SOCCER DISUNITED GOANS IN KUWAIT.

When UG first time decided to initiate our competitive soccer in Kuwait at Sour Ground, it was to be for Goans only but immediately it dawned on their minds that in this way it will not work well and hence it was decided to do it for all Indians though Goans involved in these soccer activities in greater number. When final of the first edition of UG organized soccer League 1979 was shifted to Ahmadi ground, the ground was flooded with huge number of Goan spectators mostly the youth. Seeing this, one long timer spectator on that day Mr. Pascoal Pereira from Majorda, Goa, exclaimed to me thus “What a massive turnout!! It looks Goa is emptied into Kuwait. From where and when this huge number of Goans came to Kuwait?” This is to specify that in our soccer in Kuwait, Goans are taking part in greater number while some cunning Non-Goans are playing the dirty role of splitting Goan unity for their own benefits and for their own ulterior motive. The non Goans who are playing the dirty role are impotent to organize things in massive scale as we Goans did and doing and because they are impotent they are associating with us. If they had massive support in their respective communities, they will kick Goans out of their circle, their outlook is tribal while we Goans are more metropolitan and accommodating. Since non-Goans have no choice, they are taking shelter under Goan umbrella but thru remote control holding the Handle of the Umbrella in their hands because our Goans are “F-A-L = NAL”.

Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) was in existence since a long time now. Last year due to some reason, rightly or wrongly, without breaching the Constitution of KIFF as given to understand, few KIFF members dissociated from the parent body and established separate soccer activities under Indian Football Federation (IFF), a newly established body. Some useless elements in the KIFF who are fit for nothing for the cause of community tried to castigate the IFF members but they failed because KIFF is an impotent body to do this as it was not recognized body in Kuwait. Nobody recognizes KIFF in the Kuwaiti Official circle. KIFF is the Monarch of what it surveys within the four walls of its functioning. I always remained dissociated from it because overwhelming majority of its Goan members I found to be anti-Kuwait. I say this because during the invasion of Kuwait, we the supporters of Kuwait in Goa organized a great movement in support of Kuwait, in this movement most of the Goan KIFF members refused to participate as if Kuwait is their enemy and Saddam Hussein is their friend. For this reason also, as a mark of protest and as a supporter of Kuwait, I rejected their request of honouring me recently though I have done more for the establishment of KIFF and promotion of our soccer than any of the current KIFF members but I refrained from accepting Cheap honouring from Cheap people.

This year IFF members volunteered to rejoin KIFF by disbanding IFF for the sake of unity and UNITY of Goans by forgetting the past since overwhelming majority involved in our soccer activities are Goans. Overwhelming majority of Goan public and especially the Goans interested in well being of Goans and unity of Goans support the reunification of KIFF and IFF. In this reunification the winners are Goans only while the losers are Non-Goans. Unfortunately, the KIFF refused the reunification saying IFF must first accept the harsh punishment that KIFF inflicts on IFF. The matter then went to Indian Ambassador who according to my source advised KIFF to reaccept IFF members into KIFF fold unconditionally for the sake of unity not only amongst Goans but more importantly amongst Indians. Still as per the latest news, KIFF is adamant. KIFF members are acting like Supreme Court Justices. I pity their wisdom and abilities.

Overwhelming majority members of KIFF are Goans and for the sake of Goan unity they should have been unanimous in supporting Goan unity. If they were Malyalis I don’t think Malyalis would desert their Malyali brothers even they were wrong. There lies the greatness of Malyalis when they support their own Malyalis even blindly when need arises against their common enemy while we Goans are selling ourselves to non-Goans and we say we are “Honrad” Goykar. Good that many of us are working in Kuwait otherwise nobody would look at us back at home because of our ignorance, arrogance and revengeful attitude. And yet we call ourselves as practicing Christians. Our arrogance, revenge and unforgiveness attitude is an insult to our Christianity. If we are not forgiving then we have no right to claim ourselves as Christians.

Those Goans in KIFF who are opposing reunification of Goans by accepting IFF members either unconditionally or by imposing minor conditions are enemies of Goa and Goans. These Goans are enemies of unity of Goans. They don’t know the importance of GOAN UNITY because they don’t require Goan unity since they don’t want to initiate any movement for the cause of Goa and Goans. They don’t want to initiate any Goan movement because none of them is capable of doing so since none of them is heavyweight in our community. For such Goans to call themselves as Goans is a Shame.

None of the KIFF Goans inititated any of the Goan movements earlier, NOT EVEN KIFF. Now Goans in Kuwait and elsewhere should know who is the enemy of Goans. It is not Munglurkar, it is not Punjabkar, it is not Delhikar but it is GOYKARS only who got no “Balls” to stand up straight and tell “Yes, for the sake of Goans I want unity by forgetting the past”. Such Goykars are not existing in KIFF. Where are the Nagoa Bardezkar gone? Where is the Cankonkar gone? Where are the Navelkars gone? Where are the Curtorkars gone? I was expecting some sense at least from the Goykars holding good positions on their jobs but my expectations gone wrong. If any castigation is needed it could have been imposed lightly on IFF members but surely not the too harsh way as they are. I don’t understand what some Goans think of themselves when they are running some unrecognised impotent organizations. These Goans are “Kochro” in Goa, they were Kochro before coming to Kuwait and finally when they return for good they will remain as Kochro only. They got girls to marry only because they are in Kuwait. This is their status in Goa but now in Kuwait they are “VOLLENUI DHORONA ANI SUPANUI DHORONA”.

I have seen the earlier gigantic Goan figures in Kuwait who were shaking Goan community in Kuwait but once they retired from Kuwait they turned out to be big ZEROES, Not even a “KUDDO MUS” looks at them in Goa. Where are the then mighty figures from Kuwait gone, namely Avertano Furtado, A.B. Fernades, Vincente D’Souza and others? Some of them are now moving like non entities in Goa because they are afraid of their lives for hurting the interest of Goan community during their heydays in Kuwait. They failed to do good when they could. Compared to these ex mighty Goan figures, the current artificial Goan Kings in KIFF are peanuts and what they will do once they go back to Goa for good? I am sure they will have to wear masks and roam about because of their sins against Goan unity in Kuwait. How they will tell then they have worked for the unity of Goans in Kuwait when they worked for the destruction of Goan unity to satisfy their personal egos? Thank God that they are still having jobs and residence permits. If for their pride they lose their jobs then where will their "Dadagiri" from KIFF go? Their pride invites God's punishment which may be very imminent.

The imperative need at the moment is the need of our Unity to save Goa from totally getting deGoanised. Our enemies Non-Goans are not interested in Goa, they have no proper base, like Jews they are settled away from their ancestral land. We are not like them. We in Kuwait are on record for saving Goa from many mishaps because of our Unity which should be maintained by all means. The KIFF politics against Goan Unity will not help us. The entire Goan community interested in Goan Unity must raise its voice against Goans in KIFF working against the Unity of Goans in Kuwait.

Meantime, I have received communications from social activists in Goa who are interested in Goan unity worldwide. They want to know the names and addresses of all the Goykars in KIFF who are working against the interest of Goans. CAN ANY OF THE IFF MEMBERS SEND ME these details so that I openly publish the same in this forum describing them as ENEMIES OF GOAN UNITY? Let first everyone know who is the enemy of Goans in Kuwait and then let everyone knows the caliber of these destructive Goans.

Meantime, I suggest the IFF members to remain united and don’t succumb to the dadagiri of KIFF and if nothing comes out positively, then carry on with your own tournaments as done last year. There are number of players on your register getting job and financial benefits because of soccer, these facilities should not be denied to them. But before that call a public meeting in Kuwait at any of the City Hotels and explain your views to the Goan public who may be still thinking you are wrong and KIFF is right. Let people know how much you tried for unity and it is KIFF and mainly the Goan members of KIFF who are responsible for disunity of Goans in Kuwait.

A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.

ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS. Part: 3.

In my first part 1 I tried to give some light on the office of priests and were did the priesthood came from and in my second part I emphasised on giving the idea on trust towards todays priest which has been damaged and to put total trust in man which is also against the word of God, please remember I quoted one scripture in the end of my second part from Jeremiah 17: 5 . in my last part which I am sure you all will allow me to be very honest and practical to put forward before you all the truth which is only and only is through the word of God.

The problem was, like all human mediators, the priests were sinful themselves and which is also today. They began to neglect their job and Lord their authority over the people. Isaiah 28:7-10 gives us a picture of how far the priests degenerated. “And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. “Who is it He is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there.” The priests, or some of them at least, began to concentrate on piling up power for themselves, indulging themselves, while tying burdens on the backs of the people. This is the kind of abuse that sparked the protestant reformation. When Martin Luther traveled to Rome, he saw the opulence of city and staggering wealth that the Renaissance Popes had amassed — and he knew that much of it had been done on the backs of the German peasantry.

That is why there was and is a need for a perfect priest. All the blood shed in the Old Testament looked forward to the perfect priest who would make sacrifice once and for all. That is precisely what Christ did. The whole book of Hebrews spells out how Christ functions as our high priest, and we don’t have anywhere near enough time to mine the riches of that imagery, consider that Hebrews 9:26-28 teaches that Christ, who is fully man, and is thus able to be our priest, is also fully God and his self sacrifice is sufficient to cover the sins of the whole world, past, present and future. So, it was a one-time offering that covered all the sins of the faithful. Christ is High Priest and the sacrifice all rolled up into one.

Additionally, Christ, our high priest, sits in God’s throne room and makes intercession for us. Hebrews 9:12, 24 shows that Christ has gone into the real throne room and there he makes intercession for us. He prays for us. I want you to think about that. Because of your faith and trust in Christ, your sins past present and future have been paid for. And because of your faith and trust in Christ, you have a representative before God’s throne who pleads your case.

We don’t need any one to approach or to stand in front of His Holy throne, cause what Jesus our high priest has done once and for all is enough for Catholic (universal) people. Remember I wrote in my second part that It is a humbling reminder that we live in a fallen world, a world prone to sin and deceit - a world not in need of organized religion, but a world in need of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ Himself.

We have an unchangeable priest which we can understand in Hebrews 7: 24-27. it is better we put our whole trust in perfect High priest then rather to put our trust in man and bring cruse upon ourselves and also then we have no fear that our trust will ever be damaged.
Allow me to give you a bitter truth and we all have a right to get and to say the truth and the truth is in 1 peter 2: 9 it says ‘ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.’

Take your guilt. Take the burdens that you bear. Take the things that keep you up at night. Take the images that haunt you from your past and the things you done this week. Hesitate not one moment and take them to the High Priest. I promise you, he’ll take away the guilt. He won’t erase the past, but he’ll take away the guilt. And if you go to him, the surprise is that he won’t be angry.

There is much to write and much you to read about our perfect priest and time and space doesn’t allow us to do so.Finally I would like to ask Are you glad that Jesus is your High Priest? Why? (We have already discussed several ways in which Jesus is superior to the high priests of the line of Aaron. Jesus is always on the job. Added to all the other great things about Jesus being our High Priest, is that He is working as our High Priest right now. He never takes a break, never takes vacation and never will die. Friend, would you like Jesus to be your High Priest? If so, the time to ask Him to intercede on your behalf is right now!

Concluded.

Arn D'Souza.