Goa be damned, it's all about freebies May 13-19, 2013 Lionel Messias Goa's Movement for Special Status (GMSS) at the Dando grounds, Benaulim where cheques of government freebies such as the Ladli Laxmi and senior citizens schemes were distributed, proved to be a disaster because as it happened the people came there only to collect their cheques. Having collected their freebies, they left.
This speaks volumes about Goans and issues being fought right now before your very eyes. It is also an indictment of environment minister Alina Saldhana who allegedly used the occasion to entice spectators to her faltering GMSS. Already there is criticism of her entering the anti-Mopa campaign too late, and we will never know if this is a rebound of that criticism. Goanspirit at least does not think so, because this is possibly the finest example of Goans being totally not with it. This is just one example. I, and admittedly rather foolishly, got dragged into an inane ball by ball debate on an equally idiotic post on Goa Speaks on Facebook. By the time you read this I shall have deleted myself as a participant of that forum. This particular post that triggered mostly angry replies (barring three respondents who were intelligent) was as a result of an earlier post by a maverick politician and dentist. What really happened was just one single person insidiously and not very ingeniously riled everyone else. This extremely clever person habitually signed off as Jai Ho. And what anger he created! My point: are Goans really interested in the issues activists are taking up? Or, are we just mere spectators? And there is a new breed of activists, believe me, who are spending their own money, time and energy, which they could have spent on their own families. I met some of them in Nuvem (read the next three cover stories beginning this week), and will meet one soon in Orlim. And would you believe it, many of them are women with school/college going kids and working husbands. And trust me they are not the kind that rush to the media (vice versa) like the older generation activists. And there are those warriors on FB whose only sacrifice is the possibility of getting carpel tunnel syndrome. It's possible many of them might already unknowingly be afflicted with it. Full story at: http://goanspirit.com/index.php/news-summary/278-goa-be-damned-it-s-all-about-freebies ~Avelino
