Click to play videoGoa: There is one determined woman who is risking her life to save a bit of Goa’s greenery while the government just stands by and watches.
“The best I could do was sit under the tree. That's the only thing that came to my mind. Save it at any cost, I said to myself and that they can have me along with the tree if that's what they want for Panjim,” says General Secretary, Save Goa Movement, Patricia Pinto.
It's a moment that nudged Goa's conscience and inspired the otherwise easygoing Goan community to form the Save Goa movement where they took to the streets to protest the Government's Regional Development plan.
“When the water reaches till your neck, you're only cribbing and complaining. But when it reaches till your face, you've got to shout, you've got to make a noise. And I think the water had reached till our faces,” says Convener, Save Goa Movement, Oscar Rebello.
But the transition from armchair activist to a hands on one is not an easy one. Especially for Oscar Rebello, who is a doctor with a busy practice.
And Rebello, rarely has spare time for himself.
“I haven't seen a movie in ages. My wife isn’t complaining, she's a sweetheart. But my family time is suffering. My social life is zilch. But I've never experienced a more exhilarating high than this in my life,” he says.
It’s equally tough for Patricia Pinto, who runs a own boutique.
“You know, people often say – ‘we'd like to join in, but we don’t have the time’. In other words, you have the time. We're also busy. I have a linen boutique that I run besides my children and my house,” Pinto says.
But while time is one compromise they're making, the safety of their family is another.
“Many people told me that they're going to kidnap your daughters. But if we don’t fight now, they may or may not kidnap my kids today, ten years down the line, they are going to kidnap my kids or anybody else's kids for that matter,” Rebello says.
And so they're settling for the long haul, spreading the word to every Goan, actively stopping hills from vanishing into oblivion or a forest from being replaced by concrete.
But the achievement is the stay order on the construction of a park on the beach front in direct violation of the Coastal Regulation Act is another testimony to the efforts of Oscar, Patricia and the others of the movement. A sign that the Goan middle class has found it's voice and is making itself heard.
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