PUZZLE -- WHY DO UK GOANS LACK THE FEELING OF COMMUNITY?
By Frederick Noronha

Panjim, Dec 28: Why do Goans abroad lack that sense of community,
and find it difficult to build bridges among themselves? It's
because they lack the institutions to help them retain a sense of
identity, suggests Eddie Fernandes of the UK.

Fernandes, engineering librarian at the University College-
London, who was one of those who spoke at the NRI Goans
convention in Panjim on Tuesday said: "Other communities have
their places of worship, which double up as community centres."

But while Jews have their synagogues, Hindus their temples and
Muslims their masjids. But, the Goan Christian abroad is only a
"small minority" within the congregation in their places of worship.

"This is only a theory," he said, modestly, but suggested that it
needed to be explored nonetheless.

Fernandes pointed out to the situation in the UK, where the Goans
settled there were mostly second or third-generation Goans, whose
parents had arrived largely from East Africa in the late 'sixties
or early 'seventies.

"They may have never lived in Goa. But the fact that they went to
Goan schools, clubs and churches gave them the feeling of being
Goan... which sometimes was separate from being an Indian," said
Fernandes.

Unlike the East Africa, the club network is not available in the
UK, he noted. There were village-level institutions -- in some
cases more than one, like the Mapusa Union and the Mapusa
Association. But these met at best once or twice a year, said
Fernandes.

"There is this feeling that people feel isolated. They may not be
interested in knowing in detail about what's happening in Goa,
but would like to be keep abreast with what is happening around
their own communities," said he.

To build up a 'virtual' cyber-club through the Internet,
Fernandes' own attempt at a solution has been to launch a
newsletter called Goanet-UK that keeps expatriates in the UK
informed about what's happening.

It carries details of forthcoming events, dances and socials,
funerals, brief summaries of news from Goa, and such tidbits of
information. "We need to make people aware of what's going on.
Involvement will come at a latter stage," says Fernandes.

Brought out on Fridays, this two-page newsletter has grown
increasingly popular despite being only four months old, and some
400 copies of it are circulated, via email, fax and hand. "It's
readers are many times more," says Fernandes.

It sometimes gets passed around during Sunday Mass, among members
of the Goan community there too. Plans for it in the future
include building links between Goans visiting UK and the expat
community there, and also the expats visiting here and locals.

"Maybe we could put specialists coming down on visits to Goa with
their colleagues here," says Fernandes, who has also been working
on an initiative to list Goa's many and diverse books on the
Internet by getting various Goa-based educational and library
institutions to cooperate among themselves.

Fernandes pointed out that there was a need for cheap
accommodation among Goans visiting the UK, or those who had opted
for Portuguese nationality and had shifted to Britain recently.

Besides, he said, an Asian Chaplaincy might be able to help
Goans.

"There are some exciting developments. The Pilar Society (of
priests) has recently taken over the management of a church in
south-east London," said he.

Fernandes added: "Our hope is that church could be built up into
a focal centre for Goans, maybe a creche for Goan mums to bring
their kids to be looked after by the elderly from the community,
or even a place to learn Konkani," said he.  (ENDS)

NOTE: Eddie Fernandes can be contacted at ucylesf@ucl.ac.uk