--- Helga do Rosario Gomes wrote: > > Hi Philomena, > This is not a specific response to you but to the > ongoing discussion "The mess that is Goa" which was > very disturbing for me not 'enlightening or > entertaining' as it luckily was for you. > Mario observes: > Helga, Thanks for a fair and balanced exposition of this issue. > In my never humble opinion, we don't hear your reasoned commentary often enough, and we need to. > I grew up outside Goa, have only a vague memory of what the Portophiles refer to as the "good old days", and now enjoy Goa as I find it once a year and bask in the rejuvenating warmth of friends and family. > My view is colored by my attitude that most glasses that are in use are always somewhat half full rather than half empty, and that things will always eventually get better when a broad spectrum of private decisionmaking is taking place rather than decisions being made for everyone by a small cabal of ruling elites. > While being part of a chaotic democratic republic, I believe Goa is evolving more than devolving, as is the rest of India. Its bucolic charm is rapidly disappearing and being replaced by something more economically sustainable. Goa is no more chaotic or corrupt or messy or socially callous than any other part of India. Its most strident critics seem to live elsewhere, as do I, but I choose instead to build it up and provide as much moral and financial support as I can, knowing that everyone involved, the locals as well as those in the diaspora are all making individual decisions they think will be in the best interests of themselves and their families. > Everyone in the diaspora can do something positive for Goa, each according to their means, from investing in businesses or property before the "foreigners" buy it all, to donating whatever they can to organizations like Goa Sudharop or one of the several other worthy charitable organizations where we know the money will be wisely spent. >
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goanet supports BMX, the alumni network of Britto's, St Mary's and Xavier's -- three prominent institutions in Mapusa, Goa. Events scheduled from Dec 16 to 21, 2006 For more details visit http://www.bmxgoa.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------