Archbishop Supports Care For Migrants In Goa

PANAJI, Goa, APR. 05, 2008, 10.20 Hrs (SAR News):

“The Church serves the migrants and itinerants through the Pontifical Council for migrants and itinerants. The Church in Goa, seized with the situation, is in the process of setting up a full-fledged centre for this purpose,” said Archbishop Felipe Neri Ferrao of Goa & Daman.

“Though the government must regulate the movement of migrants depending on its ability to take care of them, their status does not change the fact that all of us are brothers and sisters belonging to one human family,” he said.

Inaugurating the National Seminar on ‘Migration Issues: Challenges and Implications’ organised jointly by the School of Social Sciences of St. Xavier’s College and the Goa International Centre, April 1, the archbishop, who is the patron of the college, advocated respect for the migrants and a culture of acceptance, promoting peace.

He said the Church was a voice of support and accompaniment to the migrants. After all, he explained, the Bible, written about and for the migrants, is the best handbook on migration, dealing with exodus, diaspora, migration, flights, etc.

The problem of migrants is a burning issue in Goa because the locals feel overwhelmed by the influx of migrants from Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and even from Kashmir and the northeastern States, in search of work.

Goans migrate to the Gulf countries for work and these migrants fill the vacuum that locals have left. Middle and upper class locals emigrate to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Similar class Indians from other States, who love the idyllic beauty of Goa, have settled here.

It is opined that migrants from different strata of society make up around 35 percent of the population. With the influx of nearly two million tourists each year, the local Goans in a total population of 1.5 lakh, feel like aliens in their own land.

“Goa for the Goans only” sentiments have been widely expressed.

Setting the agenda for the seminar, Prof. Newman Fernandes, principal of the College, emphasised the need to explore the economic, social, psychological, political and technological dimensions of migration.

“Today’s globalised world is witnessing multiculturalism, inter-culturalism, trans-culturalism which affect the concepts of place and location in terms of exile, diaspora, migration and nomadism.

Therefore, differences should not give rise to discrimination,” Prof. Newman stated.

He said the very concept of the nation-state with one territory, one people, one language, one faith, one currency is neither desirable nor practical, as demonstrated by the example of the European Union and some other countries.

He indicated, quoting Dilip Ratha, senior economist at World Bank, that “India is the largest recipient of remittances from Indian emigrants amounting to US$ 27 million, and the largest sender and largest receiver of migrants. This is the raison d’etre of this seminar, he added.

The keynote speaker was Dr. N. Jayaram, director, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore. He dealt with the methodological issues related to internal and international migration, the reasons for migration, implications and consequences of migration and problems of measurement.

Migrants carry socio-cultural baggage with them in the form of identity, religious beliefs, framework of norms and values, food habits, language, etc. He advocated the involvement of practitioners of different disciplines when discussing the impact of transport and communication revolutions, which facilitate migration and provide virtual contact with the native place.

Arjun Halarnkar, programme manager of the International Centre, explained the basic issues involved in migration and underscored the collaboration with St. Xavier’s College for the purpose of building a cultural dialogue especially with the youth.