Goan Voice UK: Newsletter. Issue 2006-1. Jan. 05, 2006

Canada: Financial soothsayers make fearless forecasts for '06
31 Dec: Star Phoenix (Canada). … The idea that Ottawa will pay us to have more kids comes from aviation pundit Peter Paul de Souza, of Vancouver's Bains Travel, who is also flying the notion of Mandarin Chinese to replace French as the other official language and a new Alberta dinar to replace the loonie. Click here.
Peter Paul de Souza was born in Mbale, Uganda. He is a founder member of the Goan Overseas Association – Vancouver. For photo click here.

Football: Interview with Mariano Barreto
1 Jan: Correio de Manha (Portuguese). Click here for text and photo.

4 Jan: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. THOMAS GOMES (ex-Zanzibar). Husband of Sacru (Theodora). Father of Ivy/Luis, Amy/Stanley, Darryl/Emily, Nancy/Max and Desmond. Messages of condolences may be sent to ivydsa@rogers.com [Info from Claude Fernandes]

1 Jan: Tivim, Goa. MATTHEW MBA BRANGANZA (87) ex member of the Tanzania Police Force. Father of Longinus (Longhi) (Dar es Salaam), Artie DeMello (Houston-Texas). Brother of Antu/Loretta, Edviges/Edward Pereira, Grandfather of Clinton (Ohio), Roland and Melwyn - Australia; Sheldon, Brendon and Holden - Dsm; Sheila and Kevin - Houston, Texas. [Info from Claude Fernandes]

30 Dec: Surrey, UK. NORA FERNANDES. (Ex-Zanzibar/Ex-Uganda). Wife of John, sister-in-law of Esmeralda/late Facundo Rebello, late Thomas, Raymond/Pasquelina, Hazilda/Francis Joanes (USA), Robert/Angela (UK), late Victor, late Antu/late Annie, Lucy/Burt Forsythe, Filo/Sanu Mendes, Baltazar/Mara, Melchior/Goretti and Gaspar (All UK); sister of Zeno/Esterella (Mexico) and Manu/Priscilla (UK). Condolences to Shakti81@aol.com
The funeral is on Tues 17 Jan at 10.30am at Holy Family Church, Spinney Oak, Ongar Hill, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 1BP.

17 Nov: Mumbai. HILARY (LARRY) PEREIRA, (born 1956 in Pemba, Tanzania). Expired in a tragic train accident. Son of Elvira Fernandes Pereira and H.A, (Bertie) Pereira of Tanga, grandson of late H.B.Fernandes and Rosalina Coutinho Fernandes of Pemba and later Zanzibar and Late Dr.Joseph Michael Pereira and Adelaide Pereira of Bombay. [Info from goans_tanzanite]

ebay: All inc. holiday to Goa. Manchester flight.
5 Jan. ebay.co.uk. Item number: 6594692683. 2 adults. 1 week leaving 12th Jan return: 20th Jan. Auction ends 08-Jan-06 at 12:34:26 GMT. Current bid: £250. Click here.

Best budget breaks
31 Dec: The Guardian (UK). Departing January 14, Odyssey (0870 429 5090, www.odysseyholidays.co.uk has 14 nights at the two-star Renton Manor in Goa for £362 (saving £316).

Agony, not Ecstasy
31 Dec: Indian Express. On the last day of 2005, catch a moment to mourn what Goa has suddenly lost this holiday season. On its beaches of hedonism, creative anarchy and plain old good cheer, the moral police have spread their wet blanket … no more raves after the clock chimes the bewitching hour of ten! Their logic is simple in its absurdity. The fear of recreational drugs roams the corridors of officialdom … Goa’s Tourism Minister says, “Who cares about those tourists who want the rave experience?” … Goa has been valuable proof that a mostly traditional society can create agreeable spaces for innocuous revelry and creative eccentricity. Goa’s government is rupturing this calm. That calm cannot be put back in a hurry. Crack down on drugs, by all means. But not by placing a curfew on its beaches. Click here.

Hotel was a no-Goa
31 Dec: The Sun (UK). Karen Graham was furious when she discovered her three-star hotel in Goa was overbooked and she ended up staying in a guest house. She paid £1,500 for herself, partner Fraser and her son Theo, eight, to stay at the Mobor Beach Hotel. But they ended up in a tiny room at the Gaffinos guest house. Karen, 46, said: “Theo had to sleep on a thin mattress covered in ants.” Click here.

Goa: The Seaside Paradise
31 Dec: India Digest (UK). Travel article. Click here.

Where all the Hippies?
31 Dec: Weser Kurier (Germany). Every Wednesday in Anjuna hundreds of tourists flow into the sleepy coastal village in the north Goa for the famous Hippy flea market … Anjuna is still the meeting place of the alternative travel scene. Text, 696 words, in German. Click here.

Holiday Hotspots: Pack and Go
1 Jan: People (UK). GOA (7nts, b/b), Jan 14, £301, Gatwick, odyssey holidays.com (0870 429 5090).

Needed: Volunteer for bicycle route survey in Goa
1 Jan: Lonely Planet Travel Forum. Looking for a bicycling enthusiast to create and map scenic and cultural bicycling trails. Bed and breakfast provided. Preferable if you bring your own bike. Click here.
Cycle Goa that offers cycle tours of Goa for tourists. It is run by some expats. See their website www.cyclegoa.com

Goa for glory
1 Jan: The Sunday Sun (Newcastle). Travel article by Len Coates. 1042 words. Click here.

Tourists on to a Winner as Firms Slash their Prices
3 Jan: Daily Record. Latedeals.co.uk has a week in Brazil, for £259 and a week in Goa for £218. Both are from London. Click here.

How I caught a cheap flight
3 Jan: Rediff. Merril Diniz writes on the Mumbai to Goa experience. Click here.

Goa: Faded Colonial Grandeur, Stunning Beaches and Exotic Cuisine. By Tim Pile
4 Jan. South China Morning Post (Hong Kong). Dozing beside the Mandovi River, Panaji, in all its lethargic ambience, is an antidote to the hectic hedonism of the coast. By Indian state capital standards the pace of life is noticeably unhurried … Goa was a Portuguese colony for more than 400 years and left an eclectic cultural, religious and architectural legacy. 1186 words.

India's Skies Teem With Airlines as Fares Drop and Shares Soar
4 Jan. Bloomberg. 4092 words. Click here.

Scot Held In Sex Ring Bust. By Charles Lavery.
1 Jan: Sunday Mail (Scotland). Excerpts: Douglas Rankin has been arrested in India accused of masterminding a world-wide child sex trafficking ring. Rankin, 62, from Selkirk, was held after British security agents issued an India-wide alert for his arrest after he left his home in Goa … Indian police claim Rankin has smuggled children to the UK "at least once and perhaps three or four times" in recent years … Rankin is described by his aunt, Margaret as a "black sheep" … His two sisters, would combine their finances to send money to Goa so that he would never return home. Rankin has lived in Goa for 10 years, owns a six-bed home and is reputed to be involved in the water sports industry. But nobody connected to businesses there has ever heard of him. Indian police also found he was in Goa, a magnet for single European males and rife with under-age sex, on a fake visa. 615 words. Click here.

Brit not in paedophile list
3 Jan: Herald. Goa Police said British citizen Douglas Ian William Rankin, 62, who was arrested in Bangalore with two teenage boys didn’t figure in the list of wanted paedophiles available with the State authorities … Police said further investigation is on. http://oheraldo.in/node/8206

This Scot paedophile had 10-yr honeymoon in Goa
3 Jan: Gomantak Times. A Scot, who was arrested in Bangalore on charges of masterminding a worldwide child sex racket, had a 10-year sojourn in Goa before shifting his base to Bangalore. However, the Goa police and the NGOs dealing with children in Goa seem to be clueless. Douglas Rankin, 62, from Selkirk, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle two boys into Britain on false passports. Preliminary investigations by the immigration officials have revealed that Douglas was illegally staying in Goa since last 10 years. Once again his arrest raises the issue of using Goa as a holiday destination by paedophiles to harvest victims. [Joel Newsclips Summary].

Briton is key child sex trafficker
5 Jan: Deccan Herald. British citizen Douglas Ian William Rankin (62) who was arrested on December 24 by Immigration authorities at the Bangalore airport, is said to be one of the key players of a world-wide child sex trafficking ring. Click here.

BSNL cuts fixed line rental
31 Dec: Herald. In a New Year gift to its 3.5 crore fixed line subscribers, state owned BSNL launched a pre-paid mobile card with lifetime validity. [This is good news to regular visitors to Goa] http://oheraldo.in/node/8112

Goa CM assures corruption-free administration in '06
31 Dec: NetIndia123.com. Goa Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane today assured a transparent and corruption-free administration while striving for welfare of the downtrodden and the weaker sections of society in the New Year. Click here.

Goa: Villagers held, women begin protest at temple
1 Jan: Indian Express. Women of Goa's Salari village have gathered at a local temple to protest the arrest of the men of their households following the murder of Prithiviraj Rane, a stone quarry owner. Rane was lynched by a mob opposed to the illegal stone crushing unit run by his family. Click here.

Marmagoa Dockers Observe Martyrs’ Day
1 Jan: People's Democracy. Workers of Vasco-da-Gama and Marmagoa paid their homage on December 20 last to the two martyrs, Conceisaum Costa and Thomas Fernandes, who were killed in the brutal police firing during the historic seventy-day general strike of the dock workers in 1964. Click here.

Goa celebrates arrival of 2006
1 Jan: WebIndia.123.Com. Goans celebrated New Year with gusto along with tourists from across the globe blending traditional music and dance with the bash of rock and disco. Where youngsters enjoyed the bash in various discos, the older celebrated the New Year in some family restaurants with traditional ball dance. Click here.

Goa seeks overseas Goans' help in development
3 Jan: New Kerala Com. Goa Governor S.C. Jamir Tuesday called upon Goans settled abroad to help shape the state's destiny by contributing to developmental plans. Inaugurating the third edition of Gomant Vishwa Sammelan, a convention of Goans based abroad as well as elsewhere in the country, Jamir advised the participants to focus on the plight of the educated unemployed … The two-day event, however, has once again failed to attract Goans of note from outside the state. Many well-known Goans, including Mumbai-based architect Charles Correa and Citibank's Victor Menezes, have given the meet a slip. Click here.

Goan NRIs hoping against hope
3 Jan: Herald. For the third time in Goa, Non Resident Indians (NRIs) will voice their expectations on a common platform in the hope of receiving some response from the government. The Gomant Vishwa Sammelan, a worldwide Goans convention organized by the NRI Goa Facilitation Center sets stage on January 3 and 4, 2006 in Panjim. However with the last two conventions held in 2004 and 2005, not much of an outcome has been in sight, according to NRIs. 458 words. http://oheraldo.in/node/8200

Goa-n strong!
3 Jan. Times of India, Goa isn't just for the party season. Thus far, Goa has been a popular choice to bring in the New Year. But for those who don't exactly love crowds, Goa is best visited after the party hats are discarded and the mass exodus of people out of Goa takes place in the first week of January. Click here.

Goa Tenancy Act To Be Amended Soon
3 Jan: IndLaw.com. The Goa Tenancy Act would be amended suitably so that its provisions are applicable to the entire state, Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane said. The amendment would seek to confer ownership rights on the tenants, who had not hitherto been covered under the Act. This gains significance in the light of the recent lynching to death of a landlord's son, Prithviraj Rane, on December 28 by irate villagers who had been deprived of tenancy rights to the land they had tilled for ages. Click here.

Sattari people’s ultimatum to the govt
3 Dec: Digital Goa: People of Sattari today took out a marcha on Mamlatdar office at Valpoi demanding the immediate release of all the accused in Saleli incident. The 4000 strong morcha which was in support of the people of Saleli was attended by the people from all the villages of Sattari taluka. A memorandum was given to the mamlatdar asking for the release of all the accused within 24 hours. They have also threatened to start chain hunger strike if they are not release before the expiry of the deadline. People from all the villages will participate in the hunger strike. http://www.digitalgoa.com/

Church official opposes proposed premarital AIDS testing in Goa
3 Jan: UCAN. A Church official and an AIDS worker in Goa have expressed reservations over a government plan to make premarital AIDS/HIV testing mandatory. Father Valeriano Vaz, who heads Goa and Daman archdiocese's Council for Social Justice and Peace, says such a law would infringe on people's privacy … Another priest, Father Eremito Rebelo, welcomed the government initiative but said he fears the medical certificates could be manipulated … Jeromy Dias, a physician who heads Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSAS), acknowledged that making HIV/AIDS tests mandatory is tough. 640 words. Click here.

Actress Celina Jaitley to portray a Catholic Goan girl
3 Jan: IndiaFM. Actress Celina Jaitley talks about her forthcoming sex comedy film, Jawani Diwani. “I am playing a catholic Goan girl Roma Fernandez, who is one local celebrity, a famous singer. Even though she is glamorous and sexy, her thinking is very simple. She's a girl who doesn't believe in sex before marriage or other than being in love.” Click here.

Gambling - a Black Spot on the Golden Sands of Colva Beach
4 Jan: Daijiworld. The local MLA and animal husbandry minister Francisco (Micky) Pacheco has promised to cleanse the Colva Beach, which is being stained by gambling activities. However, the activities seemed to continue, allegedly because the police collect 'hafta' from the gamblers. Click here for photos and full text.

Goa to organise Children's Film Festival
5 Jan: Hindustan Times. The Goa state government, in association with the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI), is all set to organise a state-level children's film festival in the state from January 9 to 14, 2006. Click here.

Goa Governor S.C. Jamir has called upon Goans settled abroad to help shape the State's destiny by contributing to developing plans in Goa. Perhaps, this is an opportunity for Goan Voice (UK) readers to pick up the cudgels to help realise Jamir's hopes.

Many from the Goan Diaspora have been able to visit Goa on holiday--something almost taken for granted. Now, in up-and-coming India, it is possible for those in India to take charter flights to foreign destinations such as Delhi-London return for Rs 10,000. Such development is explained clearly on Goanet.

At long last, the issue of sewage disposal using modern technology seems ready to be addressed in Goa. A Japanese agency is in the process of generating plans for such a vital scheme.

Does Goa/India enjoy the benefit of Fair Trade in the global market-place? Much in-depth discussion on this theme is available currently on Goanet.

Are we seeing the beginning of widespread sporadic upheavals in rural Goa, specifically in the areas of the New Conquests? On Dec 28, 2005, the son of 'landed gentry' was murdered by an angry 'peasant' mob with a long standing land grievance. Also, there was much stoning and injury to 40 policemen. Get to the bottom of this issue from several sources on Goanet.

Finally, would GV(UK) readers believe that Goa now has to import the cashew nut from Indonesia? Read about this new situation in a state which normally was a net exporter of the cashew nut. Also, find out about the current high incidence of suicide in Goa and why this may be happening.

More details can be found at the Goanet archives at http://www.goanet.org Or to subscribe to Goanet, send an email to subscribe@goanet.org

Rescued Rani is home for holiday
30 Dec: Yorkshire Post. A puppy discovered in Goa by two English animal lovers has just enjoyed her first Christmas with the family who spent thousands of pounds to bring her back to their North East Lincolnshire home. 576 words. Click here.

Real Estate, Again. By V. M. de Malar
30 Dec: Herald. William Dalrymple was reading excerpts from his popular non-fiction to a rapt audience .. he finished and said. “We’ve just been talking about how nice it would be to get a place somewhere near here.” Ugh. Real estate, again. No matter where you go, who you meet, this past year in Goa has been about land transfer, land grabs, land use, property, property, property, we have it, everyone else wants it … If we don’t take heed right away the next stop on this ride will see us become a Konkani Cancun or the subcontinental version of the hellish Costa del Sol, where all local interests are sidelined in favour of a corporate economy, where society is hollowed out and the environment hammered into submission, where the landscape is completely submerged under a tidal wave of concrete. 708 words. http://oheraldo.in/node/8085.

Goa Bans Ravers
30 Dec. Gurn.net (UK). Popular clubbing holiday destination Goa has banned rave parties in the trance circuit of Anjuna-Vagator-Chapora because of fears of illegal drug use. All parties must now end at 10pm. Inspector General of Police, Ujwal Mishra said "We will not tolerate consumption of drugs. Rave parties are the marketplace for drug dealers and users. You can smell drugs in the air when you walk into these parties. The police have banned parties in a pre-emptive action against the narco trade." Worst hit will be the locals of Goa, many of whom depend on the tourist trade generated from rave parties. Click here.

India now fears Bali-type attack
31 Dec: Times of India. A code-red kind of alert has ripped across the country, bringing scientific installations, borders as well as beach revellers in Kerala and Goa and consulates within its ambit. Click here.

Here’s how they will usher in New Year
31 Dec: Bahrain Tribune. A slew of Bollywood actors, filmmakers and musicians are heading for Goa to ring in the New Year. Click here.

Net sexcitement this New Year
31 Dec: MidDay. Mumbai’s dance bar clients, who were left high and dry after the government’s ban, will now be seen in a new avatar — sex escorts. They can be easily booked through the Internet. Packages offered range between Rs 90,000 and Rs 2.5 lakh. The sites offer outdoor packages for Goa, Kerala and local hill stations. Click here.

Art by the seaside
31 Dec: South Asian Women’s Forum. What happens when art and the sea collide on the sands of Goa? Chances are somewhere nearby you’ll find artist Subodh Kerkar creating waves and a visual treat for beach-goers and city-dwellers alike. http://reeta.sawf.org/Prose/5532.aspx

Let Gandhi die – Winston Churchill
1 Jan: Gulf Daily News (Bahrain). Winston Churchill, Britain's Second World War prime minister, was prepared to let Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi starve to death if he went on hunger strike while interned during the war, archives released in London showed yesterday. Click here.

'Indian doctors jobless in UK'
2 Jan: Hindustan Times. A growing number of Indian doctors who have come to Britain over the past five years in response to the NHS's global appeal for staff, are still jobless, living in poverty. Click here.

India will bid for 2016 Olympic Games: Kalmadi
2 Jan: PTI. India would bid for 2016 Olympic Games, Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi said today … Urging Goa to host the 2011 National Games, Kalmadi said if the state government showed interest in hosting the Games, the IOA would provide 50 per cent of the budget to develop the infrastructure. Click here.

Dubai: Jacky's Electronics: Win a Emirates Holiday package to Goa
2 Jan: AME Info. Jacky's is giving 10 lucky couples the chance to win a two-night, three-day, all expenses paid Emirates Holiday package to Goa, India, to watch the one-day international cricket match between England and India on April 3, 2006. To qualify for this draw, shoppers will have to purchase any LCD or Plasma TV from Jacky's. http://www.ameinfo.com/75071.html

UK: 'sex for visa' claim
3 Jan: The Sun. Corrupt officials bed attractive girls desperate to avoid being kicked out of the country in return for granting them visas. Meanwhile “ugly” migrants risk having their applications rejected. [Revealed by a NRI whistleblower] Click here.

Anniversaries of 2006
3 Jan: The Daily Telegraph (UK). 7 April 1506: Born, in the castle of Xavier, near Sanguesa, Navarre: Francis Xavier (1506-52). He joined Ignatius Loyola in the founding of the Society of Jesus and spent the last decade of his life travelling in the far East, preaching the Gospel. He died within sight of China and his remains are enshrined at Goa. Click here.

India’s rave days are fading fast
4 Jan. The First Post (UK). Goa has been tense these last 10 days … Would Sloanes and their consorts be able to mix with hardcore Israelis, wild-eyed Italians and 'eve-teasing' Bombay sleazoids? … The Christmas orgy at Anjuna had been cancelled by the fuzz. Would the big one, Hilltops, happen? It did, for three thousand, and, as of the time of writing, the third day is pounding on. It's gritty (stoned) and messy (uber-stoned), and, according to participants, all too full of groping middle-class Indians. "Old Goa is passing," said Prakash, as he fixed a banana lassi. "It is all becoming commercial now." It certainly is - but for now at least the beat goes on. 315 words. Click here.

UK: Half of London’s Babies Born to Migrants
5 Jan: The Telegraph (UK). One in five of all births in England and Wales - and one in two in London - is to foreign-born mothers, according to a report published today. Click here.

Fri 6/1: QVC 3.00pm (60mins) Tanzanite from Tanzania
Originating from Tanzania, these gems possess an exotic, vivid blue colour that is kissed by purple hues.

Sat 7/1: UKTV Food 2:00pm (30min) Masterchef Goes Large
Three contestants must then cook for more than 100 people in top Indian restaurant Cafe Spice.

Sun 8/1: Discovery Travel and Living. 12:00 (30mins). Feast India: Indian Offerings
Barry applies his imaginative touch to a selection of simple, tasty dishes that are truly Indian at heart.

Thu 12/1: UKTV History Plus 1. 12:00 (60mins). Churchill
Documentary recalling Churchill's opposition to giving India a degree of independence during the 1930s, an ill-considered stance which effectively kept him out of power for many years.

Mon. 9/1: BBC Radio 4: 10.45pm (45mins) Book at Bedtime: A Passage to India
Commencing the 1st of 15 episodes: at the same time, every night. Samuel West reads EM Forster's novel- a powerful and dramatic dissection of the worst possible face of the British rule in India.

Tues. 10/1: BBC Radio 4: 8.00pm (40mins) The Black Middle Classes
Is there such a thing as a black middle class in Britain today? If so, who are they and how do they feel about their status?

Mon. 29 May G.O.A. FAMILY DAY/JUNIOR FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT Archbishop Lanfranc School, Mitcham Road Croydon CR9 3AS: Teams from Village Organisations welcome. Contact: Vincent.Fernandes@steria.co.uk 020-8764-8780/020-8251-2737; 020-7217-6330 (Work). Ian.Remedios@lineone.net 020-8658-7769 or Lloydlobo07@hotmail.com 020-8856-6018.

Sat. 3 Jun. G.O.A. 40TH ANNIVERSARY BALL at Wandsworth Civic Suite from 7.00 pm. Further details from - Norma Menezes-Rahim 020 - 8771 4457