dear frederick - i wrote the following article in response to yours about drug deaths. i hope you find it a relevant contribution. if so, it would be an honor to see it published at goanet. i am open to your suggestions. please, let me know. VBR, anthony
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = DRUGS AND DEATH IN NORTHERN GOA TOURISM By Anthony D'Andrea* I congratulate Mr. Noronha and Ms. Rosario for the excellent article "Killer Cocktail" in northern Goa. It contains relevant data and discussion about the pervasiveness of drugs in the party scene through the perspectives of police and medical authorities. Nonetheless, the voices of ravers and of local villagers were largely absent in this, as in most articles about the matter. These peoples would have explained relevant aspects regarding drug ab/use, death, and how the rave scene impacts local life. As an anthropologist who conducted intensive field research in the area, I wish to contribute with objective information and an assessment of relevant issues. It is important to consider the exact role of drugs in tourist deaths. The number of deaths of foreigners per season is extremely high. Yet, based on my field observations in 2001 and 2002, I suspect that only a minority is directly caused by drug overdose. More often, deaths occur during robberies and transit accidents, when super-bike drivers, pedestrians, or mug victims are killed under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. This is also an issue of safety and public security. Other many deaths are drug-related but not drug-induced: long-term addiction and a poor diet weaken the body, leading to such "mysterious" deaths. For reasons of privacy, I am not authorized to disclose how author Cleo Odzer died. But it was neither drug overdose nor drug induced - Odzer died of different causes. The issue of Goan kids abandoning school requires further studies. My research suggests that the rave scene does not contribute to school absenteeism in Goa. I did not detect Goan kids cajoling school to rave. In addition, a tacit agreement suspends the rave scene during final weeks of school in December. If there are dropouts, that is residual, and is bound to occur in any modernizing and pluralistic society. Quite the contrary, the party scene has brought prosperity to most families of the area. Without tourism, these Goan children would have to go, not to school, but to work in the fields to help their families, as in the rest of India. Although drugs and noise characterize party tourism, local Goans seem largely undisturbed, if not welcoming these funny and wealthy foreigners. Hippies are quite respectful to local villagers, and usually very discreet in their drug-party practices (- government agents have to travel afar with hidden cameras in order to detect something!). Northern Goans live prosperously and happily, with other mundane concerns. They are the ones to have a democratic say on how the rave scene affects Goa. - x - * Anthony D'Andrea is a cultural anthropologist at the University of Chicago, conducting research on alternative lifestyles, transnational countercultures, and globalization. He has done fieldwork in Goa and Ibiza, among other sites globally. He spent two summer seasons (200-1 and 2001-2) based in Anjuna. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################