It’s official. After years of not-very-covert ops, concerted efforts to flood our soil with migrant sympathisers, recruiting armies of devious sleeper cells planted to maim our young soldiers with addiction, ignorance and apathy, it has all boiled down to this: an all out declaration of war against Goa. The expansion of coal handling is nothing less than a promise of a literal death sentence to our children and priceless elders. If we stand by meekly and toast the armies that commandeer our streets, rivers, rails and air, we are the ultimate traitors to this sacred oasis.
The in-depth report by the Herald this Sunday was not just terrifying like the national media usually tries to make it out to be, but carried bright sparks of hope for those who care for their roots. Teacher-cum-farmer Dolvyn Braganza, advocate Savio Correia, journalist Smita Nair all boosted my spirits with their love for Goa, dogged determination and painstaking research respectively, qualities that are sadly amiss in the vice-scarred Goa of today. Where do we go from here? Goans are not relentless warriors like the Afghans. Granted, our ancestors should have gone the French way decades ago and offered the dragon’s head while it was still nursing on petty theft and not eyeing the hearts and lungs of babes.
Goa has one very important and almost forgotten asset: divine presence. Our community is God fearing, united, peace loving and most importantly, beloved by our common Creator. The bliss we have been living in and sharing with our visitors, both refined and rabid, is a clear sign of the favour our land enjoys. Goa has to evolve to Green and Clean: compulsory electric cars, zero tolerance to corruption and crime, an overdue halt to drugs and alcohol being served at high school cafeterias, a scientific and sustained end to daily multiple road fatalities, becoming a state where our kids are each groomed to be top athletes, artists, musicians, groundbreaking scions of Green industry and not just numbers on tombstones or regulars at the local taverna/matka bookies stall.
My sincere advice to all Goans is to wake up at dawn, shower and make a beeline for your nearest temple, mosque or church and invoke the assistance of the rightful Father of this charming maiden who we have collectively blasphemed, either wilfully or by turning a blind eye to her rape and torture.
