Our Responsibility Does Not End With Voting.
The hectic activity of the last two months has all of a sudden ceased. Banners, placards, leaflets and booklets waving maniacs have withdrawn. No more men and women displaying, artificial anxiety of our wellbeing and simplicity of mind and heart, with folded hands standing at our doorstep. No more fake personalities promising us the moon, no, not at least for the next five years. Peace and calm at last or should I say good riddance to the bad rubbish that was floating in abundance ?
The results of the election may be declared in a day’s time but it the response of the electorate that has taken everyone by surprise, more than 80% cast their votes, history has been created, not even the historic Opinion Poll gathered such momentum. We can only guess the reason behind this massive human movement towards the Polling Booths. Goans have moved, the people of Goa have given their verdict and waiting for the judgment.
Everyone is trying to analyze the effect of the massive momentum, while members of each party though overtly concerned, they just say with little conviction that the massive turnout was for their benefit. What has actually happened, we will only know on the 6th March. As I analyze it there could be only two factors for the massive participation. First, everyone would like to believe that this tsunami was indeed clamoring for a change. As Goans in Goa and across the globe, had been lamenting about the unprecedented tide of corruption and nepotism, that’s been flowing throughout the entire length and breadth of Goa which has hampered the constructive development of Goa but has led to the degradation of our environment and our ecology. Second, it could also be a movement where the parents and students have spoken about the freedom that they should have in choosing the medium of instruction. We would be fools if we did not take this factor into account, even though it is not as important as the first.
Does our duty end having cast our vote in great numbers ? Does our responsibility end with the casting of our valuable votes ? Will the judgment of our votes, end our interest in the welfare of Goa ? No my dear Goans, this is not the end of our fight, it is just the beginning. For far too long we have sat in our armchairs in the comforts of our front porches after casting our vote, thinking it’s all done with and it is now the moral responsibility of the elected representatives to do the needful. There is no doubt, that it is their responsibility but does our responsibility end there or do we have to make sure that those elected, do what they are suppose to do, rather than do whatsoever they please ?
Casting of the votes ends nothing. Like us Christians, we go to Church, listen to the word of God and receive the Lord with reverence, but does Christianity end there ? The Bible tells us that we have to live what we acquired in Church. So too after casting our vote we have to make sure that it was not in vain. We have to constantly be vigilant about what our elected representatives are up to and if and when they waver from their promises and their mission, we should be there to point out to them in no uncertain terms because it is our future and the future of our children that will depend on what they do and what they fail to do.
Irrespective of the outcome of the election results and the judgment that will be delivered on the 6th March, we will have to continue our fight for the betterment of Goa and Goans with vigor and determination. For the next five years let us make sure that our elected representatives fulfill their pre election promises and hold them responsible and accountable for what they do and don’t do.
Freddy Agnelo Fernandes.
March 5, 2012
March 3, 2012
NO CHURCHES WILL BE DEMOLISHED IN KUWAIT
In Kuwait these days there is much gloom on Christians because they are afraid that their Churches may go for demolition. But in reality, it is not correct yet there was a reason for Christians to get a distress call when one Kuwaiti Member of Parliament made an unwarranted statement in this regard. According to the available report one Islamist MP Osama Al Monawer called for the removal of the existing Christian Churches in Kuwait. Then immediately he clarified his statement by sayinng "what he meant was not the removal of the existing Churches in Kuwait but issuance of new permits for the constructin of new Churches in Kuwait".
There are about 5 lakh expatriate Christians in Kuwait from different nationalities comprising innumerable denominations and out of this number around 200 are Kuwaitis. Catholics is one of the largest Christian communities in Kuwait but according to the internal circle since last two years their number is decreasing at a faster pace as they are deserting Catholicsm and embracing other Christian denominations.
There are many Churches in Kuwait but prominent among them are Catholiic Churches located in Kuwait City, Ahmadi, Salmiya and Abbasiya. Still these many Churches are not sufficient enough for the fast growing number of expatriate Catholics coming from Philippines, India, Middle Eastern Arab countries and from the West as well. The same situation is faced by the other Non-Catholic denominations.
According to the Bishop of Kuwait His Lordship Bishop Camillo Ballin in response to the first statement of the Islamist MP Al Monawer, " this is not according to the Kuwaiti mentality, Kuwaiti tradition and it spoils the name of Kuwait in the world unjustly". Then the Bishop Ballin continued saying "Kuwait is a tolerant country. Such statements spoils the name of Kuwait in the world because a statement like that, even though changed the next day, provoked fire in the world".
Further Bishop Ballin added saying "This is not in the honour of Kuwait. I was in Cairo when this happened and I received many phone calls and emails from Egypt, Italy and France with questions of whether it was true that Kuwait is going to destroy all the Churches. This is the message that was understood by the people. It seems that the MP changed his mind the next day. But this is not in his honour to change his mind. He made a mistake the first day; he made a mistake the second day".
Rev. Emmanuel Ghareb, patron of the National Evangelical Church in Kuwwait says that the Kuwaiti Law states the right to freedom of belief and the establishment of religion.
According to Islam, a Muslim has to believe in Christianity since Christianity is derived from one of the three Holy books as recognised by Islam. Islam accepts all three religions as they are originated by the three Prophets of God (Peace Be Upon Them). Islam keeps Christianity on high pedestal and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in his instructions adviced the Muslim to treat Christians fairly well. Said Prophet (PBUH), "if you open for Egypt, treat the Christian Copts well because they are good soldiers". And talking to the 4 Calips including Abu Bakr, Prophet (PBUH) advised them after conquering their land to protect the Churches of Christians.
In this regard the record of Kuwait is excellent allowing Christians to build their Churches and freedom for prayers. The Ahmadi Church is the oldest Church in Kuwait while the Kuwait City Cathedral is the second oldest Church in Kuwait. Under the rule of Sabah Family there is lot of freedom of worship in Kuwait not only for Christians but also for other religious entities. The leniency imparted by the ruling Sabah Family for the expartiates to perform their prayers and religious rites is really laudable.
Since time immemorial Christians and Muslims lived together peacefully for the good of human society. When Kuwait was invaded by Iraq, it was the unity of Christians and Muslims that helped to wage a war on Iraq to liberate Kuwait. It was the unity of Christians and Muslims that liberated Kuwait. The Christian soldiers from USA, UK, France and other Christian Western countries joined together with the Muslims from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other GCC countries and finally gave a fitting response to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It was the victory of unity between Muslims and Christians that liberated Kuwait on 26th February in 1991.
Expatriate Christians are residing in Kuwait only temporarily and during this temporary period they need spirituall peace and solace to reach to Heaven. These they can achieve only thru their own respective religions. Human beings should be religious, the link betwwen men and God can be better established thru the places of worship, for this reason places of worship are a must, be they of any religion. All those who believe in God must facilitate the establishment of places of worship for the people to perform their religious rites finally to achieve their Hevenly goal.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
There are about 5 lakh expatriate Christians in Kuwait from different nationalities comprising innumerable denominations and out of this number around 200 are Kuwaitis. Catholics is one of the largest Christian communities in Kuwait but according to the internal circle since last two years their number is decreasing at a faster pace as they are deserting Catholicsm and embracing other Christian denominations.
There are many Churches in Kuwait but prominent among them are Catholiic Churches located in Kuwait City, Ahmadi, Salmiya and Abbasiya. Still these many Churches are not sufficient enough for the fast growing number of expatriate Catholics coming from Philippines, India, Middle Eastern Arab countries and from the West as well. The same situation is faced by the other Non-Catholic denominations.
According to the Bishop of Kuwait His Lordship Bishop Camillo Ballin in response to the first statement of the Islamist MP Al Monawer, " this is not according to the Kuwaiti mentality, Kuwaiti tradition and it spoils the name of Kuwait in the world unjustly". Then the Bishop Ballin continued saying "Kuwait is a tolerant country. Such statements spoils the name of Kuwait in the world because a statement like that, even though changed the next day, provoked fire in the world".
Further Bishop Ballin added saying "This is not in the honour of Kuwait. I was in Cairo when this happened and I received many phone calls and emails from Egypt, Italy and France with questions of whether it was true that Kuwait is going to destroy all the Churches. This is the message that was understood by the people. It seems that the MP changed his mind the next day. But this is not in his honour to change his mind. He made a mistake the first day; he made a mistake the second day".
Rev. Emmanuel Ghareb, patron of the National Evangelical Church in Kuwwait says that the Kuwaiti Law states the right to freedom of belief and the establishment of religion.
According to Islam, a Muslim has to believe in Christianity since Christianity is derived from one of the three Holy books as recognised by Islam. Islam accepts all three religions as they are originated by the three Prophets of God (Peace Be Upon Them). Islam keeps Christianity on high pedestal and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in his instructions adviced the Muslim to treat Christians fairly well. Said Prophet (PBUH), "if you open for Egypt, treat the Christian Copts well because they are good soldiers". And talking to the 4 Calips including Abu Bakr, Prophet (PBUH) advised them after conquering their land to protect the Churches of Christians.
In this regard the record of Kuwait is excellent allowing Christians to build their Churches and freedom for prayers. The Ahmadi Church is the oldest Church in Kuwait while the Kuwait City Cathedral is the second oldest Church in Kuwait. Under the rule of Sabah Family there is lot of freedom of worship in Kuwait not only for Christians but also for other religious entities. The leniency imparted by the ruling Sabah Family for the expartiates to perform their prayers and religious rites is really laudable.
Since time immemorial Christians and Muslims lived together peacefully for the good of human society. When Kuwait was invaded by Iraq, it was the unity of Christians and Muslims that helped to wage a war on Iraq to liberate Kuwait. It was the unity of Christians and Muslims that liberated Kuwait. The Christian soldiers from USA, UK, France and other Christian Western countries joined together with the Muslims from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other GCC countries and finally gave a fitting response to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It was the victory of unity between Muslims and Christians that liberated Kuwait on 26th February in 1991.
Expatriate Christians are residing in Kuwait only temporarily and during this temporary period they need spirituall peace and solace to reach to Heaven. These they can achieve only thru their own respective religions. Human beings should be religious, the link betwwen men and God can be better established thru the places of worship, for this reason places of worship are a must, be they of any religion. All those who believe in God must facilitate the establishment of places of worship for the people to perform their religious rites finally to achieve their Hevenly goal.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
February 28, 2012
OH SAXTTIKARS!! SAVE GOA FROM CORRUPT POLITICIANS.
In Goa, the biggest politician rascals are located in Salcette. Once upon a time, Salcette politicians have helped the good causes of Goa and for doing so they even had to face lot of troubles for themselves. But now many of the Salcette politicians are on war footing to loot and to destroy Goa. They don’t care for anything, not even for their religious principles; they are shameless creatures of this planet. And worst part of it all is this that they are backed and supportred by their respective voters blindly. Gone were the days when Salcette voters elected good candidates to take care not only of Salcette but also of Goa. But now Salcette voters are electing corrupt candidates to destroy Goa. Most of the current voters are become "chamchas" of the political heavyweights who exploit every weakness of their voters to induce them to vote for them blindly, of course bribingly.
Goa in the past was saved from disaster by our Saxttikars whose contributions during the Opinion Poll and Language agitation were really worth admiring. From Kuwait I salute them all for their good work. But will they act upright now in the coming election or will they elect the same corrupt people to liquidate Goa and genuine Goans from our soil?
The late premier of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto when he was in prison waiting for the gallows, wrote a masterpiece titled "IF I AM ASSASSINATED" where he made the following bold statement against those who perpetrated this gallows on him:
My sons will not be my sons, they will be Bastards if they dont take the revenge on those who are sending me to the gallows. Who are my sons? Shanawaz and Murtaza Bhutto and all the sons of Pakistan are my sons".
Thru this bold statement, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto encouraged his own sons first and all the sons of Pakistan to teach a very good lesson to his opponents headed by General Zia. And in fact, they all tought a very good lesson to Zen Zia and his government.
Similarly I call upon the Saxttikars now, if they are real sons and daughters of real Saxttikar fathers, they will teach a very good lesson to all the corrupt candidates by defeating them in the coming election. It is these corrupt Saxttikar politicians who brought a bad name to Salcette and disgraced Goa as well. If Goa is going to be saved for our future generation then Saxttiakar voters will have to be very strong against all the corrupt strong candidates of Salcette. In fact I have full confidence that Salcette voters will throw out the same old corrupt faces in the next election. In doing so they will lose nothing because by electing them again they will gain nothing for them either. The corrupt elected people will do good only for their own family members who are the major beneficiaries of the election.
According to the latest information, purchasing of votes in Navelim, Colva, Benaulim, Nuvem and other places has already been started. In this connection I advise the people in the words of the late Dr. Jack Sequeira, "If money is given for votes, please accept it and enjoy it but never vote for the candidates who gives you money". It is robbed and looted moneny from the public.
If yesterday Goa was saved it was only because of the efforts of Saxttikars and if it is going to be saved tomorrow and for the future, it will be only by the uncorrpt and upright Saxttikars. Hence, all my Saxttikar voters, elect new faces and destroy corrupt old faces.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
Goa in the past was saved from disaster by our Saxttikars whose contributions during the Opinion Poll and Language agitation were really worth admiring. From Kuwait I salute them all for their good work. But will they act upright now in the coming election or will they elect the same corrupt people to liquidate Goa and genuine Goans from our soil?
The late premier of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto when he was in prison waiting for the gallows, wrote a masterpiece titled "IF I AM ASSASSINATED" where he made the following bold statement against those who perpetrated this gallows on him:
My sons will not be my sons, they will be Bastards if they dont take the revenge on those who are sending me to the gallows. Who are my sons? Shanawaz and Murtaza Bhutto and all the sons of Pakistan are my sons".
Thru this bold statement, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto encouraged his own sons first and all the sons of Pakistan to teach a very good lesson to his opponents headed by General Zia. And in fact, they all tought a very good lesson to Zen Zia and his government.
Similarly I call upon the Saxttikars now, if they are real sons and daughters of real Saxttikar fathers, they will teach a very good lesson to all the corrupt candidates by defeating them in the coming election. It is these corrupt Saxttikar politicians who brought a bad name to Salcette and disgraced Goa as well. If Goa is going to be saved for our future generation then Saxttiakar voters will have to be very strong against all the corrupt strong candidates of Salcette. In fact I have full confidence that Salcette voters will throw out the same old corrupt faces in the next election. In doing so they will lose nothing because by electing them again they will gain nothing for them either. The corrupt elected people will do good only for their own family members who are the major beneficiaries of the election.
According to the latest information, purchasing of votes in Navelim, Colva, Benaulim, Nuvem and other places has already been started. In this connection I advise the people in the words of the late Dr. Jack Sequeira, "If money is given for votes, please accept it and enjoy it but never vote for the candidates who gives you money". It is robbed and looted moneny from the public.
If yesterday Goa was saved it was only because of the efforts of Saxttikars and if it is going to be saved tomorrow and for the future, it will be only by the uncorrpt and upright Saxttikars. Hence, all my Saxttikar voters, elect new faces and destroy corrupt old faces.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
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