Heart to Heart
By Ethel Da Costa
Goan children deserve a better future
No matter how unique each person's search for peace may appear, a common
thread ties them together. To a greater or lesser extent, everyone is on a
journey towards wholeness. Some people say they are seeking peace of mind;
others, peace of heart. Some are searching for fellowship and others for
community. Some are looking for inner serenity; others, global harmony.
Underneath, all of these quests are motivated by a sense of the
fragmentation of life, and by the desire for it to be overcome.
Life is full of divisions: between the home and the workplace; the private
and the public; the job and the leisure-time activity; the political,
professional and the personal. In itself, there is nothing wrong with this.
Problems begin when these separate realms create contradictions and
conflicts. Before long, inconsistency can become compromise, and after that,
even hypocrisy.
A spiritual leader I met at Siolim told me it was the compartmentalization
of his life that set him searching for peace. He sensed a similar quest in
my query. `Playing several roles were taking its toll, because nothing
connected the `role-playing' to a common goal,' he explained. I understood
what he meant fully when I was recently invited as a chief guest to a
fabulous get-together called `Happy Day' organized by G4S Security Services
at Silver Bells, Sangolda. A global forerunner in security solutions, Happy
Day was their attempt to make a difference to the society they operated
within, by celebrating the growth of the region with its richness of diverse
cultures, people and share it with the happiness of its children. Here,
underprivileged children who suffer exploitation and bear the brunt of
social changes and atrocities the most. This is where I met the bright,
innocent, happy children of Seva Trust, Chimbel, an indigenous trust working
for the underprivileged, orphans and specially disabled children from age
five to fourteen. Our bonding was instant, as the children joined in with me
playing games, singing, asking so many questions about my life, extending a
heartfelt welcome into their circle as if a long returned elder sister.
Before long, they were fighting for my attention, were all over me, charming
me with their heart-tugging innocence and warm embraces connecting
spontaneously to the children we all are inside. You realize you need not
struggle with goals as long as you know where you are going, where you come
from.
As the staff of Seva Trust and G4S introduced me to their core team over tea
and chatter, watching young children munching on biscuits and looking after
other little ones, an overwhelming emotion consumed me. Were we doing enough
for the children of Goa? Were the powers that be committed in strengthening
the state machinery for these citizens of tomorrow? Were our communities
children-centric? Were our laws children friendly? Were our alleys,
classrooms, society, teachers sensitive to child safety?
As each child responded to me with a smile, the child in me marveled at
their ability to understand and accept what had taken me a lifetime to
comprehend as an adult. They knew violence, they understood their
circumstance, they knew children were the future of the world and yet, we,
adults, were doing precious little to safeguard the truth of their wisdom.
It was a restless sleep that night. I had to see them again, so I landed
back at Chimbel, this time with the production crew of HCN and ChapterOne
Films shooting our music video `End of Innocence.' They surprised me again,
as I discovered talent as each child effortlessly befriended the camera with
professional élan much to the delight of our team. An aura of positive
energy enveloped us as we lingered on post- production, caught up in their
laughter and stories, feet hesitating return to our chaotic lives.
I interact several times with Goa's polity on various issues. We agree to
disagree. But, at no point should we forget our social responsibility
towards those unable to voice the consequences of our decisions upon their
future. Empowering the weak with the ability of a proper education, health
care, opportunities to earn a living marks the quality of any society and
its State sponsored systems. Shouldn't we then ensure that our State is
responsible in working towards the upliftment of its little citizens and
provide them with platforms to realize their full potential?
As for the rest of Goa, we better be waking up soon to this reality check.
(ENDS)
The Ethel Da Costa weekly column at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=492
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The above article appeared in the April 6, 2008 edition of the Herald, Goa
