SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2024
Molly Fernandes
Goa is in pain and is heard groaning loud due to the horrifying and unmerciful attitude of the leaders of our country who are hell bent to devour Goa of its hills, mountains, rivers, by the ruthless massacre of ages old trees and forestation, in another word eliminating the pipe line of our breathing, yes, trafficking of our lungs, for the sake of the only and only Adani! where the RBI sanctions crores of rupees loan to the Adanis, when the economy is at its worst recession in the history of its inception!
No doubt, our resources are being sliced to dust and din, to smoke - only to feel, eat and sleep coal. This season when all get geared in preparation to celebrate the Universal feast of Light of the world – the Birth of Jesus, Goans and Goenkar are treading the streets of every Goan village, on the roads and market places, fighting to allow the Goans to breathe and let live in our own land, on our own sea shores….
It’s high time for the Goa government to listen to the plea of Goans, the youth and convey the sentiments to the Central Government(CG) and not to say, study korunk zai; uprant polleatole; coal kami kortale! This is not the time to say all that. Pandemic was not meant for you and the CG to rob the Goans of their rich culture and heritage; of our livelihood.
We request you to come and attend the meetings and listen to what the youth have to say!, and know the ground reality. Not to look into the outdated 1968-69 plan of the railways. It was a painful experience, dolleanim dukham bhorli, ekvis ani vis vorsamchea tornatteank uloita ti polleun. Lhan lhan bhurgim rostear ieun hi jagrutai kortat ti dolle ugtte korun polleunchi. Goenkar amdharanim, tumcho rajinamo diun, tumchi osmitai ani Goenkarponnachi vhoddvik dakounk ek avahaan ani bori sondhi. Polkim utram uloi nakat!
At this time I remember Greta Thunberg from Swedish who protested outside the Swedish Parliament in 2018 at age 15. She had leaflets available for people who passed by explaining why she was protesting: “I am doing this because you adults are shitting on my future.” She had these concerns which are parallel to what the Goan youth for now is saying. That humanity is facing an existential crisis due to climate change; That climate change will have a disproportionate effect on young people; that they want to enjoy the life what you and I have lived busking in the sun on our beaches and tracking in the wild forests, etc…
Greta’s great challenge had an impact on the world leaders at the UN General Assembly at New York City, USA. They taunted her because they are afraid of her challenges. The Dabolim MLA too taunted the youth with similar words when they went to meet him.
The youth reverberates: How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. People are suffering, people are dying, and the entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. So stop all these, we say no to double tracking, no to coal, no to marine projects; no to 53kms of sea land to the MPT. We want our Goa, we want our forest; our rivers, our seas, and our land!
