Goans voices in cyber space urge Goans to save Goa

"Goan associations especially village based must work hard and try to purchase land and properties from their villages and localities. Land is fixed and gradually it will come to an end. Instead of depositing money in Goan Banks, NRI Goans must start vigorously to purchase any available piece of land in Goa. Land price in Goa is become like that of Diamond price. Goa is getting finished and if we allow to get it finished by non-Goans then we will have no place to live in Goa." This is not a quote from a speech delivered at the many public meeting held in Goa to save its land from land grab by outsiders, but a call given by NRI Goans to save their land in cyber space. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goan newspapers have been religiously giving extensively coverage to some of the Goa's burning issues like to now scrapped SEZ's, Gram Sabha meetings in the villages and mega housing projects, stirring public opinion against them. But the industrial and housing developments which threaten the fragile the eco-system in the state are not just the concerns of the Goans based in Goa but is a hot-bed of discussion in cyber space. Goans detached from their motherland have set up their own blogs to give rant to their emotional outbursts. No wonder you find words like “Kelem tukam ani zalem makam (I did it for you bit it happened on me) Korta tea mapan bhogta ( You pay in equal amount), Chor (robber), Ghanttis (migrants). Rostad Bhattkars, Mundkar Kaido (landlord-tennat law), Kombiancho ani Dukrancho Gudd (chicken and pig house) Kumau (toloiet), beiman ( unfaithful), such words being regularly used by the bloggers to give went to their feelings. The Konkani words which every "Ladru and Pedru" in Goa uses in their everyday conversion to express disgust, apathy and other emotions, a language which a man on the street is very much familiar. And Calangute-born Kuwait-based J. Veronica Fernandes, is one such blogger who has been used Konkani words to good effect to stir up emotions and give went to his anger to the sorry state of affairs in Goa. With at least one hard-hitting post in a fortnight, Fernandes who has been writing for some of the Konkani periodicals and newspapers based in Goa from Kuwait for the last several years, has earned the ire of some of the his fellow Goans, both in the Gulf and back home. "We the non-resident Goans residing in the Gulf and in the West cannot remain as silent spectators. Our Goan associations especially village based must work hard and try to purchase land and properties from their villages and localities. Land is fixed and gradually it will come to an end. Instead of depositing money in Goan Banks, NRI Goans must start vigorously to purchase any available piece of land in Goa. Land price in Goa is become like that of Diamond price. Goa is getting finished and if we allow to get it finished by non-Goans then we will have no place to live in Goa." He says it is high time Goans spread all around the globe work hard to protect their ancestral land, properties and houses and must slow down in organizing dances and instead concentrate on how to save Goa. And Talking about overseas Goan convention he says such gatherings must ponder over on how to save Goa. The recently held Toronto Goan convention hopefully would have some solution because as Fernandes says: "West-settled Goans can do much better to save Goa. But will they? Will they wake up now atleast? Or they will organize empty talk Conventions only? Otherwise expatriate Goan Associations and Goan Conventions “ghalat dobean”(put them in a throw away box). "It is useless talking of Goa and Goans from outside Goa and having Goan conventions when we are not doing anything to save Goa from extinction. We must not allow even our “Kombiancho ani Dukrancho Gudd” (chicken and pig hosue) built by our grand parents to fall into the hands of outsiders. Even our “Kumau” (toilet)we must protect because there is a party in Goa coming from outside Goa which is ready to buy even one square metre of Goan property, even if it is filthy." Can we do something to save us from extinction? " Konkani language continues to be close to his heart but he has been saddened by the events from the past, when the generosity of the Goans based in the Gulf has been used for ulterior purposes and the hard-earned donations given to various institutes and newspaper managements have gone down the drain with no trace of it or have found way into family management run magazine coffers. "Konkani cause and Konkani publications by all means should be supported but not to fritter away our aid in mismanagement. Konkani Magazines and Konkani publications by all means should be supported but not those which humiliated us after receiving our donations. Not those whose editors, publishers and owners mocked at Kuwait during the invasion of Kuwait." He cautions fellow Goans to check on the credibility of the person asking for donations. "People in Kuwait must screen the credentials of any altu-faltu person approaching for fund collection without any proper authority and without any financial statement proving the health of the issue in question. If any one wants any funds to collect then the donors must ask for the right to be a part of the management. There is a dirty habit in Goa from the time of Novem Goem to ask for funds for Konkani publications but never to make the donors a part of the management team. We from Kuwait itself gave as donation to Novem Goem Daily approximately 5 lakhs of rupees when they wanted only one lakh but unfortunately we never asked them our right to a membership of the Trustees running Novem Goem Pratishan." And accountability or lack of it has not been a concern for Fernandes not only for language related issues but even donations given to a hospital. "For Goa Cancer Hospital we gave from Kuwait itself around 20 lakhs of rupees but never asked for the right to be in the board. They received our hard earned money and frittered away our donations. Where is Novem Goem Daily gone now? Dead finally. Because of mismanagement by all the misfit trustees headed by Gurunath Kelekar. Where is Cancer Hospital gone now? It is in whose hands now? Manipal. Where is our donations gone? Where is Dr. Vaidya gone now? We have been cheated by all. The same thing should not happen again, " he cautions. But is there any land left for NRI Goans to buy in Goa or are Goans ready to settle in Goan villages? With an increasing number of Goa-based Goans exploring the Portuguese route to migrate to Europe and Gulf-Goans migrating to Canada, it remains to be seen whether any NRI associations or individuals are ready to buy land in Goa.