It’s a Saturday night. It could have been a Saturday night in 2019. The scene outside a street sidebar in a tiny lane in Chapora was baffling. There were cars and two-wheelers parked to the brim. A motley crowd, of perhaps all the foreigners in that part of Goa, were on the streets and in the open space in front of the bar. They had glasses of, presumably, alcohol. We are certain orange juice was not the drink of choice. There was drinking and merrymaking on the streets. The bar itself was packed with party-goers like sardines. And not a single one of them wore a mask.
If ever there was an image that cocked a snook at the government, in clear derision and contempt at its efforts to implement basic SOPS for COVID prevention even as establishments open up, this was it.
It wasn’t much different at a newly opened restaurant in North Goa with tables on the road. The scene resembled an out of jail party, full of regular social party animals of North Goa, many of them from outside Goa, who have second and third homes in Goa. The bar was choc a bloc and the tables outside were spilling over onto the streets.
Both these incidents are eyewitness accounts of someone who saw what was going on and hurried back out in less than 2 minutes.
The point is, this kind of irresponsible actions will spell doom for both health and industry because the government will clamp down if this goes on. But does the course correction lies in stricter measures, or genuine conversations with people, who the youth they believe in and respect and are comfortable talking to? Should the government think out of the box in an exercise to get businesses and people to understand the seriousness of the virus?
The government has shown the gumption to do some out of the box thinking in the past when they had to popularize the idea of voting, especially at a time when there were several young voters who would be casting their ballot for the first time.
The government could use popular Goans in various fields to spread the message. This idea, however, was met with mixed feelings.
Sonia Shirsat noted Fadista singer felt a campaign was not necessary because people had been bombarded for the last six months with all the information that was needed. The cases she said was due to the behaviour of people. Shirsat said “People seem to be trying to make up for missing out on six months of partying. I know of a person who went to a cousin’s party. Three days later the birthday boy tested positive and over the next couple of days all the cousins who met, tested positive. People seem to be motivated by the fact that those who tested positive recovered but they seem to conveniently ignore that quite a number of people have also died”. She ended by saying that everyone had to take responsibility.
Milroy Goes a film producer said he was receiving invites for page 3 parties but was staying away because it was the intelligent thing to do. He said “A communication strategy would be good but the youth will not listen because they are focused on having a good time. If a communication plan has to be worked out, it will need to have a very original plan”.
Another Goan Director Bardaroy Barreto who gave the world Nachom-ia-kumpasar said a lot of people had now come to Goa because they felt safe and the border had been thrown open. He said “The government is responsible for the economy but everyone has to take responsibility. It is economy versus safety. If the outlets are opened then the sops have to be strict otherwise the number of cases will keep increasing. Having a communication plan may be great but then the people have to do their bit too please. ”
He kicks footballs around the field and now sports the country’s jersey. Keenan Almeida felt it would be a very good idea to craft a communication strategy to deal with the virus. He said “I would not have a problem being part of such an initiative because it is for the good of the people. The number of cases are increasing every day and something ought o be done to reduce it”. Straight shooter he certainly is.
It can be safely said one of the great passions of Goa is tiatr. Mario Menezes who writes, directs and acts in tiatrs said it would be a very good idea if the authorities could use tiatrists and footballers because they were very popular in Goa. He said “The message will reach a lot of people and importantly the youth. These two mediums are very strong in Goa and should be used for the benefit of society in this case”.
Ceasar D Mello another tiatrist with a strong following said many songs about the virus, had already been released and the government would do a world of good if artists were used to spread the message.
Veteran and popular Rose Ferns felt the government could try but the people would have to learn to listen and importantly follow the message. He said “You go the fish market there is a crowd. Where is the social distancing, where are the masks”. Rose signed off by saying the government could try but it would not amount to much.
The doyen of the tiatr stage, Prince Jacob, however, had a different view. He said “The borders have been opened, people have come in large numbers, they think it is a holiday destination even with the virus running riot. Social distancing is not being maintained. The tourists, as well as the locals, know the sops but they are not following them. The government can try and if it comes off well and good.”
Noted actor Tapan Acharya, who as the State icon for the last Lok Sabha elections agreed that the responsibility lies with people “Look at Europe and how they dealt with the virus. The people listened to the authorities. Here the government did all it could but how did the people respond? Over here, largely it was ignored; a communication plan will not work if the people don’t do their bit”.
Dr Shekhar Salkar a senior medical professional who has been in the thick of the battle against the virus laughed when asked if a communication campaign would help. He said “The government said the virus is there but had to open the border for reasons related to the economy. People have to choose whether they want to live or to die. It is so clear you cannot have parties especially indoors because the virus will circulate but who will listen. The government has given the rules and the regulations but are they being followed. Your guess is as good as mine. People have to decide, that’s it.”
Savio Messias the former President of the TTAG was blunt when he said “The government has been trying to educate people about garbage for ten years. Have we succeeded? I will say this; a campaign will be a waste of money. The only way to fight this virus is to fine people not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing norms. This worked during the seat belt and the helmet campaign.
There are no easy answers to this. But the bottom line is we cannot stop trying and ask everyone to do their bit.
