I request Mr Falcao to read the letter of Mr Roncon and my letter carefully before making a statement. In the title itself as well as in the last paragraph of the letter Mr Roncon has implied that the person is a beast and there is a need to get rid of this beast. Even Herald has accepted below my letter that calling a mentally ill person a beast by a citizen reporter is unacceptable. Mr Roncon has made a spectacle of a mentally ill person by even publishing his photo besides calling him a beast and Mr Falcao says where is it implied? I request Mr Falcao to show me also in the letter of Mr Roncon where he has stated that the person is mentally unstable and could be in a danger of hurting himself? Being a resident of Panjim, I have seen that person and know that he is mentally ill. Hence I brought the matter to the notice of Herald.
I had mentioned it in my previous letter and am mentioning it again for the convenience of Mr Falcao. Yes, the State Government should do its bit for the welfare of the mentally ill but society cannot absolve itself of its responsibility towards its less fortunate brethren by just writing letters to newspapers. How difficult is it for anyone to dial 100 and get the person admitted to the Psychiatry Hospital in Bambolim if he is causing a nuisance to society? Why leave everything to the Government? If each one of us does our bit towards our less fortunate brethren Goa will be a better place for them.
How many of the 100s of mentally ill are Goans? asks Mr Falcao. I don’t know and I don’t care either. For me everybody is a child of God and my parents have not taught me to distinguish on the basis of caste, creed, language and Goans or non-Goans. Instead they have taught me never to look down upon others if you don’t want others to look down upon you.
Is Goa a home for all such people at Goan tax-payer’s cost? asks Mr Falcao. Are the mentally ill and beggars on the street receiving Government aid, Mr Falcao? If they were receiving Government aid they would not be on the streets in the first place. Who said non-Goans are not tax payers in Goa? 40% of Goa’s population consists of non-Goans. There is something called as indirect tax which every resident of Goa is paying wheather he is a Goan or not. If non-Goans are paying VAT on petrol and food items and other things and house tax, road tax and garbage tax in addition to electricity and water bills in Goa why should the destitute non-Goans be not entitled to receive aid from the Goa Government?
I have mentioned in my previous letter that the homeless mentally ill and beggars are victims of circumstances which Mr Falcao has conveniently ignored. Just because God has blessed us with good food, shelter, clothing and a family it does not mean that we should look down upon victims of circumstances just because they are non-Goans.
Jesus said “whatever you do to the least of my people you do unto me”. Let us keep these words of Jesus in mind and be generous to our less fortunate brethren who are victims of circumstances rather than taking pride in our selfishness.
(Note: All further communication on this topic stands closed)
