but its better to err on the side of caution then to let the innocent minds roam into unknown dangers. Leo D'Mello
