------------------------------------------------------- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html -------------------------------------------------------
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070524/BLOG25/70524013&start=1 May 24. 2007 11:15AM An up-and-coming writer BY SUSAN RIFE Tuesday night, the Herald-Tribune Book Club hosted Tony D'Souza, author of "Whiteman," for a reading and discussion of his book, which is a novel about a young man's experiences as a Peace Corps-like volunteer in West Africa. While "Whiteman" is a novel, it draws its inspiration from D'Souza's three years in a village in Ivory Coast, where he worked as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching villagers how to prevent HIV/AIDS. It was a large effort in futility, he said, given that the villagers have a minuscule income of maybe a dollar a day, and condoms cost 30 cents each. D'Souza spoke freely of the cultural differences between American life and the life of the village, where he planted and harvested crops and learned to speak the native language. Asked about the practice of female circumcision, held in revulsion by Western women, he said the young women in the village viewed the procedure with apprehension but also with pride; it's a rite of passage into adulthood. Living in Africa also gave him a new view of poverty. Were the villagers poor? By any Western standard, yes. But they fed themselves with the food they grew and had homes to shelter them from the weather. Electricity, phones and running water were nonexistent; women carried water on their heads from quite a distance every day. D'Souza leaves Sarasota this weekend for six months in Japan, where he will study oral storytelling traditions. After winning multiple awards for "Whiteman," his next novel, "The Konkans," is due out in February. It also will be based in fact; it explores the Portuguese-Catholic population of Goa, India, where D'Souza's father is from. [Thanks to http://www.goanvoice.org.uk for the link! --FN] -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST) Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India ------------------------------------------------------- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------
