Goans from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE receive Leadership Awards

-by gasper crasto / Kuwait

In a brief function 'CONFERENCE ON INDIAN EXPARTRIATES IN THE GULF COUNTRIES' held at the Convention Hall, Hotel Mandovi, Panaji on 29th March 2008, the NRI Affairs Directorate of Goa Government presented Leadership Awards for community service to well known Goans from the Gulf for recognition of their social activities towards the Indian community.

The honorable recipients:

Bahrain: Mr. Francis Correia, Mr. Gabriel R. Crasto, and Mr. Alfred D’Souza.

Kuwait: Dr Jaganath Ramnath Chodankar, Mr Alex Wilson Coelho, and Mr. Carmo Santos

Oman: Dr Mario Carmo de Souza , and Mr Celso Vincent Andre Fernandes

Qatar: Mr Simon D'Silva

UAE: Mr. Ramnath Arjuna Mavlingcar
Dubai: Mr Rockson Rufus Rodrigues

(Delhi): Ms Suman Anand Kurade

The Conference was inaugurated by Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi. The function was presided over by Commissioner of NRI Affairs Shri Eduardo Faleiro while Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Digambar Kamat was the Chief Guest.

FRANCIS CORREIA

Francis Correia, hailing from Cansaulim, a resident of Bahrain since 1974, is employed with Ahmed Mansoor Al A’Ali as Manager of the Real Estate Division. He has been involved in community services from the time he arrived into Bahrain and has served the community in different fields. Correia has provided legal, medical and financial aid to a large number of Goans and members of other expatriate communities. Through the Indian Embassy and Ministry of Labour, he has resolved many disputes of laborers and domestic helpers. He has assisted many with sponsorship problems or to find alternate employment. He has actively participated in events to help the local charities as well.

Correia was honoured by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1987 for his active participation in organizing festivities of expatriate societies and clubs to celebrate the Bahrain National Day.

He was elected as General Secretary of Young Goans Club, way back in 1979 and served on the Managing committee several times. During his tenure with the club he was able to interact with Goans from other Gulf and European Countries in organizing sports and social events.

Correia is the main person involved in organizing Konkani tiatr events in Bahrain with Goan based and local stage artistes which has helped display Goan culture and heritage in the Gulf and keep Konkani alive and popular. He has also used his status and position to organize visits by political, religious, social leaders from Goa. He is currently the President of Young Goans Club.

Correia is also a coordinator of the Konkani Community of the Sacred Heart Church.

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G.R. CRASTO

Gabriel R. Crasto made headlines last year when he was awarded the ‘Man of the Year Award’ by the Goan Review Art Foundation, Mumbai for his services linked to the Goan community in Bahrain and the Konkani language. Crasto, a popular Master Compere (MC) among the Goan community in Bahrain is always at the forefront of social, cultural and sporting events. He has utilized these opportunities to showcase Konkani, Goan culture, heritage and identity of Goans in Bahrain.

“For me, organizing such events is always a dual purpose,” stated Crasto. “It gives an opportunity for the talented members of Goan community based here to display their art and whatever little income is generated from such events is diverted to help the needy.”

In association with other community groups, Crasto has organized functions to felicitate and honor outstanding sportspersons and stage artistes of the Goan origin. He is always at hand to help those in need of his services - either to coordinate with the Indian Embassy or the local Government agencies. A resident of Bahrain for the last 25 years, he is employed with Mohammed Jalal & Sons as Manager in their Travel Division. Being in the travel field, Crasto was influential in obtaining special fares from Air India for Goans during the Exposition of St. Francis Xavier.
A freelance journalist, Crasto hails from Navelim. He covers the activities of Goans in Bahrain through his writings in magazines published from Goa. In his younger days Crasto worked as a correspondent of West Coast Times (English daily), Novem Goem and Goencho Mog, etc.

In December 2007, Crasto was honored by the Young Goans Club for his contribution to community welfare. He has served several terms on the Managing Committee of the Club in different positions in the past. He is the Chairman of Bahrain Goans Football League and a member of the Konkani Community Committee of the Sacred heart Church.

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ALFRED D'SOUZA

Since coming to Bahrain over 20 years ago, Alfredo D’Souza, has always volunteered his time and services for the poor of the community. He is also a founder member of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights Migrant Worker's Group since 2002. Alfredo has been on the Legal Aid Cell of the Indian Community Services which comes under the auspices of the Indian Embassy. Alfredo works very closely with the Indian Embassy in Bahrain to help 'Laborers and Domestic Workers'. He is also a life member of the Royal Society of St George Charity organization.
Alfredo has been instrumental in starting the first ever 'Shelter for abused domestic helpers' and for well over 10 years has been defending the 'Human Rights' of the poor laborers and domestic helpers who have been abused by their employers and are helpless, even before the formation of the first Migrant Worker's Group in Bahrain.

Alfredo D’Souza is founder member and currently the Vice Chairman of the Migrant Workers Protection Society.

DANIEL F. D'SOUZA WINS FLORIAN VAZ AWARD

DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF GOA.

DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF GOA

Oh, my Goa My heart cries and bleeds for you.
You have lost your past charm, glory and pride which will be difficult to restore.
Now you are sinking and stinking in every field of life!
Our politicians care for themselves.
They have accumulated wealth for generations.
Yet they are ready to sell themselves provided they get a mega price.
Every Panch wants to be a Sarpanch.
Every Sarpanch desires to become a MLA.
Every MLA desires to be a CM or at least a Cabinet Minister!
Throughout the year in Goa we are entertained through their political circus.

Mine owners raped our hills and forests for years.
Now they are further molested and destroyed with the blessings of our politicians,‘Developers’, SEZ and IT Park promoters.
We abandoned our ancestral bungalows in villages and preferred to live in flats in crowded towns without realizing that in flats our mentality has become flat and static.
Visionless and haphazard development desecrated the natural greenery and aesthetic beauty.
We have become blind and immune to the plastic and garbage menace.
Our beaches and roads have become death traps.
Accidents, drowning in the sea, suicides,thefts, burglaries, dacoity kidnapping, rapes, molestation, sex abuse and murders have become norm of the day.
We have become accustomed to these things.
Without them our newspapers are tasteless and lifeless.
When we read these things in our news papers or see them on TV channels we are hardly touched by their horror.

Bars, Beauty parlours (massage parlours?),paedophilia, prostitution, sex tourism bloom with pride.
Alcoholism, drug addiction, Ghutka and Matka flourish with the support of many.
For all seasons and reasons Goa has become a permanent holiday resort to everyone. Uncontrolled tourism destroyed our land and people.
God alone knows how many of us are affected by AIDS!
It is said “Three W’s (wealth, wine and women) ruin a man.
”Here in Goa we are reduced to wreckage from A to Z.
We have drowned our age old morality and values in the depths of the Arabian sea.

Religious leaders are busy with religiosity they have not cared to understand the spirit of spirituality.
They use religion as an income generating activity.
Religion has become mere rituals and festivals.
Road side crosses, temples and shrines are built not to give glory to the Mighty Lord but for our own pride and hidden motives.
Though Goa is part of the mainland Our mentality continues to be that of islanders.
We take pride that we are Goans but none of us are capable to define the meaning of ‘Goan’.
We have lost our cultural and linguistic identity.
Majority community speaks Konknni but takes pride in Marathi.
Minority community is even ashamed to speak Konknni.
Konknni is considered the ‘spoken dialect’ of Dalits and Konknne Butlers’ English (Tambddi Inglez) has become pride of their personality.
Written Konknni in Devanagari survives with the government patronage.
It has become a gold mine for some to survive and dominate.
Since it lacks the support of the masses it will exist till the mine lasts.
The future of Konknni in Roman script is not so bright.
We are heading towards to become an Anglo-Indian community.
We hide our inferiority complex under different masks.
One of those masks which we are afraid to shed is our pride in the territorial identity ‘Goans’!
In the rest of the India the identity of a person is defined by his/her language affiliation.

Kashmiri speakers become Kashmiris, Sindhi speakers become Sindhis.
Konknni speakers should have become Konknnis. But alas!
We islanders take pride as Goans! without knowing what it means And address others as ‘Ghattis’.
Yet we proclaim as most peace loving, cultured, susegad people.
Truly speaking we are the most lethargic, selfish, self centred people.
We lack unity and vision.We faithfully believe and practice crab mentality.
Therefore we lack dynamic solidarity.
The success of Konknni Nirontori has shifted the centre of Konknni from Goa to Karnataka.
Truly speaking Goa was never the centre of Konknni.
Goans are ready to speak and associate with any language except their own mother tongue Konknni – lingua criados.
Probably, if written Konknni survives in the future it will survive in Kannada script in Karnataka.
Goa will become linguistically and culturally a barren wilderness.
Politically Goa is ruined. Culturally it is uprooted. Socially it is caste rooted. Psychologically it is shattered. Morally it is degraded.Ecologically it is polluted. Spiritually it is deprived. Aesthetically it is destroyed. Educationally it is disoriented. Economically it is lop-sided. Linguistically it is divided.
My Goa seems to have reached a point of non-returna state of beyond redemption.
Mother Goa is filled with wounds, injuries, bruises and scars.
Yet who cares for her pain and agony?Her cross becomes heavier everyday.She is crushed with shame.
She has lost her face and fame.Everyday has become for her “Good Friday”.
She waits for her resurrection. Who will be able to redeem her from her lost glory except her own children who know her true story?

Pratap Naik, sj
Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr,
B.B.Borkar Road,
Alto Porvorim Goa – 403 521.