Beyond World Goa Day Celebrations of 2003 by Gilbert Lawrence, M.D., DMRT (England), FRCR (London). E-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thoughtful comments on this article are welcome and appreciated. Please feel free to transmit this article to individuals and associations.
The big celebrations of World Goa Day (WGD) came to a crescendo on the historic August 20. Undoubtedly some organizations will continue to have their WGD celebration for the remainder of the year depending on their own climate and national calendars. On August 20 in 1992 Konkani, the language of the Goan people was included in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution by both houses of Parliament. This recognition as a separate and distinct language has been the life-time work of many illustrious Goans. August 20, is thus a proud historic day for Goans as language is one of the six major criteria that identifies a group of people as a distinctive society as per anthropological and sociological studies. Maintaining that Goan identity throughout Goa and the Diaspora is the WGD celebrations in each Goan community. These events have been assiduously coordinated by Mr. Rene Barreto from his headquarters in London. Each year these celebrations grow in the number of cities organizing them as well as the increasing elaborate efforts that other regions are putting in the celebration. This has undoubtedly brought Goans closer together in their communities as well as within their respective countries. The WGD celebrations have brought forth some positive achievements and give publicity to others. These include the awareness and pride in Konkani, the practical work of Goa Sudharop to make structural changes in Goan life by working at the local level. Similarly some Goan associations have embarked on projects to help individuals and institutions in Goa. Yours truly (my wife and I) were stimulated to undertake the study on Goan rituals and culture. And having done so to print the material (76-page book) under the title "Amchi Khobor - Our News - Inside Goa". Goans world-wide (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Kenya, Tanzania and Middle East to name a few) celebrated World Goa Day in their own countries. Mr. Rene Barreto, convener of the event, through the website [www.goaday.com] of World Goa Day encourages Goans to host the WGD to remind us of the need to preserve our culture, music, history, language, cuisine, and art for our children, the non-Goan community, and for posterity. From all reports, Diaspora Goans have heeded his call. A full listing of all the celebrations throughout the world is outlined in the website which is a must read for a Goan. Question now are where we go from here and what are the next achievements? As I have followed these celebrations and enjoyed watching the growing working relationship within each community, in my opinion, the next step is to bring the city- wide Goan organizations together into a country-wide organization and ultimately into a global relationship. The strength of the organization depends on the numbers of Goans that belong to and support them as well as the successes and achievements of the association. The bigger the institute the easier it is to undertake the larger challenges and achieve a higher level of success. Some Goan organizations have done an excellent job and they need to share their secrets of success. Others can emulate them rather than 'rediscovering the wheel'. Goans in Kuwait have a GOAN WELFARE SOCIETY. This is an interesting concept which should be shared with other Goan Diaspora in terms of its functions, actions and funding. For most Goans associations in the Diaspora, here are some goals that organizations can set: 1. Strengthen the local organization through well defined bylaws, accounting practices and election procedures. 2. Assure that all segments of the Goan community are represented in the executive committee - Age groups, sex, geographical distribution, recent vs. old immigrants, different skills. 3. Appoint individuals on the committee for well defined community tasks in addition to the usual committee work. 4. The executive committee and board of these organizations set their year's goals soon after the election. 5. Form or strengthen the 'National Working Group' for each country. 6. Form a network of 'National Working Group' for each continent. In the internet era of the twenty-first century, web pages and e-mails, the interactions can be easy and inexpensive. The most important ingredients are desire, effort and time. And these components are priceless. I call upon and strongly urge Goans who have taken 'early retirement' to step up to the plate and take an active interest in their Goan community. It will definitely help the community - their children and grandchildren. Also a new interest late in life will have positive benefits on one's own healthcare, physical and mental status and in prevention of illness like Alzheimer's (scientific data to prove it- See August issue of New England of Medicine). In each country, the responsibilities of the National Goan Working Group among others tasks would be: 1. Hosting the annual National WGD celebrations. 2. Be a 'clearing house' to coordinate the various Goan events in their region / country to avoid duplication of social/cultural events on the same weekend. 3. Facilitate and encourage Goan organizations in neighboring regions to support each other's functions. 4. Assure that Goan culture is vibrant within their communities and in their adopted country. 5. Establish a directory of Goans within their country 6. Work so the wider non-Goan society appreciates, respects and esteems the value of Goans and Goa. 7. Work with organizations within Goa and here 'the sky is the limit'. 8. Provide leadership in their country so that isolated Goan associations get help, advice and encouragement. 9. Facilitate / form a Goan Retirees / Senior Citizen organization in their country. 10. Facilitate / form a Goan Writers organization in their country. 11. Facilitate / form one or more Goan Artist organization - musicians, painters, sculptures, crafts etc. 12. Facilitate / form other Goan scientific professional organizations in their country. 13. Identify their national priorities and challenges affecting Goan communities in their country. 14. Work with other Goan national organizations across the continent and across the globe. Hopefully the specialty Goan groups in their get-together will focus on issues as they relate to their own communities in the Diasporas as well as in Goa. Hopefully the presidents of the various Goan organizations and leaders in various countries will take the lead in moving their Goan communities in the Diasporas progressively to the fore in the twenty-first century. Regards, Dr. Gilbert Lawrence. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################