Indians 'welcome' in Goa now Andrew Pereira, TNN 13 September 2009, 03:11am IST
PANAJI: It's an open secret that nobody really wanted to acknowledge, until now. Racial discrimination against Goans and Indian tourists by beach shacks has happened for years, but now the government wants to introduce a rule to prevent it. Goa's tourism department will add a clause to its shacks' policy for the coming season saying their licences could be cancelled if they profile customers on the basis of race. ''Such cases have now started to come out into the open,'' tourism director Swapnil Naik told TOI. ''We will add a clause in the shacks' policy that discrimination against nationality and race will be treated as condition enough for cancellation of licence,'' he said. Nearly 90% of the people employed by beach shacks and coastal restaurants are non-Goan, belonging to Maharashtra and as far afield as West Bengal, Bihar and Nepal. On many beaches shack owners brazenly favour dollar-powered tourists. The simmering resentment erupted last week after a Goa University professor claimed discrimination by a well-known restaurant at Calangute beach. On Morjim, Ashwem and Mandrem beaches, Russians often outnumber locals and Indian tourists. ''Shacks are being subletted by Goans to Russians, who have turned the area into their country," says Fritzie Moraes Lobo, a resident of Mapusa and president of Citizens Rapid Action Committee. ''We were physically stopped by two persons at the entrance of the restaurant. We wanted to sit inside the restaurant, but were told to sit somewhere else out on the porch. This, despite there being empty tables in the restaurant. Foreigners, who arrived after us, were welcomed with open arms,'' the professor said, not wishing to be named for several reasons. Naik said the government could intervene only in places where government land on beaches were concerned. ''The clause will apply to beach shacks on land owned by the tourism department. With regard to shacks on private property and restaurants, I will have to consult legal advice,'' he said. Shack and restaurant owners, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they have reasons for racial profiling. ''Indian tourists do not know how to handle themselves when they see white people. Drunk Indian tourists do not know how to behave when they see white women. They ogle, make passes and even attempt to molest and proposition them. It is a disgrace and embarrassment for all of us,'' a shack owner said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/goa/Indians-welcome-in-Goa-now/articleshow/5004676.cms
