Mea Culp SaligaoNetters,
I know that I'm not supposed to continue this topic on Saligaonet, but I
couldnt resist typing this message to Rico & acknowledging his posting.
Rico,
Trust a journalist to do it! Hope all of us on this Net will get an inkling
of how things should be seen. Thanks for putting it so simply, precisely &
systematically & in the right perspective (inclusive of examples) and
allowing for the misunderstandings, different ways of thinking etc. - yeh
involvement in money is a pain. Even if intentions are good, they are
misconstrued.
I agree with you on each and every paragraph including the need for an
apology because of lack of intimation to those concerned in advance. Guess
we goofed up there! We will know better next time wont we? By the way, whose
permission do we need now to continue with contribruting towards the Saligao
Institute vis-a-vis computer etc. etc. ???? Or is that going to fizzle out
hereafter?
Good luck with your photography Rico, - the shots that I've seen are really
fantastic -but then that is my view since I'm not even amateur material
considering that I've never been interested in the equipment, only in the
end result - good or not good pictures - that anyone can see if it is only
themselves to please - pictures that are pleasing to the eyes & to the soul.
Thanks again.
Ta ra
Annette
From: "Frederick Noronha [à¥à¤°à¥à¤¦à¤°à¤¿à¤ नà¥à¤°à¥à¤¨à¤¯à¤¾]"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "ANNETTE D'SOUZA" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [email protected]
Subject: Re: [SALIGAONET] Topic of laptop is not closed yet?
Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:47:03 +0530
Premise Number 1: Money is the root of all evil. It's easy to create
misunderstandings over money. Even if I take a rupee from anyone, it
leaves me open to all kinds of misunderstandings, and my motives
suddenly become suspect!
Premise Number 2: Expats often -- and sometimes needlessly -- believe
that their counterparts in Goa are just out to milk them dry. And
sometimes, because of this suspicion, they will see motives even where
none exist.
Without intending to rake up further emotions about the
laptop-for-Fr-Nascimento issue, may I add a few points on how I see
the issue?
* Kevin's intentions were good. Maybe he inadvertently erred while
implementing this plan. Kevin has been discussing with me for some
time now the laudable idea of getting Fr Nascimento online, in view of
the solid contribution the latter has been making to understanding
Saligao, its people, and its history. Kevin has emailed me about the
varied options. Because I prefer to keep an 'arm's length' from any
money dealings, I didn't get too involved in the whole thing, apart
from suggesting some options.
* In my view, Kevin might have erred by asking others to chip in
publicly, without intimating Fr N. about the plan. Knowing Kevin, I'm
sure his intentions were only good. But then, Fr N.'s surprise is
understandable when he learns that money is being collected in his
name without any intimation to him.
* Personally, I was in a similar situation myself. On the other side
of the fence, actually. Some years back, when I was deeply involved as
a volunteer on Goanet, a few friends (headed by Eddie Fernandes, now
editor of goanvoice.org.uk) decided to give me a "present". They felt
that they wanted to record their appreciation for work done (though I
was just having fun while doing it). I had no idea of this, though I
heard some whispers "behind my back". Soon, I realised that I was to
be presented with a digital camera, costing around $200. I was quite a
bit embarassed, because I had not asked for it. Also, as a
journalist, I need to be careful about what gifts I receive ... there
are potential 'conflict of interest' issues here. While token gifts
(of a low value, like a pen or a photography magazine) might not be a
problem, one always has to fight to retain the image of being
independent and fair in one's writing.
* But it was too late to do anything. The camera had been bought and
sent to Goa. In hindsight, I must say that the camera (since long not
working, given Goa's humid climate) helped me to get an early toehold
in the world of digital photography. Resultantly, I have been clicking
a whole lot of photos, and sharing them online for free download. See
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/ where there are almost 13000
photos for free download by anyone. In hindsight, I probably managed
to give back far more than the $200 worth gift. One thing leads to
another. Recently, I invested nearly $1000 in a ten megapixel Olympus
e510 camera... of course I continue sharing my photos online. In
between, I've bought maybe half-a-dozen digital cameras, sometimes
requesting friends from overseas to purchase the same and reimbursing
them, in times when digital cameras were hard to come by in India. Now
it's probably cheaper and better to buy one here! [Please do not
misread this to be a solicitation for further gifts, I prefer not to
accept anything above what is a clear token gift, thank you.]
* I personally believe Fr N would have been better off if he had
access to the Net. But of course it is his decision on what to accept,
and how... and we need to respect that decision. Kevin's intention was
surely not to hurt him, but if any hurt was caused, we need to
apologise for the same to him. On the other hand, it is very easy to
build misunderstandings. When it comes to making a donation, any
excuse is good enough not to do it! Everyone has the right to decide
what they wish to support and what they don't want to. But to
pointlessly spread suspicion could be both counter-productive and
negative.
Anyway, at the end of the day, it's really Fr Nascimento's decision. I
personally feel his productivity would have been enhanced manifold if
he had access to computing resources (not necessarily the most
upmarket laptop). But we all should have been a bit more careful while
embarking on a venture such as this. The mistake was not of keeping
him informed. Hope this ends out in the best way it can... FN
--
Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org Ph +91-832-2409490
12000+ downloadable, sharable hi-res photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/
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