StyleSpeak – For GOA TODAY By Wendell Rodricks WAITING TO EXPLODE!
These bombs in Delhi. Again! This time though the Indian public is not brushing it away like in the past. In Bombay, twenty minutes after the train blasts, commuters were back on the trains. Jaipur went about business the next day. Ahmedabadis raged and ranted but went to work nonetheless. This time, it is different. One can feel a palpable anger which is multi-directed. The obvious is aimed at the Islamic fundamentalists who are increasing world hatred towards themselves. Beyond the obvious I am angered at our police and security. Rewind. Two years ago, one of my friends, now a part-time Arpora resident, purchased a cockpit. Yes. The real thing. Aeroplane crazy, he got it at auction from a dismantled airline. Then set about creating a flight simulator in a large home in Mumbai. With wrap around screens, complete sound effects and engine roaring, it feels totally real. One afternoon my friend received a call. It was American intelligence inquiring about the cockpit. Can you imagine, the US intelligence is doing such a great job of intelligence gathering not only in the US but all over the world. They are tracking every dismantled and discarded cockpit the world over so that 9/11 never happens again on US soil. To America's credit, post 9/11, there has since not been a single blast on US soil. Why? Because their intelligence gathering is awesome. Here in India, our police can do the same. But they do not. We may call them fat and lazy. And bribe afflicted. In their defence, this is not true. There are many police officers and policemen who are doing us great service. The Government of India must enhance their dignity with handsome salaries, new technology and worldclass facilities. And they should not be at the mercy of politicians who regally direct "transfers". On the flip side of good cops are corrupt ones. Top cop Julio Ribeiro told me over breakfast two weeks ago that an MBA topper applied and got into the IAS. Then got into the IPS to everyone's amazement. His ambition: Make Money! So greedy was he that it got the better of him. He is now behind bars. If police intelligence gathering is a gaffe, what about we, the people? Colvale village went from 1800 residents in 1993 to an alarming 6000 today. Who are these extra 4200 people? How come one of my Karnataka staff who has no Goa ration card is on the poll list? That migrants who do not have a legal ration card can get on a Goan poll is a serious matter. When people like Mathany Saldanha and I talk about an ethnocide in Goa, some journos debate it. So please tell us who are these 4200 new Colvalkars? And since they have the majority vote, do we allow our Goan identity to be guillotined? Some armchair journalists and editors who live in cities have their facts up a tunnel of crap. The alarming truth is that we do not know our neighbours. Worse we do not care to know more. Which is why forty persons illegally occupy the Figuereido house in Campal with no sewage connection. The group was busted not because they crap in the Campal rivulet, pay no taxes and indulge in nocturnal activities (which result in condoms disgustingly floating by my shop). Since they break the light bulbs around Fracisco Luis Gomes Garden, this is fair criminal ground. This group of forty ruffians were part of a bike stealing gang. So much for unknown neighbours. My dear Goans, please do not sit like nuns in a cloister. Find out who your new neighbours are. If suspicious, report them. Goa's name constantly crops up on the "next bomb" list. If we are not vigilant, the threats may become reality. One of the follies of our present society is to be entertained. In the name of voyeurism, thirsty on cash, fame, sex and blood, our interest gets piqued at all of the above. Get your applause meter out for the following : Timblo's new yacht costs 2 million (Wow. Really?). Shilpa Shetty was in a sexy mini at Butter (Wow. Where's this place, man?). Sixty people got killed on the Pernem highway (what happened? They got burnt? Give me details to the last bloody drop). Twenty Customs officers were caught in Khandala in a house with dancing girls, booze and porn films (Jackpot!!!). Seriously, why should we care if consenting adults are getting if off in private. And booze? So what? And porn films? Who are we kidding? Everyone has seen porn. So what's the deal? Why were these cops going after a private party and not terrorists instead, to keep us safe? That sadly is the state of affairs. People at Mumbai airport skirted around a bag that was abandoned on the way to security. When I told a Jetair baggage attendant, he ran away. When I told the counter girl, she went to find her boss. Twenty metres away a security guard was coolly surveying the scene. Only when I began to shout at no-one in particular did help arrive and the bag whisked away. I wonder about security and if our staff at airports, buses, trains, etc are trained to spot suspicious behaviour. As we have learnt, these terrorists do not look like terrorists. They are smart, savvy and intelligent. They cannot be spotted easily. And they can lie straightfaced. Actually, I have been forced to lie straightfaced. "Did you pack your bags sir?" I should say "No. I packed my clothes but the balance 3 bags were packed by my staff of ten (of various religions and unknown intentions)". But I say "Ofcourse yes!". Do you have any sharp instruments or guns in your baggage? Eh? You expect a terrorist to reply in the affirmative? I have 2 large scissors, 3 small scissors, seam rippers. All sharp! Tools of my trade. But I reply "No!" The idea of this questioning is to catch people telling a lie, right? But if your staff have not been "trained" to do so, how can they? Ideally all personnel who deal with the public need a workshop or short training in this field. From restaurants, hotels and airlines to malls, cinema halls and street shops. The last on the 'terrorist' anger list are our administrators and politicians. RDX is difficult to source. Yet in India it seems to be freely floating around and passing borders, entering seashores. All trafficking made easy by a well oiled bribe machine that goes from Minister to humble clerk. How can our politicians and government officials be bought over by these people who pay/bribe them to look away when RDX is brought in? For cash, people in power will restrain even the police from doing their job. Have they no conscience that our land is at risk and innocent Indians are being killed? While they make all the right noises about minorities, terrorists, blah, blah, blah, they sleep with the enemy and get paid for it. There is a word for the oldest profession in the world but frankly that is an insult to women and men who ply that trade. They are better than our politicians and officials who knowingly put the country at risk. The backlash of all this is sadly Goa's numero uno earner : Tourism. With flights canceling and rumour mongering that Goa will be terror hit over New Year, it is time for us all to take stock, make a plan and secure safety for our state. In the process there is a lot of cleaning up to do. And we are not talking about the literal garbage, which is fast becoming Goa's own terror bomb waiting to explode. ------- The column above appeared in the October 2008 issue of Goa Today magazine ====