LIBERATION OF GOA MEANS A JOKE FOR ME.

This is the day, the 19^th December, called the Liberation Day of Goa but Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgment on Pe. Chico Monteiro’s case said that on 19^th December 1961 Goa was conquered by India.  In view of this, I don’t understand who coined this word Liberation of Goa on 19^th December.  In fact, Goa was invaded on 18^th December only when the lengthy convey of Military vehicles including heavy Tanks were going to Aguada Sinquerim to conquer the heavy military citadel of Aguada where about a few hundreds of Portuguese Military personnel were stationed there including a few Goans.  While going to Aguada early in the morning when darkness was down and little foggy light was just appearing while the Sky above was not showing any sign of becoming bright but indicating its sorrowfulness thru its dull appearance giving an impression that something bad is happening for the land and for the people below it.  Yes, on that day it was indicating that something bad on Goa is coming in the name of Liberation of Goa.  The atmosphere all around was indicating that the Raj of Chors – Bamtte – Krimidores –  Rostad is dawning on Goa as it was indicated at a little later than dawn when my father innocently was going to our field to adjust the flow of water in our Paddy field which was located nearby our house, touching the main road thru which the Bharati invaders were going to Aguada.  When my father had lot of goodwill for Portugal for giving us discipline and good habits yet he was always insisting the Portuguese must leave Goa on its own free will by handing the power over to Goans.  He was fair like a “Paklo” and this fairness of his attracted the attention of the General or Commander or the Chief of that Bharati convoy who was seated in the  front vehicle from where by stopping his vehicle and along with others too for about 10 minutes, he shouted loudly at my father and asked my father in English “what are you doing there and called my father up to him, for this my father obliged like a obedient soldier of course like a Cockroach who otherwise thought himself like a giant afraid of none.

Then he asked my father in Hindi what he is doing in the field, my father replied saying he is adjusting the flow of water.  He asked then whose field is it, my father replied saying it is his. Then he asked why you are wearing a Banyan, my father replied saying because I am a poor man. Then he said loudly “you are poor because Portuguez purposedly kept you poor and henceforth no Goan will remain poor”.

Listening to this nonsense as Gospel Truth, my father innocently came home running, leaving the small job of adjusting the flow of water to our paddy field incomplete and started giving slogans like a mad, as Jai Hind, Jai Bharat, Nehru Zindabad and Salazar Murdabad and told us all at home that henceforth we will become all rich.   Such an intelligent my father was otherwise but that stupid top Military personnel of the stupid country India totally mesmerized my father who remained till his death to see the good days coming for us.  At moments he was by thinking of all what he was told by that Indian Military personnel, my father was cursing him and also to the Bharat where there is no system, no discipline, no law and order situation.  It is not my father alone but overwhelming majority of our elders who spent their major part of life under the disciplined system and under the law and order during Portuguese rule, finally gone to the grave by hating and cursing this Bharat where the corruption and bad habit are rule of the land and where the Goans are not a match to the Bharati people whose expertise in this corrupt habits are second to none.  The goondagiri is so rampant that these goondas are become Kings of this land, they can do anything they want because the elected representatives have gone totally insane as the most corrupt because they lack quality, character and dignity in them. These public figures are come from third grade background while during the Portuguese rule it was just the opposite. They are robbing the people of their money by demanding Bribe from public which is so huge that it looks a parallel economy is also running in India.  These elected representatives are so disgraceful that they are looting and robbing the Communidade land as if it is their fathers’ property since Communidade once managed by the upright persons are now gone into the hands of most corrupt, most rascals and most disgraceful  minded Goans.  Everywhere you see nothing but hurdles for you on your way.  Those elders of ours thru their wisdom they forecast that Goa will go out from the hands of Goans and that will be the last nail in our coffin which will be hammered shortly by the outsider Ghantees, I hope it should not be when I am alive because as a lover of Goa having struggled for the protection of Goa so much,  I will not be able to accept that reality. 

Today there were so many functions to celebrate this day with great pomp but for me there is nothing extra ordinary in this pomp, it is pomp for the people who are enjoying better life by robbing the Ladrus and Pedrus and filling their pockets.  I am not happy on this day because there is nothing much to be happy, in fact on this day in 1961 my Goa was re-colonised with the help of Military Gun by the Military personnel who are non-Goan just as earlier when Portugues General Afonso de Albuquerque colonized Goa and made Goans as slaves of Portugal.  There is no difference between the slavery of Portugal and Bharat. There is no difference between the colonizing of Goa by Portugal and Bharat however, the colonialism from the former was much better that one day it will end at least but the colonialism of the latter is the worst  as there is no chance for us to get real freedom and liberation, under this colonialism we will get extinguished and turn into ashes. I would be happy if my Goa was handed over into the hands of Goans by the Indian government just as Bangladesh was handed over to their people. And as I forecast, we as peace loving Goans we will never enjoy peace and prosperity under this Bharati government. R.I.P. for Goan Peace. And where are all the Freedom Fighters of Goa gone?  Was it their wish to see the Goa of their love to reach to this level?  Did you suffer so much from the hands of Portugues Agente Monteiros to see your Goa reaching to this miserable level.

A.Veronica Fernandes.      

WE NEED PROGRESSIVE CHURCH LEADERS IN GOA.

While in Kuwait I was as an unregistered member of a number of Non-Roman Catholic Ministries performing its religions obligations besides also associating with some other Non-Christian organisations so too in Goa after my settling down in Goa I am on the same trend but my I attendance is limited only to a few. My purpose of associating with these Non-Christian organisations and Non-Roman Catholic denominations where up to now nobody imposed his permanency on me, for me it is to gain more knowledge of Non-Christians and Christianity thru different angles and many other aspects of human relationship with other humans and society as a whole. But what I learnt more of these Non-romanCatholic denominations is their power of educating their congregations in Christianity to save your soul and how to develop yourself in this world to lead a good life by maintaining your financial output.  Good that Industrial Revolution came into existence in England somewhere in the mid 1600 followed by the Revolution brought in by Martin Luther’s Protestantism that forced Inacio Loyola to bring about his Counter  Revolution in the birth of Society of Jesus some years later that revolutionized the Roman Catholicism. In fact the birth of Protestantism was the revolt against the nonsense the Roman Catholic Church was committing in the name of Religion by preventing the faithful to be forward looking with dynamism. Inacio Loyola’s counter revolution made the faithful more aggressive to live firmly in this world facing obstacles more bravely.

        During Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, Gulf Goans if they were properly guided and directed by the our Church leaders the economy of Goa would have been in our hands.  When I wrote from Kuwait to one Businessman priest my Plan after the successful establishment from Kuwait of the Gulf Goans Hotels Company Limited owned by the Goan Shareholders from Kuwait and its Hotel Goan Heritage at Calangute and also after financing to the tune of lakhs of rupees for Konkani cause in general and Novem Goem in particular including a fatty donation of so many lakhs of rupees from Kuwait itself alone for the construction of Cancer Hospital and many other activities, I received a negative reply from that Priest. During our last so many years of employment in the Gulf we could have done so much for us, for Goa, for our community and Goans as a whole but there was no direction and guidance for us to invest our earnings properly, our Church leaders went on asking donations only from us and did not help us in starting business ventures even at the level of small scale or in any other way. They used our financial resources for their benefits only. I point out 

here our Church because we are members of this Church and by being our leaders, it has more responsibility towards us than others who also enjoyed the benefit of our earnings in the Gulf. If then our Church leaders came forward to establish a Land Bank from the money of Gulf Goans mainly those who were sending the Church leaders donations from the Gulf, roday a good amount of Goan land would have been in our stock.  Similarly, with their pushing we could have started our own Bank but our Church has failed us because as I said earlier Roman Catholic Church is not forward looking and having no dynamism otherwise Martin Luther a soldier turned Priest would not have initiated the counter revolution.

The surfacing of so many Non-Catholic denominations recently is surfaced like a counter revolution.  A few years back and during my younger days I never heard the existence of such denominations but they erupted like a volcano where they engulfed in its fold heavy number of the followers of Roman Catholicism and if till today Roman Catholicism is surviving still on strong footing then because of the elderly Saintly Persons like St. Fzrancis Xavier and other like him. It was the earlier Saints who put in tremendous efforts to promote Roman Catholicism, they were all Missionaries from Europe while ours could not decimate from our Church the discriminatory practices systematically practiced in our Goa Church with the silent nod of our Church leadership.

On last Sunday I attended the service at Soddiem Siolim of Pastor Domnick whose Ministry has put this Village on World Map with bold capital letters because of services Pastor Domnick conducts there in this village.  He spoke and preached on how and why we Goans (I mean Christians) are backward in doing business? I know even during my younger days there was a fad among Christians to say that “business is not meant for Christians as if it is the work of “Chors” and then it was understood then to be a successful in business you have to be a cheat and  thief and you have to lower your dignity”.  I don’t know why this thought was implanted in our minds by our elders but I am sure our Church and especially our Priests were responsible for spreading this canard into the minds of Christians.

😊

In my village there was one young boy who purchased a Motorbike Rajdoot along with his one Hindu friend in early sixties, both were dropouts from the School were they were my classmates.  When our Pe. Vigar came in contact with him, Pe. Vigar asked him tauntingly with full of sarcasm appearing on his face giving an impression that poor boy has committed a sacrilege in doing this business, “Kitem re Anton, hem Rostadanchem Business kortai”.  That poor boy Anton was humiliated so much that he felt like committing a suicide but he did nothing of that sort but sold his Motorbike.  But his companion who started this Pilot’s business within a year purchased two more Motorbikes and in 5 years period he purchased a Taxi and within a few more he increased it by one more.  And finally he got a Bus now where Anton was working as Conductor.

Pastor Domnick has called a special meeting in the next week at his Siolim location specially to advice and guide the people how to get into business.  He is very much encouraging his members and followers who are in thousands to develop themselves financially by creating producing growth in your income.   He asked the congregation “if outsiders coming into our Goa and doing business and developing well financially then why cant we?” I strongly support him in this direction and wish him all the best.  We need in Goa at this very critical juncture not only one Pastor Domnick in Soddiem Siolim only but in every village and every Vaddo to educate, to guide and to support us in developing our community members financially.  Lack of finance is the root cause of most of  the sins, if not all.

A.Veronica Fernandes.