MY FELLOW GOANS…….
I have wondered these past few days why it was that so many
‘converted’ Goans, those from out of state and settled here, have
risen up, not only to voice their concern, but to fight against the
‘Regional Plan-2011’ in its current destructive form. Perhaps it is
because at some point, these courageous folk have made a ‘conscious’
decision to uproot themselves from wherever they came from, given up
lucrative careers, the conveniences of city life, and settle
themselves here…. all because they treasured the peace and quiet,
clean air and water, friendly faces that always have the time to say
‘Kitem khobor?”, unbelievably beautiful sunsets on un-crowded white
beaches, the soul stirring sounds of silence, bike rides on village
roads with the fresh wind in their faces...the list goes on.
On the other hand there are so many of our lot, born and brought up
on the land that fate chose to put us on. We are here by default, and
so we have taken this ‘good land’ for granted. We grumble, whine and
talk ‘ad nauseam’ of how life has ‘gone to the dogs’ and filthy
politicians have made crores on land conversions…blah! blah! blah!
Having vented our steam, we then go quietly, tails tucked between our
legs, and do whatever we do everyday. There are others, those with a
mouthful of comments to make on the efforts of everyone else while
they sit in their high seats of judgment; and yet others who, while
completely oppressed by the Indian brand of ‘democracy’, feel
completely helpless and resign themselves to just keeping their heads
above the pressures of everyday life.
My friends, there are two kinds of teams here: the one consisting of
people I just mentioned and the other consisting of people that make
a conscious choice to fight The Good Fight. Yes! The Good Fight!! For
while it is good to win, it is noble to just fight, knowing we do
everything we can to better our own lives and the lives of those who
share the good earth with us, while leaving her intact for
generations yet to come. And that……is The Good Fight!!! We stand
today at a crossroads: one that will decide if our grandchildren will
see a smoke filled concrete jungle full of aggressive strangers
fighting for their own selfish comfort OR a vibrant, intelligent,
green community, one that has learnt to balance their own needs with
what their environment can afford them while sustaining itself, a
community that recognizes that their natural resources are precious,
and once depleted by the empty greed of immediate need, can never be
replenished.
Picture this my friends: a Goa that is developed, with wide tree-
lined roads, power that never fails, clean drinking water in our
taps, hospitals we can rely on, a choice of schools to send our
children to, roads that we can drive on without wanting to murder our
fellow drivers, parks, wide open spaces, forests, hills and lakes
that we can still get away to on weekends, beaches that are still
clean with waters we can still dip into, and most of all friendly
faces that we don’t hate for taking away every opportunity from us
and our children, only because they had the kind of money that we
could not dream of having.
So while we still welcome those from elsewhere to come and share what
we have, let us do it on our terms….’sensitively’. For those of you
who think I’m a dreamer……think again! Is this really too much to ask
for??? There are so many people in other parts of the world who
already have what I only dream of. Why then cant I??
Do we want to go the way Bangalore did? From a dream retirement
haven, to a place where one can only die in agony, probably from
cancer of the lungs? Shout out then, with every other Goan to say NO!
NO to the DESTRUCTION! NO to the Regional Plan 2011! NO to our
shortsighted governance! NO to the carnage of our forests and hills
and waters! NO to emerging concrete jungles like Porvorim and Dona
Paula!
And WE can make a start by joining hands at the SAVE GOA campaign, at
Azad Maidan, on 18th Dec 2006 at 3 pm. Say YES! to a Greener,
Cleaner, Healthier, Happier Goa!!
Yours sincerely,
Noël Caldeira
(for the Save Goa Campaign)
_______________________________________________
Saligao 403511 website http://saligao.goa-india.org
Saligaonet mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.goacom.org/mailman/listinfo/saligaonet
