PORTUGUEZ RAJ WAS FAR BETTER

It was hurting and humiliating too to know that the Goans who performed their 3 days campaign in Delhi to draw the attention of the Indian leaders including the Premier of India Modi stationed in Delhi, of their plight due to the closure of mining in Goa, were ignored and thus humiliated by not even enquiring of their plight. I am sure the whole world came to know of this strike of Goans but not Modi who surprisingly and ironically is the Prime Minister of India a shameless man who does not take interest in what is happening in his own compound. How such a careless man take interest of the country India that is surrounded by the worst enemies, namely China and Pakistan?  No wonder, the infiltration of Pakistani marauders has been increased since Modi became Premier.  The Goans went to Delhi inspite of their poor financial status with the hope that Delhi leaders would take interest in their plight and find out some solution.  But the Delhi leaders of Indians and India acted like heartless Indians least bothered to know of what crisis have been happening to the great people of great land Goa which was robbed by India 57 years back on 19.12.1961. 

Before this, the land of Goa was in the hands of very disciplined nation headed by the disciplined leader who used to take up the issue even of smallest person from Goa if that issue was brought to his notice instead of putting that issue under his Pillow like a ‘BEBDO” and sleep over it for 20 years like Rip van winkle. They were conducting their strike just in Delhi and too in the backyard of Prime Minister Mr. Modi.  What a shame it is to ignore the plight of these poor Goans!!  I strongly feel that even the late Portuguese dictator Salazar would not act thus the way the leaders of India acted now.  And on top of it these Indian leaders are boasting of their leadership when they ignore the grievances of their own subjects.  Who else now will solve the problems of the maintenance of livelihood of all the Goans dependent on the mining?

Coming back to Salazar and his discipline as an administrator, it was somewhere in 1960 one Professor of mine at Escola Primaria - Abade Faria in Candolim when I  was studying Portuguese, was involved in one case of  forgery.  When he was caught by the authority and sentenced for imprisonment at Aguada, while in prison he sent a letter directly to the dictator of Portugal Dr. Antonio Oliveira Salazar pleading with Salazar to help him to get proper justice as he felt it has been denied to him and as such he was wrongly punished. Within a month the professor received a reply from Salazar acknowledging the plea of my Professor and assuring him of his attention to the plight of my professor with the comment  saying “I will revert back to you”. This type of great discipline one acquires when one posseses the great family background – great learning – great interacting with great colleagues and friends and  not in the Restaurant with Waiters.

By citing this incident of Salazar I am not glorifying the Portuguese rule in Goa and nor the dictatorship of Salazar though I still admit that Salazar was partly responsible for our state of affairs in Goa.  Inspite of having knowledge that Bharat is all set to invade Goa he took things easy. He should have during that period only handed over our Goa into our hands and made Goa truly a REAL LIBERATED GOA instead of facing the invasion from where there is no easy way out for us for this reason our invaders or conquerors are treating us like slaves.             

A.Veronica Fernandes.

ARE WE LIBERATED?

 

The people of amchem Goem are all set to celebrate the 57th year of liberation from colonial rule. A large number of freedom fighters fought the Portuguese and even sacrificed their lives to free us from slavery, to ensure that our generation and the generations to come would be freed from bondage of foreign rule. 

After 57 years of governance by our own rulers, are we free? Do we feel secure in our own land? Are we safe from the three main elements of life, viz. Air, Water and Food? The Air that we breathe is highly polluted, the water that we drink is contaminated, in some places we don’t even get drinking water for days, the food that we consume is laced with formalin, vegetables are coated with fertilizers, fruits are forced ripened with carcinogenic chemicals. Is this the freedom for which our forefathers shed their blood?

The Good Lord has abundantly blessed our mannkule and apurbaieche Goem, with lush green fields, lively mountains, orchards, rivers, etc. We have been self sufficient for centuries. Our ancestors have preserved and nurtured our beautiful land since time immemorial. 

The whole of Bardez taluka and parts of Bicholim taluka are dependent on the fresh water from the Assonora fresh water river. The government has now cleared a 200 room resort by M/s Mahindra & Mahindra company, just 77 metres upstream of the river. The company has declared that the resort will generate 225 MLD of sewage/waste water. That turns out to be 2 lakhs 25 thousand litres of sewage per day. Naturally this waste water will trickle down, rather, gush down into the Assonora Fresh water river and pollute it. Our fresh water source that our ancestors nurtured since centuries will be lost forever. I sthis development? Is this the fruit of liberation? 

Our Goa has been known for its natural beauty all across the world since decades and has been the most preferred tourist destination. But alas, it has come to light that a Draft Tourism Master Plan for ‘High Spending Tourist’ in its draft form has been conceived to change the face of our beautiful state, to give a new direction to tourism in our land of our ancestors. A Plan that is definitely going to turn our beautiful Goa into a SIN CITY.

As far as our youth are concerned, is there a well thought out labour policy that will ensure a bright and secure future for our children? A labour policy that will stop the migration of our youth and families, especially from the catholic faith, from leaving the land of their ancestors in  search of bread and butter? Will our youth get jobs and be able to stand on their own feet? Things have surely gone wrong. A very bleak future awaits our youth. 

In view of so many problems plaguing our beautiful but fragile state of Goa, Goencho Avaaz, a non political organisation is planning a social awareness program titled THE SECOND LIBERATION OF GOA at the Taxi Stand, Mapuca on 19 Dec 2018, at 3.30 pm, the solemn day of our liberation in 1961.  The aim is to give a call to preserve our environment for future generations, to ensure hygienic and safe food, a call to protect our fields, orchards, mountains, rivers, beaches; a second liberation to free us from the mother of all evils, viz. CORRUPTION. A second liberation from gambling, drugs, rapes, prostitution, molestation, murders, etc. A second liberation for a bright and secure future for our youth by providing employment. Lets REBOOT and save amche Goen.