Tiburcio Gonsalves
I was commenting on a Facebook post by a concerned member (Goenkar) on ‘Goa Speaks’. The issue raised by the member was ‘Why not revive Goa’s oldest regional party UGDP or the United Goans Democratic Party? My comment was a simple “Maybe, but without the word ‘united’’. The gentleman who posted the above post requested me to elaborate with an obvious ‘Why?’ I went on to add that ‘the word ‘united’ was meant to fool Goans. The party no doubt had potentially very good leaders (still has) but never did justice to their potential. Moreover, the point I was trying to make was that the party was anything else but united!
I may sound too critical but would rather put it in plain words than being very diplomatic. It seems to me that disunity is in the DNA of Goans. Most of the villages in Goa would boast of at least one ‘United Club’ with absolutely no unity in true sense of the word. Obviously, there are enough people to take advantage of such a situation. Invariably, there will be at least two factions in every club, one opposing the other even without a good reason. According to some members of various clubs I talked to, most of the infighting and frictions in clubs are attributed to outside interference by politicians. The divide could well be based on the lines of castes, religion, social status or political affiliations. But posters, banners and all PR exercises try to portray a very rosy picture. Who are we trying to fool?
Over a decade ago my quest for greener pastures took me to Bahrain a country that still boasts of having the first oil well in the Middle East. Social life was affected to some extent initially as it took a while to get acclimatised to the extreme climate of the desert. But as days & months passed, weekends became much more interesting, especially at the ‘Young Goans Club’ in Manama, Bahrain. The place was full of buzz, booze & promised good fellowship with friends & acquaintances. The club premises right in the heart of the capital city Manama was among some of the oldest but well maintained buildings on Shaik Abdulla Avenue. The Sacred Heart Church was about five minutes walk from the club and as a consequence most Goans attending the Friday and Sunday service at the church made it a point to pay a visit to the club as well in order to end the weekend quite literally on a high.
As the Goan diaspora in Bahrain and the world over celebrates ‘World Goa Day-2018’, I urge all ‘Niz Goenkars’ to set aside differences to celebrate ‘Amchi Mati Amchi Bhas’…Viva Goa!
