As you celebrate today with family and friends, I first take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas from my family and the Goa Forward Party. I pray that through the birth of Lord Jesus, we Goans may realize our call and mission to commit to a life of peace, joy and hope and bring to our community the values of truth, justice and liberty for all.
This Christmas season, I urge you all to remain safe, maintain social distancing, and protect our vulnerable and elderly citizens. Our State has now found up to ten new cases of the UK Covid-19 strain, and our government needs to take the responsibility head on to step up their efforts on testing, and contact tracing – so that we all can have a safe and secure Christmas season. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend that should you feel any symptoms please get yourself tested immediately. We are all responsible, and united as one team we can save ourselves and our families from this ongoing pandemic.
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So much has happened in Goa in the past year; we have witnessed the outbreak of COVID-19, gone through lockdowns, and protested for the safety of our environment and culture. Yet, we continue to battle the ongoing issues from double-tracking, new virus strains, offline exams, work and tourism policies, and what we can eat. I am not going to lie; this year has been difficult. It has been tough for our frontline heroes who work daily to keep us all safe; it has been difficult for our Goan tourism operators who experience weeks and months of low business. This year has also been difficult for our youth who face the ongoing threat of offline exams, it has been difficult for us environmentally – from Mollem to Mhadei, we are going through a disastrous period of environmental harm which poses so many climate and health risks for our future generations.
This year also marked our 60th year of Liberation, yet our children suffered at the hands of unwarranted arrests over their freedom of speech and peaceful protests. We saw this government open up Goa to COVID-19 – welcoming untested tourist and visitors; holding ZP elections without major social distancing measures; and jeopardizing our heritage by attempting to place Old Goa under the Panjim PDA. This year was a year of woe, yet the government did nothing to alleviate the people of Goa. What it did was work in benefit of our neighboring State Karnataka and greedy tycoons who seek to cripple Goa for generations to come.
A few weeks ago, I wrote that Pramod Sawant is leading Goa into a future of surrender and I called all Goans to unite so that we can Save Goa Now for our collective future. We as a united community must act now, and not wait for tomorrow or future elections. I was delighted to see our youth lead the way, and I am so proud of their courage, determination and hope. Their hope is what motivates me to continue extending my hands to all Goans from all backgrounds to unite. We can and must unite as ‘One Team Goa’, a team that can defeat this inconsiderate and intolerant Team BJP. Our youth is leading the way for Goa’s new liberation, a liberation driven by hope.
This Christmas let us realize the power of hope and unity. Let us stand together – shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm – as one community, and one people to drive out intolerance, injustice, and inequality from our State. As I said previously that if you believe in fighting for the defense of Goa’s unique culture and heritage, then my arms are open to you. We will not quit, we will not succumb to the destruction of our environment, culture, and future. We are Team Goa, and through our values of hope and unity we can win!
Once again, I take this moment to wish you and your families a safe and blessed Christmas, may the birth of Lord Jesus bring Goa the gifts of hope and unity. Dev Borem Korum
(The writer is the President of Goa Forward Party)
