The presence of migrants and the subsequent effects on Goa's physical landscape
and socio-economic environment is a subject that has raised more questions than
answers.
I have provided my viewpoint in the article, Locating Home Between Home and the
Diaspora, in the souvenir released on the occasion of the International Goan
Convention held in Toronto last year. The article was lost on this forum and is
available for reading on www.goamag.net.
There are no ready answers to this vexing problem. Calm minds and unemotional
hearts are needed to solve the crisis in the best possible way. Those who see
the migrants from a humane point of view as well as being fellow-Indians who
have come to Goa in search of jobs and a better place to live and those who see
them as "pests", "encroachers" and "outsiders" have to concede some points from
their respective sides.
For some Goans, migrants are "necessary evil", and their presence helps in
filling up the vacuum created by the dwindling number of Goan housemaids,
garden helpers, construction workers, etc.
In the absence of any statistical data, it is hard to know if these migrants
have taken jobs away from local Goans. Maybe there are few cases, but not
enough to raise alarms.
Freddy is aware of what is happening in Dubai. The other day I met a Goan
accountant who works for a construction company and he told me that many
Filipinas are hired in his company for less salaries. He told me that one
Filipina does only Etislat (the UAE telecommunications company) bills.
He said that Filipinos have now quietly and smartly mastered the art of
pleasing their bosses. They have gone a step further -- and better -- than the
Keralities.
Long-time resident Goans in the UAE tell stories how the Keralities worked for
low-pay and how one Keralities brought in more of his kind into the company.
Same is the situation with Filipinos. I know how in a publishing company a
newly-appointed Filipino agreed to do the work of three editors for less
salary. The result was that two senior editors were laid off. This editor is no
good writer not knows the job better. He is said to be complaining to fellow
workers that he has to work for more than 12 hours, taking his work home -- a
home where he shares a flat with 12 other Filipinos. This is the new reality of
UAE, at least in Dubai, the commercial heart of the UAE. Is there anything
members of the non-Filipino communities can do? I don't think so.
I know that "special status" gets more financial assistance or aid from the
central government. There are 11 special states -- seven north-eastern states,
Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
J&K comes under Article 370 of the Constitution. Though the amendment to the
Consitution to allow special status to the state was to be temporary, it is
continued till today.
If Goa gets "special status", it would be a blessing. It would remain to be
seen if it can put its own conditions, then perhaps the proposals outlined by
Freddy can be put into place.
One thing I know its special status is granted under the Constitution, under
Article 370. Besides Goa, there is a demand for special status for Bihar. The
AIADMK wants Special Category Status for the Union Territory of Puducherry
(former Pondicherry). Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Rajasthan are also
clamouring for Special Category Status. Now, I am not sure if "special status"
and "special category status" are one and the same thing.
So, Goa's case is in the basket along with others. No wonder the central
government is bidding its time. Given one or few states and not other would
create a national political firestorm.
In the cauldron that is Indian politics, it is not easy to know which state or
states will get the nod. In the meantime, Goa and Goans will have to endure the
migrant problem. Goans will continue having headaches and heartaches.
Sadly, there seems no cure for it now.
Eugene
