Gone too young
Goa saw an outpouring of grief over past days, following the tragic and untimely death of 38-year-old priest from Colva, Fr Thomas Remedios Fernandes. Fernandes died after rescuing picnickers who were drowning at a Canacona beach last Sunday.
Given as we are to being critical, society is quick to gossip when a priest is caught up in controversy. Unfortunately, there is little appreciation for the man of the cloth (or religious women) who devote a lifetime serving society, their fellow man and also what they believe in.
Once in a while, we come across dramatic cases like this one, where a priest dies while ensuring others can live. But there are less visible sacrifices of various shapes being enacted on a daily basis too.
Schools in Goa, quite a few of which offer a quality education at a very nominal cost, are another example. If the State had been more supportive of the idea, perhaps Goa could have had more such colleges and institutions of higher learning. Religious have also played their role in health-care institutions and so many homes for the aged. Society owes a debt to them.
All religions have played their role in building society, maybe with a slightly different emphasis in each case. Goa has a lot to gain by ensuring that part of the religious zeal can be tapped to promote social causes, before politicians come along to en-cash it for their own selfish purposes.
The instant responses to the drowning at Galgibaga shows that Goa indeed has its own small heroes, even if many die unsung and unnoticed. It also shows that society, despite the growing secularisation, does have a lot of respect for its religious, and the latter often live up to it. Maybe some of the criticism comes because we have such high expectations.
Fr Thomas deserves to be remembered for his sacrifice. Rather than just offering words, Goa could do something concrete by way of building more awareness about the hazardous beaches, and what times are unsafe for swimming. For a coastal State, it is quite inexplicable that many Goans might not know swimming; something could perhaps be done on this front too.
Another death of young businessman Roque Francisco Ivo da Costa Azaredo (Bebe), 43, also reminds us that the favourites of the gods go young. Costa Azaredo comes from a well-known Margao family, and his death has touched many too. Earlier in May, popular homeopath Sushruta Martins was also felled by a heart-attack, some time before his 50th birthday.
Men like these leave behind a legacy meant to inspire. May we learn from their lives and take ahead all the good they left behind.
Open to learning
Media reports say a Goa Government committee has supported the idea for setting up a State Open School in Goa. This is good news. For a state which has such a strait-jacketed educational system, and few options for the student, accompanied with a huge drop-out population, it would be nice indeed to build such an institution.
Some caveats though: let merit be rewarded, and only the best be selected. Avoid the temptation to make this yet another institution which accommodates family, friends, political supporters and constituency members. Most importantly, the idea that existing National Open School accredited centres should be taken over by the proposed State Open School is counter-productive and short-sighted.
We need more options, not just old wine in new bottles. Of late, Goa has been showing an allergy for extending national-level institutions to our State. This has been the case with the proposed Central university too. It makes no sense to reject well-run national institutions.
The educationists on the panel must have had their reasons for suggesting the proposed State Open School be linked to the Goa Board. But why risk tainting a new institution with old ideas, and outdated ways of doing things? Above all, Goan students need more options. They deserve it.
