On Sun, Sep 20, 2015 at 2:27 PM, Joseph Rebello <asjrebe...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> > > Migration, them and us > Posted by: Navhind Times <http://www.navhindtimes.in/author/user/> September > 20, 2015 in Panorama > <http://www.navhindtimes.in/category/supplements/panorama/> and by*Courtesy > of Frederick Noronha * > Migration is on everyone’s mind, with the global, national and regional > media highlighting the issue of migrants and asylum-seekers. Everyone is > trying to explain this in their own way, and the “surge of desperate > migrants from the Middle East and Africa has put unprecedented pressure on > EU countries” (BBC). Goa, being no newcomer to migration in diverse ways, > finds this a strong concern too. > Goa has itself witnessed rather intense migration for nearly the past 14 > to 15 decades now. Out-migration has taken the bold and the brightest (if > one could put it that way) out of Goa. It has brought back affluence to the > region in spite of it being a stagnant colony of Portugal. Migration > disrupted our linguistic roots, but it also gave us access to new languages > and ideas. It is said that Goans have expressed their thoughts in as many > as 13 different languages. Besides, the Goan sees the world as his home > rather than seeing his home as his world (as do some inward-looking, larger > areas of South Asia which can afford to do so). In a way, it’s a love-hate > relationship. > Those who have benefitted from migration obviously want to keep doors open > to reach far and wide. Others, who haven’t, don’t mind creating barriers to > such exit plans. Take the case of the Portuguese passports; there are as > many who see it as a disaster, and just can’t comprehend what’s going on, > as there are those who see this policy as an unmixed blessing for Goa and > Goans three generations on. Then, there is the issue of in-migration. We > all want our own rights to travel (and exploit opportunity in) the world. > Yet, we might not be as willing to grant the same to others wanting to > explore opportunities (or exploit, if you wish) Goa. We could be accused of > adopting double standards over two sides of a single coin. > It’s possible for a single individual like me to voice shock and concern > over the large number of West Asians and North Africans pouring into > Europe, but to continue supporting Goans migration to Portugal, France, > Swindon, on board the ship, the Gulf or the many other destinations of Goan > outmigration. Likewise, the same individual could not like the idea of > others settling down in Goa. Concepts like the ill-defined and > barely-elaborated Special Status, which politicians cutting across party > lines half-heartedly use as a carrot every now and then, is also a > reflection of this. > But the conflict in perspective does not end here. Migration changed the > Goan demography in class, gender and even religious terms. It gave > opportunity to many, left back more women as the men folk migrated out, and > changed the community make-up of Goa. Contrary to what is widely believed, > till the 1920s, Catholics were numerically larger in Goa, even taking both > the old and new conquests together. That position changed significantly > first due to out-migration of Goans, and only later due to in-migration. In > recent times, with the demographics changing further, the growing Muslim > population is often not seen as just one more of those twists and turns > that happens in history, and each interprets it in a way that suits our own > bias. > For some reason, few accessible studies are available over the links > between the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of the late 19th century, and the spurt > in Goan migration that followed it. Globally, this migration phobia has > been around for decades. Even before the current set of tragic images that > TV screens bring into our bedrooms, it has been a hotly debated subject. Take > a book like ‘The Camp of the Saints’ (Le Camp des Saints), a 1973 French > apocalyptic novel by Jean Raspail. The novel depicts a setting in which > Third World mass immigration to France and the West leads to the > destruction of the Western civilization itself. That’s not all, after some > four decades of its publication the book returned to the bestseller list in > 2011. And the title is a reference to the Book of Revelation (Rev 20:9), no > less. Indeed religion can be (mis)used to fuel any bias. > This novel highlights the concern over population migration. In Kolkata > (then still Calcutta), the Belgium government announces a policy under > which Indian babies will be adopted and raised in Belgium. The Belgian > consulate gets inundated with poverty-stricken parents eager to give up > their infant children. An Indian ‘wise man’ rallies large numbers to > undertake a mass exodus, and move on to live in Europe. This is a Cold > War story with hints of bias of race and class, going by an interesting > synopsis from the Wikipedia: the mayor of New York City has to share his > official residence with three families from Harlem, the Queen of the United > Kingdom must agree to have her son marry a Pakistani woman, and just one > drunken Soviet soldier stands in the way of thousands of Chinese people as > they swarm into Siberia. > Finally, tiny Switzerland (recently in the news for its dubious > dirty-money banking practices) holds out. But international pressure it put > on this “rogue state” for not opening its borders. But real life can have > some strange twists. As it happens, Indian migration to the West has > taken on a new trajectory. Well-qualified Indians, especially technocrats, > are today seen as better-than-model citizens in the West. Meanwhile, the > polices of the West, have had a hand in creating more failed states, whose > people are today migrating in droves. > In Goa itself, there have been different issues raised over migration. The > need to protect local land, a resource increasingly out of reach for many > spending their entire lifetime here, has been a raised off and on. So has > the issue of politicians using migrant votes to override local interest. > While these may indeed have far reaching economic and political > consequences, we also need to recognise that our wider stance on migration > might be inconsistent, self-serving and biased.* We like to blame > migration ills on others, and see ourselves as not to blame, the > well-behaved migrants who don’t make a nuisance of themselves. “We don’t > create slums elsewhere,” is an argument one hears often to justify Goan > out-migration. But in our heart of hearts, we probably realise that these > are just convenient arguments that suit our own interest.* > Share ! > > - > > > > > > > > with 90 other bcc'd Goans on Planet Earth as little knowledge is a > dangerous thing, a > Also, a little learning is a dangerous thing. Knowing a little about > something tempts one to overestimate one's abilities. For example, I know > you've assembled furniture, but that doesn't mean you can build an entire > wall system; remember, a little knowledge. This is originally a line from > Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1709), has been repeated with > slight variations ever since. It is still heard, although less frequently, > and sometimes shortened, as in the example. > =========================================================================================== > [image: Image] > <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=xa-4b3ae0f8576b8b84> > ------------------------------ > ========================================================================== > > - Tiger Kills Female Zookeeper In New Zealand > > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tiger-kills-female-zookeeper-zealand-082913850.html>Sky > News - 17 minutes ago > - Paraglider Crashes Into Cliff After Collision > > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/paraglider-crashes-cliff-collision-080054959.html>Sky > News - 46 minutes ago > - EU In Disarray As 10,000 Migrants Enter Austria > > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/eu-disarray-10-000-migrants-enter-austria-044043152.html>Sky > News - 1 hour 9 minutes ago > - 'Golden Decade' Hopes As Osborne Visits China > > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/golden-decade-hopes-osborne-visits-china-065239344--finance.html>Sky > News - 1 hour 54 minutes ago > - Free School Meals Could Be Cut By Government > > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/free-school-meals-could-cut-government-234821806.html>Sky > News - 2 hours 17 minutes ago > > This Smuggler Modified His Trousers To Try And Bring Booze Into Saudi > Arabia... (He Failed)The man, who has not been named, was stopped as he > was walking along the 16-mile-long King Fahd Causeway that links Bahrain > with Saudi Arabia[image: Yahoo News] > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/newsroom.news.yahoo.com.uk--all-sections/archive/1.html> > By Lee Moran | Yahoo News – Thu, Sep 17, 2015 > > - Share > > <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fuk.news.yahoo.com%2Fsmuggler-modified-trousers-try-bring-115146238.html%23puIRy0d&t=This%20Smuggler%20Modified%20His%20Trousers%20To%20Try%20And%20Bring%20Booze%20Into%20Saudi%20Arabia...%20(He%20Failed)%20-%20Yahoo%20News%20UK> > 47 > - > - > > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/_xhr/social/share/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fuk.news.yahoo.com%2Fsmuggler-modified-trousers-try-bring-115146238.html&text=This%20Smuggler%20Modified%20His%20Trousers%20To%20Try%20And%20Bring%20Booze%20Into%20Saudi%20Arabia...%20(He%20Failed)%20-%20Yahoo%20News%20UK&action=inshare> > - > - Print > > A Saudi man was busted trying to smuggle 12 bottles of booze back into his > home country - after he stashed them in modified trousers under his robe. > The man, who has not been named, was stopped as he was walking along the > 16-mile-long King Fahd Causeway that links Bahrain > <https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bahrain/> with Saudi Arabia. > Customs officers patted him down after spotting that he was walking > suspiciously. > And they were stunned to find that he’d added pockets to his trousers so > he could secretly carry them underneath. > Alcohol is banned in Saudi Arabia, and anyone caught trying to break the > law faces tough penalties. > The man is now facing jail time for allegedly trying to smuggle the drink > in, it’s reported. > It’s not clear exactly what kind of alcohol he was carrying. > But Saudi customs chief Daifallah Al Otaibi said examples of men > attempting to smuggle alcohol into the country were rare. > And he said that, even when caught, it rarely involved such large amounts. > Bahrain is often branded the “brothel of the Gulf” and has comparatively > lax laws with regards to alcohol. > *(Pictures credited to CEN)* >
