########################################################################## # Don't just read the news...discuss it. Learn more about Goa via Goanet # # Goanet was setup in 1994 and has spent the last decade building a # # lasting Goan non-profit, volunteer-driven network in cyberspace. # # Visit the archives http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/ # # To join, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and ask to join Goanet. # ########################################################################## AGAINST THE TIDE: NALINI De SOUSA, WHO EMBARKED ON A RETURN JOURNEY
Global Goan * By Constantino Hermanns Xavier [EMAIL PROTECTED] Many young Goans dream of crossing the oceans to Europe and America. Proving that there are opportunities in her ancestral land, NALINI DE SOUSA, a Goan born and brought up in Portugal, has come back and successfully set anchor in Panjim. The conversation is short but straight to the point. Nalini does not disappoint me. "In Lisbon we are nothing else than a number. Here everyone has got a name and a personality. I go to the market and know the name of my vegetable vendor," shoots Nalini, when I ask her if life is better in Goa. Finally something else than the usual ladainha of complaints and moans by migrant Goans who come back for short holidays on the beach with fat wallets and big words. Nalini Elvino de Sousa is a rare -- but not a lone -- case of a young Goan who has grown up in the shining developed world but chose to discover her roots and contribute for the development of Goa. Born in 1973, in Lisbon, she interacted with her Goan origins from a young age, dancing for the Ekvat group (Casa de Goa) and visiting her relatives in Goa "every two years or so -- a romantic place I loved visiting" she tells me smiling. There is not much to be said about Nalini's life in Lisbon. A normal Portuguese life with some Goan flavour here and there. That was before she interrupted her graduation in Chemistry at Lisbon University to get married to Dr. Bossuet Afonso (of Campal, Panjim), who was then studying in England. That was in 1998, certainly a turning point in her life, moving back to her ancestors' land from which her parents had left almost four decades ago. "My Portuguese friends thought I was quite crazy to move here, in the end, it is the frightening image of India which prevails. But some have come to visit me and have changed their mind". Among the things she misses the most are her friends, cinema and food. So what was so strong to make her move here, I insist. Surely both had promising opportunities in Europe, I argue. "My husband!" she replies instantly, before adding something less sentimental: "There are many Goans who want to leave, but we decided to stay and do something for Goa. And probably, after completing my graduation in Lisbon, I would have become just another unemployed person. Here I am my own boss" she states proudly. "We decided to settle in Goa and though there were some initial bureaucratic difficulties for me, I am not disappointed; today I would make the same choice again". Nalini and Dr. Afonso have a four-year old son, Anish. "We speak Portuguese to him, but he goes to an English kindergarten". How did Nalini's professional life develop? Making the best out of her Portuguese background, she taught her mother tongue at the Instituto Camoes and at Our Lady of the Rosary School in Dona Paula. In the meantime, she also completed her M.A. in Portuguese Literature from Goa University and is now following a graduation course from a Lisbon university by correspondence. Recently she has also founded the new Portuguese-language kindergarten and cultural centre Communicare, based in Porvorim. "We plan to start courses and teaching in other European languages very soon. There is much to be done in the education sector in Goa," she believes. But her main achievement is her own business, which she started in 2001 with the help of her mother. Their shop 'A Nau' -- http://www.anau4u.com -- is known all over Goa for its imported Portuguese food, wines and souvenirs. "We started in Caranzalem, but the shop was small and people complained about the location. We then moved here to Panjim with great success," she says, though pointing out that the Portuguese suppliers are not very interested in exploring Goa's market. Thus "the prices are a bit high for many people". Yet, if not a shop, 'A Nau' certainly would have been a museum, being so nicely arranged. "People come here just to look at our products and to speak Portuguese to me," she tells me. Some Brazilian music plays in the background. So, Nalini, what are you in the end, a Goan or Portuguese? "I feel both Goan and Portuguese," she says, smiling. "In Lisbon I used to promote my Goan origins and identity. Here, in Goa, I feel I have to defend my Portuguese side. That is a necessity all migrants feel when away from home". Having diplomatically avoided my question, I make a second attempt. Do you speak Konkani? The answer is satisfactory and I feel she is on the right track to become a niz goenkar: "I am learning Konkani with a private teacher. And I completed a course back in Lisbon, before coming to Goa," she assures me. Nalini's initiative carries a strong message. "There are plenty of opportunities here and there is so much to do, perhaps like in Portugal during the 60's and 70's," she suggests. She thinks there is a wrong image regarding the successes of migration among the Goan youth: "Young Goans think they can leave and make big money abroad, but ignore that to the most part they will work like slaves to make peanuts". And though complaining about bureaucracy and paper work, she underlines the quality of life and the human aspect of business in Goa: "There is always a way out here, people help each other. I know all my neighbours personally. We are like a family". "I am not against going out," Nalini explains. "You can leave for some time, gain experience, and further your horizons, study. But come back, because Goa needs people with experience, capacity and skills," she appeals. Anchored in the heart of Panjim, a small shop with the name of a Portuguese ship and a young example prove that it is possible to swim against the tide. GLOBAL NUMBER: 5% Is the percentage of foreign direct investments (FDI) in India coming from the Indian Diaspora around the world. How much FDI in Goa comes from Non-resident Goans? Certainly a neglectable figure. India's total FDI is above 5 billion USD. GLOBAL THOUGHT: Goans living abroad, especially those established in Europe and North America, tend to think they are the greatest specialists regarding ready-made solutions for Goa. That came up once again during the recent political crisis. Everyone seemed to have a valid solution, confidently hitting the keyboard from far away. And when "coming down" to Goa isn't there more to do than complaining about the roads, the bureaucracy and migrants into the state? What about jumping into the muddy reality? What about abandoning the sunny beaches and comfortable balcaos and exploring the interior of Goa, the lost villages in Sattari and Sanguem, which are as Goan as Siolim and Santa Cruz? What about forgetting English or Portuguese for a while and making an effort to speak Konkani? What about encouraging the younger ones to stay in Goa, making constructive and motivating suggestions? What about admitting from time to time that life abroad is not that good as you imagined it to be? What about investing one rupee in Goa for every opinion forwarded? That would certainly make Goa Golden again. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The writer is a young Goan, based in Portugal, who has put in a significant amount of work to build bridges between these two regions that he traces his roots to. Xavier can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] GOANET READER welcomes contributions from its readers, by way of essays, reviews, features and think-pieces. We share quality Goa-related writing among the Goanet family of mailing lists. Please do send in your feedback to the writer. Our writers share their writing pro bono. 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