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The Rape of Goa - A photo documentary by Rajan P. Parrikar Venue: Menezes Braganza Art Gallery, Panjim, May 21-24, 2008 http://www.parrikar.org/misc/doc-notice.pdf --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Goankars, OK, I do feel very sad for the lovely, lonely Sarah. I also know why she fell for Farouk, because he gave her something that the UK men could not give her, namely, "passionate sex and attention, but also the chance of a new life." Sarah, a highly educated, IT professional befriends an unknown man while on holiday in a foreign country, who was "very friendly, nice guy, who spoke good English", especially after she has already read about the rape and murder of a fellow citizen of UK, Miss Scarlet in Goa via the media.(1st meeting) WOW!!!! She actually believes that her "leaflets on the planes flying to holiday destinations like Goa, warning women to beware", will actually stop foreign women from being conned, when she, herself, did not stop to think about Scarlet. (2nd meeting) again with the same unknown man for drinks. Sarah has one smart friend who says "NO" to kissing an unknown man. 'His friend was trying to kiss my friend too, but she would have none of it - she was married, and told him so.' Please note - Her friend warns Sarah, but she does not listen.She is a love-struck teenager - 'My friend told me I was being silly, but I was caught up in the romance of it all. Not once does she visit his place of work, but instead - 'I cooked and cleaned, waiting for him to come home from work, and sat on the beach or in the garden reading. During the days, I'd wander through the markets, chatting to local people. It was wonderful - like a permanent holiday.' I want the UK government to admit that UK women can be conned and to please insist that British soldiers, accompany, protect and advise UK women, when they befriend strange, unknown men as well as gift money to them, when they holiday in foreign countries. "Sarah would like the Indian government to admit this is a major problem for tourists and take some action against men like Farouk." Will Sarah's children take legal action against her for - "I have put my own safety and my children's inheritance in jeopardy for a senseless fling in a hot climate." Reagards ========================================= Predators in paradise: How this divorcee's holiday toyboy wanted much MORE than a meal-ticket (Daily Mail, UK) To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <goanet@lists.goanet.org>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1021026/Predators-paradise-How-divorcees-holiday-toyboy-wanted-MORE-meal-ticket.html Predators in paradise: How this divorcee's holiday toyboy wanted much MORE than a meal-ticket By Diana Appleyard Last updated at 11:49 PM on 21st May 2008 A British divorcee falls in love with a holiday toyboy - then realises he just sees her as a meal-ticket. So far, so depressingly familiar. But Sarah's story has a sinister and utterly unexpected twist. Sarah Matheson and Farouk Duped: Sarah Matheson with her Indian lover Farouk, who conned her out of ?80,000 Farouk's soulful brown eyes looked deeply into those of his girlfriend's as they sat at a beach bar, the waves of the Indian Ocean lapping feet away. 'I cannot get a loan here, and the money will safeguard our future,' he said to her. 'I will be able to build up my business and then I can take care of you for ever.' Without hesitating, Sarah Matheson handed over a cheque for ?60,000. This was money from a loan secured against her detached four-bedroom house in Surrey. But home, for the divorced 54-year-old IT systems analyst, seemed a very long way away at that moment. At the time, Sarah, who has three grown-up children, was renting out her house and had taken a sabbatical from her high-powered career. Against the advice of her children, she had flown to Calangute, in the northern part of Goa, India, to spend time and plan her future with her Kashmiri boyfriend, Farouk. He had told her he was in his mid-30s. In fact, she found out later when she looked at his passport that he was 29. 'I know everyone reading this will be shaking their heads and thinking: "How could you be so gullible?"' she says. 'But imagine my position. I was a divorcee who had been on my own for ten years. I had a reasonable amount of money, my own stylish home and a great career. 'But I was bored stiff. My children had left home, and I was looking into a bleak and lonely future. This beautiful young man offered an escape. . . Not just to passionate sex and attention, but also the chance of a new life. 'I could live here in this stunning place, with the sea and the sun, for the rest of my days. He painted such a vivid picture of our future together that the fact he needed money seemed so unimportant, so trifling. 'He was so very persuasive and plausible, saying that it was almost impossible to borrow money in India and that this money would not only secure our futures but that he would pay me back in full. I was in love, and looking through rose-tinted glasses.' A harsh home-coming But Sarah was about to become one of the thousands of mature British women falling victim to young foreign men who prey on them in holiday destinations around the world. Today, she is back home, alone, in Surrey. There is no lover with the soulful eyes and promise of a sun-drenched romantic future. Instead, she has letters from her mortgage and loan company telling her that she must pay the arrears or she will be evicted from her home. In tears, she says: 'I cannot believe I fell for this. It is a scam, an absolute con. The reason I am speaking out about what is a deeply shameful episode in my life is that I desperately want to warn other women like me that you must not fall for this trick. 'It will ruin your life. If I could, I would put leaflets on the planes flying to holiday destinations like Goa, warning women to beware.' Since Sarah's world came crashing down in May of last year, she has been fighting with the Goan government and legal system to try to bring a case against Farouk. But her British solicitor has warned her it will be virtually impossible and potentially very costly. Not only that, but she has been in contact with five other British women who have been scammed the same way by Farouk's friends, and is keen to begin a campaign to stop this happening to anyone else. Sarah Matheson and Farouk Conned: Sarah gave her Kashmiri boyfriend, Farouk, a cheque for ?60,000 secured against her house to help him 'build up his business' 'I am an intelligent woman, and yet I fell for his lies, hook, line and sinker,' Sarah admits. 'Even the Goan tourism minister has admitted to me that this is a problem. Women holidaymakers are tremendously vulnerable. They are being targeted from the moment they step off the plane.' What happened to Sarah is a classic case. 'I went to Goa on holiday with a girlfriend, with no thoughts whatsoever of meeting a man. I simply wanted to chill out, get a tan and read a lot of good books. We spent the first day on the beach, and then went to an attractive thatched beach bar for lunch. 'During our meal, I became aware of a man staring at me. He was darkskinned with black hair, typically Indian-looking, and very attractive with big brown eyes. His approach was very casual. He wandered over and sat down next to us. 'He said: "Hi, how are you? How long are you staying in Goa? Where are you staying?"' Sarah says there was nothing about his approach that rang alarm bells. 'I just thought he was a very friendly, nice guy. He spoke good English, and he told us that his family was very poor and that he worked to send money back to them in Kashmir. 'I thought he was maybe late-30s, and he told us he ran a chain of jewellery and furniture shops. 'I did think it was a bit odd that this "businessman" would be hanging around a beach bar in a T-shirt and jeans, but it was a different culture.' He invited them both out for a drink that evening. He said he had a friend who would join them. 'We met up that night, and went to a cheap cafe and ate a prawn curry. It was a fun evening, relaxed, and there was no pressure. But he kept catching my eye, as if he was attracted to me. 'Despite my reservations, I found it exciting. He was so good looking. I know it sounds unlikely, but I really felt he liked me - even though I was a size 16 at the time.' Farouk told Sarah he had just come out of a long relationship, and that he was feeling vulnerable. On the second night, he tenderly kissed her, and Sarah says she felt so many old emotions flare into life. 'His friend was trying to kiss my friend too, but she would have none of it - she was married, and told him so.' Inseparable That week, Sarah and Farouk became inseparable. 'My friend told me I was being silly, but I was caught up in the romance of it all. We'd meet up every night after he had finished work, and twice we slept together. 'We used contraception, and I did not even think I was taking a risk. He was so tender and loving. When we said goodbye to each at the hotel before I flew home he was in tears. He said he loved me.' Sarah was on cloud nine as she flew home. 'My friend said I had to realise this was simply a fling, but I convinced myself this was a proper relationship. We rang and e-mailed constantly each other, and two months later I flew back on my own to Goa to see him.' Throwing herself into his arms at the airport, Sarah was overjoyed. 'We spent three weeks together, lying on the beach, eating in bars, sipping wine by the sea. It was idyllic. Yes, I usually paid for everything, but Farouk said his business was going through a bad patch.' Leaving him was so hard that, a few months later, she decided to take a year's sabbatical from her job and rent a house in Goa. 'My family thought I had gone insane,' she says. 'But I was totally in love with him by now. I rented out my house, put all my financial affairs in order and flew to Goa.' She rented a two-bedroom villa in a palm grove a mile from the coast in Calangute, and settled into a dream-like, surreal existence. 'My rent was only a ?100 a month, whereas I was getting £600 a month for my home in Surrey, and I felt I was flush with money. 'I cooked and cleaned, waiting for him to come home from work, and sat on the beach or in the garden reading. During the days, I'd wander through the markets, chatting to local people. It was wonderful - like a permanent holiday.' Several of her friends from the UK came to stay, and although they were suspicious of Farouk, remarked that Sarah had never looked better. 'The weight fell off me and I was so brown from lying in the sun. I felt ten years younger. Farouk was so attentive and loving, and we talked about us getting married, or him coming back to England with me.' Money, Farouk told her, was the problem - and Sarah happily handed it over. Farouk then announced he needed a visa to come and see her in England, but he couldn't get one. Sarah, who felt she needed to check on her home, flew back alone to the UK. 'At home, I sent a carefully-worded sponsorship letter via Farouk to the Goan authorities, asking them to grant Farouk a visa.' Then, bizarrely, she received a phone call at home in Surrey from an Englishwoman, of about her age. The first warning 'She asked me how to get a visa for her Indian boyfriend. Like me, she was a professional woman, and I asked her how on earth she had got my number and knew my situation.' The answer sent the first warning chill down Sarah's back. 'She told me her boyfriend was a friend of Farouk, and that he had shown his friend my sponsorship letter. This woman said her boyfriend was "desperate" to get to the UK.' The two women agreed to meet up. 'This was when my world fell apart,' she says. 'She showed me photos not only of herself with her Indian boyfriend, but also pictures of Farouk with his arm around one of her girlfriends.' Together, the two women began to put the pieces of the jigsaw together. Sarah decided to fly out and confront Farouk with the photographs. By now, she had given him an incredible ?80,000 - ?20,000 from her savings, and ?60,000 from a bank loan which was ostensibly to save his business. 'He denied everything, in floods of tears. He said he was not having a relationship with the woman in the photo, it was all lies.' By now, however, Sarah knew the trust had gone. 'I realised I had been such a fool, and had been duped out of this money. I told him he had to pay me back, and that our relationship was over.' Back at home, she waited for the money to arrive. Although she was now working again, her finances were suffering. 'He sent me a few hundred pounds, but then nothing. I called his bank - he'd shut the account the money was in. He refused to return my calls.' Even worse, it occurred to her that she might have put her health at risk, and had an HIV test. 'Waiting for the results was horrific, but thank goodness they came back negative.' With increasing panic, Sarah got in touch with a solicitor, who said it would be a very hard case to fight. She now knows Farouk spent the money on land, and is building himself a house. Insult to injury She has also discovered her sponsorship letter was distributed by Farouk to at least five of his friends having relationships with British women, all of whom have since contacted Sarah as she put her address and phone number on the letter. 'I told them all bluntly this was a scam, and that their "lovers" were simply out to fleece them. I was met with a range of reactions - blind disbelief, tears and anger.' She says many, many more British women have been conned by young men. 'I know they are buying them gifts, sending money, while they swear undying love. Wake up and smell the coffee. I know one woman who has already lost her home. 'They are so embarrassed to talk about it, but someone has to stand up and admit what is happening. So far I am one of the few, but I hope more will talk about it openly. Quite simply, it is ruining lives.' Sarah is now facing up to the fact that she may have to sell her home before it is repossessed. 'I can't afford to repay this loan and my mortgage. I am beside myself with anger and grief. I can't believe I threatened my own security by being so stupid.' Sarah would like the Indian government to admit this is a major problem for tourists and take some action against men like Farouk. It has all proved an expensive lesson for Sarah. She says: 'I love my home. It is my security, my safe place, and I have put my own safety and my children's inheritance in jeopardy for a senseless fling in a hot climate.' ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 17:21:55 +0400 From: edwardingoa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] William de Cutorim - Konkani Song To: "edward lopes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 William de Cutorim Song 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKs73xJu0g0 -- Best of the Web: Your Eye on the World [EMAIL PROTECTED] Join me on You Tube tolisten to my choice http://www.youtube.com/edwardlopes7