How right you are to say that the Portuguese did very little in the way of improving lives in Goa, they were a dominant force some 600 years ago, then after many generations of building for themselves & their Goan collaborators, they were removed. Of course other things happened but we should not think about that for now. A new enlightened Goa emerged, it had the whole world they could trade with, and keep the profits for themselves, to use as they wished. They could make life wonderful for every Goan, after all they were not yet part of the general Indian population, not yet a State. Businesses flourised, new & important places built, commerce & industry rife, everyone was making money, everyone that is except the those with nothing, they had no job, no chance of finding one either, the very poor remained poor. They exist today, there are some very desperately poor in Goa, and now joined by a huge migration of people from other Indian States, because for the past 30 plus years Goa has been a part of India, only their population has expanded, but land has not, the work gone to China or another State, and as far away from the north, to the southern end, all wanting to come to Goa, for promises of sunshine, good food & plenty of land spare for them to take. That's ok, then Goa has so much prosperity & love to give to all and sundry that come, but in reality this is not the case. There is much wrong, something afoot, it's called corruption. There is too much of it, so much of it that its taken as part of life. Everyone accepts it, except the few that stand up to it and beaten down again. You cant get clean drinking water yet the neighbour's European swimming pool has plenty of it. My daughter, currently living & studing in Mauritius (since 2006) moved from her previous residence (she was living with extended family), to a new residence near the seaside (in comparison say from old Santa Cruz village to moving to a large family home near Baga beach), but can she get internet there? Sure no problem, it was ordered & paid for, but like Goa, nothing moves fast without someone greasing someone's palms with silver! YES that ugly word bribery comes to mind again and again. It can take 2 days to get internet connection, no problem. Or it can take several weeks if you dont offer something under the table. Of course it is tempting to get my daughter connected to us, but she has a mobile, an internet cafe locally, but in reality how much would YOU pay to ensure the physical safety of your family, if you are 10,000 km away? Bribery corrupts, no doubt about it, But my daugher understands she will have to wait a few more weeks before she can be online again. That's a sad fact of life, pay over the odds or go without. Wait, until it's unbearable, then give up, pay up & to hell with it, that will be last time I do that. Huh, I dont think so! I simply will not pay extra bribery money for what is supposed to be a normal service. Why should Goans have to pay extra for clean drinking water that outsiders have peed & shat in? Just stop the peeing & shatting please! The corrupt local goverment & MLA's must do their bit, or be named & shamed. As for using the word Ghanti, this is just no longer viable, they are here to stay, they will not move, nobody will move them, so Goans must get used to it, or object to them being in areas that are not legally habitable. The outside or inward migration of people from all over MUST have an address or must vacate, they must not be allowed to settle unless it is legally done. But who will start the job of ensuring no more illegal migrants come into Goa, before its really all too late, the Goan state will not exist as it was before, its almost invisible in larger towns & near villages. Some say that is a good thing, others that this is not the way, Goa for Goans. But Goans are in Delhi, Kolkotta, Chennai, Mumbai etc as well as Canada, Dubai, USA & other countries, also from Salcette to Swindon amongst other places on this planet. So this is what migration is all about. WE migrated, WE didnt want to leave Goa but........ that's another story. I dont think that posters who criticize Goa are necessarily attacking Goa or Goans, just that our hands are tied here (UK) because we cannot do anything so wonder why so much of the corruption & the lates antics of the MLA's & developers is ok. This idea that people miles away will not do anything is not correct, its that we CANNOT do anything, not even come back to Goa, the majority will have nowhere to go, to live or work, so remotely feeling distressed, and its been said that you always hurt the one you love, but in this instance its not meant to hurt, its just to irritate into action, for some things CAN be forestalled, its just not being done. So much information comes over via the internet, and Goanet in particular, as well as the Goan Voice which carries news too, but as a forum for discussion Goanet in its 14th year is the best source of info if you want to know what is happening on the ground, that sometimes its just so frustrating to get anything positive done. I am truly sorry for not being in Goa, and being able to do something constructive, remote as we are not we are not controlling anything, in reality we are just here to bite at those who CAN but DONT do anything, or we will have it on our conscience, always. John Monteiro ----------------------------------------------------------. Ana Maria de souza-Goswami <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi Dominic, Thanks for writing so truthfully about Goans who live outside goa with different nationalities and criticize Goa. -----------------------------------------------------------
Regards John Monteiro
