It took one picture of a child washed ashore to awaken the slumbering world to the immigrant crisis in Europe. Until that day thousands of refugees were crossing into Europe daily and there were deaths due to suffocation in the boats or of drowning in the waters during the journey, but the world cared little about what was happening. This had gone on for weeks and was reported regularly, but would probably have carried on without the rest of the world batting an eyelid to the happenings. But, that one picture changed the way the world looked at this migration and refugee crisis.
It is difficult in these times for the mainstream media, or even the government, to ignore what is happening in any corner of the world. The social media has been doing a particularly good job of taking up issues that the mainstream media may be missing or ignoring. The refugee crisis was one such instance that got international attention only after that one picture started trending on the internet and was then splashed across the world in newspapers and on television.
If the tragedy affecting thousands can go unnoticed by world governments until one image goes viral, is it any surprise that back home governments can ignore minor tragedies like the ones taking place in Tiracol and Carmona or, for that matter, the objections to the marinas? There have been no major incidents yet in these two cases for the government to be rudely awakened. So the government can still remain in the period when it can afford to turn its back on the issue, simply because there is no crisis that has captured state or national attention.
In the case of Tiracol and Carmona, there are two small groups of villagers fighting two large conglomerates, fighting for their survival, fighting for their land and for their children and their children’s children. Yet, their voices are stifled by the lack of response from the government and the apathy shown to their cause. Cry as loud as they will or sing in protest as much as they can, the government will not be roused, but the moment there is some little act of violence, the government will rise from its siesta and show that it can indeed listen to the people.
It has happened before, even as recently as two months ago. Take for instance the Medium of Instruction (MoI) issue that has been hanging fire for years. As long as the people demanded the amendment to the law that would make grants to English legal, the government was happy to pay them mere lip service. It was only when one man sat on and indefinite hunger strike that the government began to take notice, and then when parents across Goa blocked traffic on highways did the government sit up and decide to act. Until that moment the issue was one that could be ignored.
When a government awakens only when there is some violence or there is a situation to which it cannot turn its back, it indicates that those in power are not in sync with the people and their interests and demands.
We now know that it’s not just elected governments in our State that feign ignorance of issues and protests, but even democratically elected government in other countries do that. That is no consolation, but an indication of just how governments the world over can take a stand that is directly contradictory to what the people are demanding. There is, no doubt, little to compare between the immigration crisis in Europe and the little battles being fought in our Goan villages, what is important and worthy of comparison is the response from the governments to the battles. It is ultimately when the government shows some amount of empathy to the demands of the people that one can truly say that this government is for the people. Goa, in the present circumstances cannot say this, and this could be the biggest reason why this government could face a hostile electorate in the months to come when it goes to the people seeking votes for another five year term.
