Do we need to take a turn from triumphalist Goan subject to a suffering Goan subject? It appears that we as Goans not only have to live with the burden of colonization but have to deal with growing neo-colonization of those who wish to convert Goan land and culture into economic resources. Perhaps, we have an imperative of fidelity to Goa, Goan-ness and Goans to view with compassions and empathize with the suffering Goans and Goa. This turn to the suffering Goan is not one of the victimization employed by the right-wing politics that uses politics of fear to mobilize people. The turn to the suffering Goan and Goa comes from the Christian understanding of the cross and the hope of resurrection. Goa, Goan-ness and Goans of all walks of life are marked by Christian ethos and hence the present plight of Goans can find hope through its Christian heritage.
Christianity, Hinduism and Islam as well as other religions have great resources that enable us to reach out to other humans and our world with Karuna. Hence, our religious resources can offer us human hope and affirmative action to face the anxieties and concerns of our days. This human hope can mutate into a hope on behalf of Goans, Goan-ness and Goa. We can no longer be indifferent to the sufferings of Goa and Goans. The human hope that we have thought here has to lead us to political action that will become therapeutic to the suffering Goan and Goa. Christianity has a great resource of a dangerous memory . The power of dangerous memory is taught to us by catholic German theologian John Baptist Metz. This dangerous memory consists of the suffering and the cross of Jesus Christ. This means there is a Christological basis to this dangerous memory. It is faith in the power of this dangerous memory that Goans Christians have always stood with the people of Goa in their struggles for Goa in the past. It is the memory of Jesus that enables Christians to commit for an emancipative future. Maybe this dangerous memory can become an energizing power to all suffering Goans to hope again.
We Goans are not without hope. Hope for a better Goa is moving the heart of all Goans. There maybe some nay sayers and prophets of doom. They do have their role to alert us. They may be counter-figures of hope, but we Goans cannot lose our hope. We have always been hopeful people. Led by this creative emancipative hope that we can draw from our Goan-ness as well as our religious traditions, we have the challenge to raise critical questions to the present conditions that produce Goans as suffering subjects not only in the present but in the coming future. This critical questions will enable us to discern who is with Goa and Goans and who is anti-Goa and Goans. The question of suffering of Goans in the present and the coming future is indeed Goa-intensive and will enable us to produce social, economic and cultural critique of our society. The hope that we are trying to embrace here will enable us to face several uncomfortable questions that might illumine us to find causes and solutions to the suffering Goan and Goa.
Goa has a long forgotten Buddhist heritage. Buddha’s main concern had to do with the suffering and a way out from it. We may draw inspiration in understanding suffering from Buddha and align with Baba Saheb Ambedkar to construct a collective action to elevate the suffering Goa and Goans. One might draw similar hope and emancipative action from Hinduism or any other faith. Indeed, our resourceful past can enable us to interrogate with deep sensitivity to all Goans the ills that are afflicting all Goans and Goa. The future that we are envisaging for Goa and Goans is not limited to the latent possibilities existing today but can move us beyond them. It is here that Goan Christianity can become our strength. The dangerous memory of Jesus can indeed prove to be dangerous to the powers that be that our exploiting Goans and selling Goa to the highest bidder. One may be able to find power of suffering and redemption from it in other religious traditions. We as humans are not made for suffering. There is always a victory of the rising sun assured after the dark night . I being a Goan Christian am trying to open the Christian primacy of hope that might prove resourceful to the suffering Goa and Goans today. It is done with great humility to communicate that nothing is impossible through the power of hope .
Goa is a land of promise. It is a land of hope. Those that have led to the production of suffering Goan and Goa also believe in its promise and hope. This hope is exploitative and oppressive. This is why the dangerous memory of Jesus belonging to Goan heritage or the power of Buddhism unleased by Dr. Ambedkar can indeed be a great resource to enable us to tide though these difficult times. If we have other religious, Marxists or any other resource to ignite authentic hope, Goa and Goans need them all. What we all need is a covenant of solidarity of all Goans for Goa and Goan-ness. When we look at the present and future with authentic hope, we will move towards action that will bring that hope into actuality. Authentic hope has to be discerned. It is an after hope. It comes after the hope of those Goans and others who think Goa as a land of promise and hope to build pelf at the cost of Goa, Goans and Goan-ness. Goa and Goan-ness to them is simply and economic resource. Hence, what Goa needs is an after hope. After hope is critical and is fully Goa and Goan-ness centric. This hope is hope in the making. We have constantly purify this hope and save it from being captured by vested interest. Coming together as Goans we can hope to be all victors. It is an after hope that will take us to the shore of safety.
