Edited by Eddie Fernandes editor@goanvoice.org.uk

UK MPs concerned about Goa mining
22 Oct: Times of India. Two British MPs of Indian descent have lent their support to concerns about the devastation being wrought by indiscriminate mining in Goa, as well as support for state government action to contain this. One of the lawmakers is of Goan origin-Valerie Vaz. The other is Virendra Sharma. Both belong to the opposition Labour party. Fellow Labour MP, John McDonnell, had recently tabled what is known as an early day motion (EDM)… Ten MPs have so far supported the motion, including Vaz and Sharma… Two organizations in the UK - Goa Foundation and Save Goa Campaign - have been lobbying British MPs … 595 words,  click here

Death: Olav Menezes
20 Oct: Panjim, Goa. OLAV MENEZES (Born 1946). Husband of Gloria. Father of Bianca/Croydon; Russel. Grandfather of Dylan and Shaenne Marie. Funeral Mass on 22 Oct at 4 pm at the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Taleigao.

BBC Video: Tourism in Goa
20 Oct: BBC. The traditional face of Goa is the gathering at the Catholic Church. The Portuguese ruled here for over 400 years. Now a fresh invasion is under way. British tourists are flocking to goa in their tens of thousands… A return airfare can be less than £200 [sic] … The tourist boom is changing Goa … and the culture in changing too … 2m. 45s. [Probable error with the date - this seems to be 10 years old!]  click here

Portugal, Busting the Euro Myth
20 Oct: Navhind Times. When Goa was liberated from the Portuguese in 1961, the number of Goan families who migrated to Portugal was so large that it almost gained proportion of an exodus. Today, however, no one from Goa visits Portugal either for higher studies or livelihood… The Portugal of 2012 seems to be neither a favourite tourist destination, nor a shoppers’ delight… However, it is finally the Portuguese people, who make Portugal what it is, with their charming and delightful behaviour… 2166 words.  click here

Labour urged to investigate Keith Vaz election
21 Oct: The Sunday Times (UK). By Mazher Mahmood and Robin Henry. The Labour party was facing calls last night to investigate the eligibility of Keith Vaz to sit on its ruling body. Vaz has been a member of Labour's national executive committee (NEC) since 2007 as the representative of Bame Labour, an affiliated organisation that represents party members from ethnic minorities. However, court documents indicate that Vaz had not paid his annual subscription to Bame when he stood for re-election to the NEC in 2009. The significance of a seemingly technical infringement is that Labour had argued that another official could not seek re-election because she had not paid her subscription… When the allegations were put to Vaz, he said: "You will need to speak to the Labour party, thank you. I can't hear you, I'm abroad." … 878 words.

Goa readies for adventure tourism spin
21 Oct: IANS. After banking for years on Goa’s prowess as a beach tourism destination and a failed attempt to promote tourism in the hinterland, the state’s tourism department has now turned to adventure sports like hang-gliding, whitewater rafting and hot air ballooning to attract tourists…  click here

No more Scarlett Killings!
20 Oct: Goan Observer. By Rajan Narayan. Dear Foreign Tourist. The new home minister, Manohar Parrikar is committed to protecting you from the kind of hoodlums who have, in the past, taken pleasure in doping and raping foreign tourists. He is determined that there should be no more Scarlett Keelings washed ashore on the beaches of Anjuna or any other beach in Goa… He cannot prevent domestic tourists from ogling you. Or demanding that you should pose with them topless or bottomless so that they can go home and boast that they scored… PS: Dear Domestic Tourist, there is hope for you. Under the shack policy, racial discrimination is a punishable offence… 2353 words.  click here

Video: Exiled: The Ugandan Asian Story
21 Oct. BBC. This is the 40th anniversary of Idi Amin's expulsion of Ugandan Asians in 1972. Victims of this forced migration to Great Britain relive the shock and dangers of their escape, the hardship and heartbreak of their journey, arrival and first desperate days, to the turning points as they began to make new lives for themselves… Duration: 30 minutes. Programme was broadcast in the UK on 21 Oct. To watch online (UK only) till 27 Oct. 2012, go to the link below.

Video: Goa's Caste System
21 Oct: Prudent Media Contacto. Hindus can identify the caste though the surnames but the same does not happen with Christians who have three castes: Brahmins, Chardos and Shudras. What is important today is your profession rather that your caste … Part 1: 14m. 29s. Click here. Part 2: 12m. 16s. Click here.

Dressing the part, cops on Mission Goa to trail Shruti
21 Oct. 10:18 IST: Hindustan Times. Concealing their identity with long robes, rosaries and cowboy hats, a crack team of the Punjab Police is currently roaming in Goa, trailing 15-year-old Shruti Sachdeva and her alleged abductor Nishan Singh… The brief given to this team, selected carefully, was that it should first slip into outfits and melt in the crowd of Western tourists … Click here.
Shruti Found in Goa. 21 Oct.15:52 IST. Hindustan Times. Punjab police on Sunday was finally managed to find Shruti Sachdeva, who was kidnapped from her house and her alleged kidnapper Nishan Singh…Click here.

Roland Francis: For The Love of God - Stray Thoughts of a Toronto Goan

There has always been a very cherished but formal and unreal bond between the Goan and his God. In the days when it was taught that God was a generally unreachable Being, high above and sometimes beyond the pale of the pleas that his faithful sent out to him, praise and worship in the form of prayers was considered effective only in the strength of vocal chords. And that is where the Goan excelled.

A few decades ago, if you were a witness to a family rosary, a village Cross feast or even Sunday mass, you would discover the fortitude and power of the human voice in rural Goa. You would almost come to believe that Goans, like their rural counterparts in Portugal and even Italy, enjoyed a special audience with the Creator. That is until the chapel pews were empty, or the feni servings ended at the Cross feast with the supplicants dispersed to their normal everyday lives, invigorated with the powerful feeling that God was with them in their fight with their siblings, their friends and everybody else. They indulged in not just quarrels, but barefaced lying and cheating, malicious gossip, and injustices towards the already downtrodden. These transgressions didn't occur to them as the very sins that were just denounced from whichever place of worship they had returned. Brotherly love and forgiveness to all who asked it and even to those who didn't was not as practical a concept as say continuing the 35 year old misunderstanding as to why cousin Antonio in Kuwait did not attend one's daughter's baptism never mind the fact that he had left Goan shores just six months before that.

And then there was the regular attendance at all occasions religious. Every Angelus bell obeyed, every novena attended, every Sunday mass witnessed every feast partaken. If presence were an important factor and not compliance, then all Goans would have been saints even if till today, none has yet been granted sainthood.

Thankfully, those times are over. In the Diaspora, Goans are merely a part of the general trend. If there is a need to acknowledge a God it can be fulfilled at Christmas time or when my job had just been downsized. It is more important to have a personal relationship with my Maker and that can take the form of a little chat with him just as head on pillow, I am about to drop off to sleep. Sunday church can be dispensed with, after all God is omnipresent and I can pray to him everywhere. Does it really matter that I don't even do that. And then in the Goa of today, all hypocrisy is dispensed with. Lying and cheating are acts performed without any of the previous inhibitions and taken to new heights. Bribery and corruption are the new norms. Robbery and murders just an everyday thing. Killing on the roads is just a little bump in the motorist's day. Between then and now, either in Goa or the Diaspora, we have never got our moralities right, let alone this religion thing.

On a different note, visitations in funeral parlors in Toronto are not to be missed. If you are expecting a somber, prayerful event, think again. There is the lifeless body lying in a gilded coffin in front of which a few people come, say a quick prayer and quickly depart to the other parts of the large room. After that like a minor inconvenience, death is forgotten. Old friendships are renewed, invitations extended and social events promoted. Days in Africa, India and the Gulf are fondly remembered with the resting corpse not long ago a living friend or relative, totally excluded. Even the lack of alcohol doesn't subdue the noise. It's the family's money of course but I would have thought more respect and prayers would accrue to the departed with the equivalent cost given to a food bank. That's just my thinking of course. Must remember to get that done for myself.

(roland.francis@gmail.com)

UK MPs concerned about Goa mining
22 Oct: Times of India. Two British MPs of Indian descent have lent their support to concerns about the devastation being wrought by indiscriminate mining in Goa, as well as support for state government action to contain this. One of the lawmakers is of Goan origin-Valerie Vaz. The other is Virendra Sharma. Both belong to the opposition Labour party. Fellow Labour MP, John McDonnell, had recently tabled what is known as an early day motion (EDM)… Ten MPs have so far supported the motion, including Vaz and Sharma… Two organizations in the UK - Goa Foundation and Save Goa Campaign - have been lobbying British MPs … 595 words,  click here

Death: Olav Menezes
20 Oct: Panjim, Goa. OLAV MENEZES (Born 1946). Husband of Gloria. Father of Bianca/Croydon; Russel. Grandfather of Dylan and Shaenne Marie. Funeral Mass on 22 Oct at 4 pm at the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Taleigao.

BBC Video: Tourism in Goa
20 Oct: BBC. The traditional face of Goa is the gathering at the Catholic Church. The Portuguese ruled here for over 400 years. Now a fresh invasion is under way. British tourists are flocking to goa in their tens of thousands… A return airfare can be less than £200 [sic] … The tourist boom is changing Goa … and the culture in changing too … 2m. 45s. [Probable error with the date - this seems to be 10 years old!]  click here

Portugal, Busting the Euro Myth
20 Oct: Navhind Times. When Goa was liberated from the Portuguese in 1961, the number of Goan families who migrated to Portugal was so large that it almost gained proportion of an exodus. Today, however, no one from Goa visits Portugal either for higher studies or livelihood… The Portugal of 2012 seems to be neither a favourite tourist destination, nor a shoppers’ delight… However, it is finally the Portuguese people, who make Portugal what it is, with their charming and delightful behaviour… 2166 words.  click here

Labour urged to investigate Keith Vaz election
21 Oct: The Sunday Times (UK). By Mazher Mahmood and Robin Henry. The Labour party was facing calls last night to investigate the eligibility of Keith Vaz to sit on its ruling body. Vaz has been a member of Labour's national executive committee (NEC) since 2007 as the representative of Bame Labour, an affiliated organisation that represents party members from ethnic minorities. However, court documents indicate that Vaz had not paid his annual subscription to Bame when he stood for re-election to the NEC in 2009. The significance of a seemingly technical infringement is that Labour had argued that another official could not seek re-election because she had not paid her subscription… When the allegations were put to Vaz, he said: "You will need to speak to the Labour party, thank you. I can't hear you, I'm abroad." … 878 words.

Goa readies for adventure tourism spin
21 Oct: IANS. After banking for years on Goa’s prowess as a beach tourism destination and a failed attempt to promote tourism in the hinterland, the state’s tourism department has now turned to adventure sports like hang-gliding, whitewater rafting and hot air ballooning to attract tourists…  click here

No more Scarlett Killings!
20 Oct: Goan Observer. By Rajan Narayan. Dear Foreign Tourist. The new home minister, Manohar Parrikar is committed to protecting you from the kind of hoodlums who have, in the past, taken pleasure in doping and raping foreign tourists. He is determined that there should be no more Scarlett Keelings washed ashore on the beaches of Anjuna or any other beach in Goa… He cannot prevent domestic tourists from ogling you. Or demanding that you should pose with them topless or bottomless so that they can go home and boast that they scored… PS: Dear Domestic Tourist, there is hope for you. Under the shack policy, racial discrimination is a punishable offence… 2353 words.  click here

Video: Exiled: The Ugandan Asian Story
21 Oct. BBC. This is the 40th anniversary of Idi Amin's expulsion of Ugandan Asians in 1972. Victims of this forced migration to Great Britain relive the shock and dangers of their escape, the hardship and heartbreak of their journey, arrival and first desperate days, to the turning points as they began to make new lives for themselves… Duration: 30 minutes. Programme was broadcast in the UK on 21 Oct. To watch online (UK only) till 27 Oct. 2012, go to the link below.

Video: Goa's Caste System
21 Oct: Prudent Media Contacto. Hindus can identify the caste though the surnames but the same does not happen with Christians who have three castes: Brahmins, Chardos and Shudras. What is important today is your profession rather that your caste … Part 1: 14m. 29s. Click here. Part 2: 12m. 16s. Click here.

Dressing the part, cops on Mission Goa to trail Shruti
21 Oct. 10:18 IST: Hindustan Times. Concealing their identity with long robes, rosaries and cowboy hats, a crack team of the Punjab Police is currently roaming in Goa, trailing 15-year-old Shruti Sachdeva and her alleged abductor Nishan Singh… The brief given to this team, selected carefully, was that it should first slip into outfits and melt in the crowd of Western tourists … Click here.
Shruti Found in Goa. 21 Oct.15:52 IST. Hindustan Times. Punjab police on Sunday was finally managed to find Shruti Sachdeva, who was kidnapped from her house and her alleged kidnapper Nishan Singh…Click here.

Roland Francis: For The Love of God - Stray Thoughts of a Toronto Goan

There has always been a very cherished but formal and unreal bond between the Goan and his God. In the days when it was taught that God was a generally unreachable Being, high above and sometimes beyond the pale of the pleas that his faithful sent out to him, praise and worship in the form of prayers was considered effective only in the strength of vocal chords. And that is where the Goan excelled.

A few decades ago, if you were a witness to a family rosary, a village Cross feast or even Sunday mass, you would discover the fortitude and power of the human voice in rural Goa. You would almost come to believe that Goans, like their rural counterparts in Portugal and even Italy, enjoyed a special audience with the Creator. That is until the chapel pews were empty, or the feni servings ended at the Cross feast with the supplicants dispersed to their normal everyday lives, invigorated with the powerful feeling that God was with them in their fight with their siblings, their friends and everybody else. They indulged in not just quarrels, but barefaced lying and cheating, malicious gossip, and injustices towards the already downtrodden. These transgressions didn't occur to them as the very sins that were just denounced from whichever place of worship they had returned. Brotherly love and forgiveness to all who asked it and even to those who didn't was not as practical a concept as say continuing the 35 year old misunderstanding as to why cousin Antonio in Kuwait did not attend one's daughter's baptism never mind the fact that he had left Goan shores just six months before that.

And then there was the regular attendance at all occasions religious. Every Angelus bell obeyed, every novena attended, every Sunday mass witnessed every feast partaken. If presence were an important factor and not compliance, then all Goans would have been saints even if till today, none has yet been granted sainthood.

Thankfully, those times are over. In the Diaspora, Goans are merely a part of the general trend. If there is a need to acknowledge a God it can be fulfilled at Christmas time or when my job had just been downsized. It is more important to have a personal relationship with my Maker and that can take the form of a little chat with him just as head on pillow, I am about to drop off to sleep. Sunday church can be dispensed with, after all God is omnipresent and I can pray to him everywhere. Does it really matter that I don't even do that. And then in the Goa of today, all hypocrisy is dispensed with. Lying and cheating are acts performed without any of the previous inhibitions and taken to new heights. Bribery and corruption are the new norms. Robbery and murders just an everyday thing. Killing on the roads is just a little bump in the motorist's day. Between then and now, either in Goa or the Diaspora, we have never got our moralities right, let alone this religion thing.

On a different note, visitations in funeral parlors in Toronto are not to be missed. If you are expecting a somber, prayerful event, think again. There is the lifeless body lying in a gilded coffin in front of which a few people come, say a quick prayer and quickly depart to the other parts of the large room. After that like a minor inconvenience, death is forgotten. Old friendships are renewed, invitations extended and social events promoted. Days in Africa, India and the Gulf are fondly remembered with the resting corpse not long ago a living friend or relative, totally excluded. Even the lack of alcohol doesn't subdue the noise. It's the family's money of course but I would have thought more respect and prayers would accrue to the departed with the equivalent cost given to a food bank. That's just my thinking of course. Must remember to get that done for myself.

(roland.francis@gmail.com)