While the situation was fluid in our locality where the entire attention was focused on me to see what the next step I am going to take. In fact I went on campaigning in support of the jobs to be provided by the Taj for the locals. We already provided the Taj Management the required land and it was the turn of the Taj to indicate its good intention. I went on propagating our big heartedness and kindness too and we as villagers by undergoing so many sacrifices for the benefits of Taj with the reasoning that since we are giving the Taj all the facilities starting from the LAND, the Taj management was responsible to provide our locals for the jobs that in view of this Taj must give us the locals benefits of their capability of providing us the facilities of the jobs especially for the jobless local young boys and girls. Then to fool the locals to give the convincing impression for their lies as Truths, they the Taj sent their employees to most of the houses of Candoicar in Candolim getting the details of their jobless people in each house. On the basis of this Survey, they the Taj came to the conclusion that the unemployment in Candolim is not of alarming magnitude and for these people Taj will be able to give the decent jobs with decent salaries.
However the moment Taj Hotel started functioning the Taj did the exactly opposite leaving almost every prospective employee in the air and instead appointed somebody else from Madras, Kerala, Delhi and other such places thus denying the locals the jobs and here and there they engaged a few to do the last class of jobs like Watchman, 'Toilet cleaners, Linen girls and such other odd jobs. Seeing this my sense of protecting the locals received a rude shock but still I stood firm and with the help of one of my local friends from Candolim Ximer the late Alex Pinto who had vast influence in the political circle and we both of us jointly stopped JRD Tata the Chief of Taj Group of Hotels when he was coming to Goa for the first time and to spend a few days in his Hotel. So during that visit of his, we both myself and Alex Pinto at the entrance point of Sinquerim where you have to bring your car to the complete halt. There we stood both of us with a garland of Flowers and a Memorandum describing how and why the locals are dejected by the Taj Sinquerim Management inspite of tall promises given to the locals. ON THE SAME NIGHT alled a meeting of all the deartmental heads by JRD and questioning forcefully reprimanded his people and from the next day the locals who were denied the jobs were some of them called for the jobs. The Sinquerim Taj management was severely reprimanded by its Boss coming from Bombay JRD Tata for doing no good to the locals. As a revenge against me in particular for initiating and directing this operation daringly, fearlessly and successfully almost individually against the mighty and that too during that time, surprised every one from near and far, and they must know that especially during that particular time when I was so advanced and dynamic in my activities I did not need a battalion of ruffians to help me. In fact my every family member namely my eldest brother Cheddo of Goa Police, my second brother Jose Marie of Sesa Goa and Mickey who was the school going youngest brother of mine and myself the 4th brother, i,e. 4 brothers besides my beautiful mighty 6 sisters, brothers-in-law and their families and Sisters-in-law and their families, THIS such a big "Loskor" was more than enough to stand behind me to face any onslaught situation. Besides they all being my close relatives, I was confident that they will not desert me. Regarding for my support, besides above all, 2 more the most powerful persons not only in our family but in our locality and beyond as well and who they were? They were my parents both my father and mother who would even go to the burning Hell to rescue me from the grasp of Lucifer in the Hell. This is the evidence to prove that how much support I had from my dearest and nearest. And I was so confident that I managed to give this movement of mine to fight against the Dadagiri of the management of the Taj HOTEL AND NOBODYV among the top locals who were acting like Chamchas of Taj by providing them information against even those fighting for the justice for the locals and in this bracket my name was filled first. I was so confident of the support of my family that I was lacking in nothing because they will surely support me thru thick and thin. Only on your family members you can rely and nobody else will support you the way your family supports you.
In all my activiTIES FOR THE CAUse of our Goan community only in the matter of employment at the Taj Sinquerim but even on any other issue and the SOCIETY THE WAY I ENJOYED THE SUPPORT of my family members no where you can receive such a support. However, the first target of my movement for the cause of our locals in particular and Goans in general, keeping their anger on me for such a long period they the Taj management removed my youngest sister from her job where at the Taj she was employed within a few days when they got an information that she was my sister. It is hard fact that when you lose your job God provide you with another one which is much better than the first one and this is exactly what has happened to my sister and thus she became more prosperous. But what was disheartening was the total silence of those who benefitted from my movement remained totally silent. Regarding the terminating my sister from the Taj job as indicated above MANY PEOPLE advised me then not to involve in organising these type of movements for the cause of the people because our people are selfish and ungratefut but I never listened to them because what they advised me was the advice of Goan Buttler of 18th century and I am in the 21st century where I have good educational background, moved in the higher level of intellectual society where I learnt not to expect anything as reward in return on reciprocal basis. According to my philosophy, one should do whatever one can do without expecting anything in return. Whether you get something in rēturn is the secondary question but one has to do good first and one must know that good follows the good. We should not be pompous in doing good to others. Even Bible says "whatever you give in your right hand your left hand should not know". Some of the people our locals were ac
Then I went to Kuwait for greener pastures while constantly thinking how and who will save our locality from the rogues and vultures who had no love for our village, they have love for the power and money. What I have noticed then was this our own people are more dangerous and more cunning and crook and in my absence when I went to Kuwait our locality gone into the hands of Rostad leaders who in the opposition of proper persons they the residual parts of the existing leaders, gained the foot-hold of my village. How many of our Panchayat member are good?
Is there anyone among the elected who does not indicate his greed for money from the locals? While in this situation they only became whole and sole of our village donning the colours of the Panch members, Sarpanches and MLA's too but none of them they survived successfully and shortly in the next election they were kicked out by the voters from the contest that they contested. The reason they failed in their political game when they had everything to win, that is Money Power, Muscle Power, Educational Power, SEX POWER TO GET ILLLICIT SEX BY CHEATING THEIR WIVES. THESE BLOODY POLITICIANS FROM CANDOLM XIMER TO CANDOLIM SAIPEM got the chance TO come up politically but they collapsed on their way to the top and in one way it was good that these politicians lost their chances otherwise they would make lot of illicit money by demanding bribe from the people and on the strength of this excess money power they would act arrogant with the locals. They are so disgraceful and so shameless that they are not even ashamed to demand bribe from their own local people, such disgraceful people are they. Our village was so decent, so clean and so disciplined that this now look like "EMKOND" and all `who are there are the biggest Devchar.
If you see currently our Panchayati Raaj system was introduced in Goa soon after the Choranchem Raaj robbed my golden Goa and the first democratic election for Panchayati Raj in Goa was held in Goa somewhere in 1963. After this election the REGIDORE system was gradually uprooted from its existence in Goa and was totally replaced by the Panchayati Raj system. HOWEVER, generally speaking most of the Panchayats are filled with Chor Sarpanches and Panchas, they when sitting on their Chairs they can do lot of bad things and make lot of money. The biggest robbers are our Panchayats. All the bad decisions are taken there so also the good but these Panchas and Sarpanch are the bigget Rostad. In front of money they dot care you, they treat you like a dirt because of their very shabbily upbringing by their powerty strikken parents who never tasted chicken in their lifetime, they tasted chicken and wore new dresses only when their sons got elected in the local Panchayat and being fully poor materially and intellectually they failed in getting so many things for them but poor thing whatever they did not get earlier the same they got thru their sons who when started looting and taking bribe from the locals coming for some work from whom they received the bribe. This is the worst class of poverty our Sarpanches and Panchas faced and onbtop of it all they act toon big for them. It is my sincere appeal to all the Sarpanchas and the Panchas please behave well in the Panchayat and do your work well to the satisfaction of the people, bring good name and honour by not doing dirty game as elected members, be proud of your poverty stricken past, dont be revengefull and arrogant, we are all poor AND those who have seen the wealth now then dont be arrogant. Help people as much as you can because to do good you will get little time for a limited period while for doing bad you will lot of time. AND Remember ell that 'DUST YOU ARE UNTO DUST YOU WILL RRETURN'.
To be concluded....................4/-
A.Veronica Fernandes.
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