------------------------------------------------------------------------ * G * O * A * N * E * T **** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out
Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elisabeth, My friend Charles Camara, a Madganvkar who was at the socant.su.se (I clearly remember his charles.camara email address -- aren't Swedish email addresses so practical!) -- or The Department of Social Anthropology at Stockholm University -- was, I think studying tourism issues in Goa. He came across the Siddi and did a long and deep study on them, after being deeply moved by the subject and its present-day implications. Quite a few Goans have interacted, I would think, with the Siddis (in a strange kind of Uncle Tom-Khapri Agustine kind of way!), without even realising whom these grandchildren of slavery really were. Like most topics which go beyond just the academic, Charles was obviously affected by a deep sense of empathy about this section of the population... who obviously got a raw deal from history, from colonialism, and from us.... There were, if I recall right, some Jesuits working for them too in their remote jungle home. At one stage, the Government fo Karnataka was trying to encourage some Siddi youngsters into sports, on the bizaarre (and almost racist, it would seem) idea that Blacks make better sportsmen (as witnessed from the powerful West Indian batsmen, who were 'hitting back" at slavery and colonialism with every four and six, as that Marxist-politician-academic Asoke Mitra would argue, or the Kenyan long-distance runners!) So imagine trying to take poor, starving people and trying to make cricketeers of them! Wonder what came about to that... Was also in touch with some young social workers who were considered about the plight of these "lost" people (in every sense of the word!). But I'm not sure how much Charles has published. See [http://shrunklink.com?mnc] I'm sure he would have enough material for at least 2-3 books! But then, publishing and knowing are two different things. One recalls Karen Larsen, a Fullbright scholar who was part of Goanet for a short while, but did publish a thick book, a mix between travelogue-academese-journalistic impressions, after her short stay in Goa.... Here's something I had posted a decade ago... gosh, do such tracks in cyberspace make one feel old(!)... even if one allowed these guys to just abbreviate my name in a way I don't do myself: [http://www.goacom.org/news/news96/jul/research.html] OPEN QUOTE: "RESEARCH ON GOA" From : GOA NEWS Posted By: Fred Noronha. Sunday, July 28, 1996 Following researchers are currently engaged in research on Goa. The compiler of this list would be grateful if any other details of current Goa-related academic research could be sent in, in the format mentioned at the end: CAMARA, CHARLES (31) working on CULTURE, CATHOLIC CHURCH, HINDUISM, NGOs, MEDIA, TOURISM, DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT, FISHERFOLK since 1993. Academic work. Interested in building contacts with academics, campaigners and grass-root workers. No e-mail address available. Charles, a research scholar based in Sweden, was based in Margao for many months, and did research on a number of themes, including the Siddi tribals (believed to be of African origin brought in by the Portuguese as slaves, now living in Karnataka) and the problems of Goa's red-light locality of Baina. He is due back in Sweden in August, and is likely to return to Goa..... http://www.goacom.org/news/news96/jul/research.html END QUOTE There's another incident-in-cyberspace about the Siddis one can hardly forget. A report by one of the reporters here, which was careless (but not malicious, in my view) with the facts, quickly turned into a public trial of how bad (or not-so-bad) was the bad colonialism Goa witnessed... instead of just looking at the issue that should have been under the scanner -- the plight of the Siddis in India! FN On 01/11/06, Carvalho <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Frederick, > That was truly fascinating. I wonder if there is any > literature on how they assimilated, which colonial > power was responsible for bringing them to India, > perhaps the Portuguese, if they have any desire to > return to Africa, I doubt it, what sort of prejudice > they suffer, etc. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/ Free Software gives you the freedom to run, study, copy and improve software! _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org