Does ‘free love’ thrive in Goa?
http://www.oheraldo.in/news/Opinions/23-Feb-2010/33839.html
Does ‘free love’ thrive in Goa?
Crimes take place all over the world but is terming Goa as a rape capital of India shooting one’s mouth too far?, asks ARMSTRONG AUGUSTO VAZ
India’s smallest state has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, a place where ‘free love’ thrives and ‘a brutal sexual attack on a 9-year-old girl resonates far beyond the beaches of Goa’, are some of the headlines which caught the eye-balls in the last few weeks.
“For years Goa has coasted on its reputation as a free love, sun, sand and sea location, made famous in the late 1960s and 70s by hippies, who hung around its beaches, mostly nude. But since becoming a premier vacation destination, Goa has opened to all sorts of travellers, not all of them happy ones. Russian women, in particular, have found themselves to be targets of sexual harassment and rape,” writes New Delhi based journalist Sonay Fatah in the US-based newspaper Global Post under the headline – Goa rape case threatens Indo-Russian relations.
An earlier story by Jason Overdorf in the same paper reads – Goa tourism books link sexual assaults to bikinis – A shocking case provokes outrage. The local government blames swimwear.
“Once upon a time, the beaches of Goa were known for free love. But as a string of high-profile sexual assaults on tourists culminated in the alleged rape of a 9-year-old Russian girl, the idyllic strip of sand along the Arabian Sea is fast gaining a fearful reputation,” wrote Jason.
It was on 28 Janaury, that a 9-year-old Russian girl was allegedly raped by two Indian men in Morjim village. But is Goa the place where ‘free love’ thrives and is it the rape capital of India?
Foreign journalists have picked up a quote from here and there and the stray incidents of rape to create an element of sensation for their story.
They cannot be faulted on that count. It’s their job. Controversy sells and the Goa politicians and tourism officials have provided enough fodder for the news corps.
Is Goa the land of ‘free love’ as has been projected by some writers? For a native Goan, the place still retains the old charm, minus all the vices of tourism. The real Goa thrives in the villages, the ‘free love’ zone is restricted to few areas of the state, extending the domain to entire Goa, which the journalists have done, is an insult to the entire Goan society.
For Goans, some of the ‘free love’ beaches remain out of bounds for them, some by choice and others due to policing by foreign tourists. A Goan planning for a beach side family vacation has to do his survey before taking the plunge, nudism is his biggest headache. He or she has to keep away the children and family from the nudists, who sun bathe on the beaches in nude. Anjuna, Vagator in North Goa and Palolem are notorious for nudism, but stray incidents of foreign tourists strolling without a square cm of cloth on their body are noticed on almost all beaches in Goa.
According to the law, on paper, nudism is banned. Notice boards at prominent beaches announce it to the world and warn of penal action. But, that is only on paper and not enforced. I have not heard of anyone arrested for nudism.
Hordes of desi tourists come to Goa from other states, to ogle at the nude or semi-nude foreign tourists. Tourists have an obligation to respect the dress customs and cultural sensitivities of the place. “What many would agree with is that, wearing sexually offensive clothing is sexually provoking and thus inappropriate in a foreign society which abides by a deep modesty. It parades an enormous naivety to go to these countries and behave and dress as if you were at home, where walking three-quarter-naked in public is accepted,” says a reader of Global Post in response to an article by Jason.
And it is for the tourism authorities to address the issue. They ought to be clear on the do and don’t for tourists in Goa. Bikini ban cannot solve the issue, in one stroke of the pen, as some tourism officials and minister believe. There is a need to impose specific rules that are spelled out appropriately and enforced fairly. “You can’t blame the locals; they have never seen such women. Foreign tourists must maintain a certain degree of modesty in their clothing. Walking on the beaches half-naked is bound to titillate the senses” – New Delhi’s Mail Today newspaper quoted Pamela Mascarhenas, Goa’s deputy director of tourism.
A US-based Goan said, “Goa has been the tourist spot for more than four decades, nude, bikini clad or in full sarees! It is not credible to blame what people wear for crime. Goa is not an uneducated, narrow minded society. It has a native population that is well attuned to the needs of the tourist.”
Rui Collaço from Lisbon Portugal said: “These comments made by Government officials are outrageous! It is quite unbelievable that someone linked to the tourism sector, at the highest level, and a female at that should make such inappropriate and unwarranted remarks on what is basically a shocking crime, committed by criminals against a foreign tourist. Do they expect Russians or any Europeans to go to the beach and the sea in trousers and shirts or long dresses? Only last month, I saw Goa’s stand at BTL (Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa). There was no mention anywhere about bikinis not being welcomed. If the Goa Government does not want western tourists, it should clearly state that, and stop advertising in the west.”
But to deny that a rot has set into the system of governance of Goa will be trying to pull a rug over the eyes.
The virus of bribe taking and bribe giving thrives in all strata of Goan life. Police personnel pay politicians to get into the force. They pay higher ups and also politicians for plumb posting. Lucrative postings are those on the beach belts, at city police stations and on the state borders.
Hence, the reason we hear of 80-year-old grandmothers being raped, or rape occurring in cultures where females are forced to cover
themselves entirely.
A rape here, a murder there happens everywhere in the world. But terming Goa as a Rape Capital of India is shooting ones mouth too far. Rape is a crime of power, control, and dominion over another, and has nothing to do with how a victim is dressed. Wearing bikini is not the reason to rape. Rather, what drives individuals to rape females is their skewed perception of the victim and a desire to humiliate, denigrate, and exercise complete control. While the end result of a rape is a sexual act committed by force against an individual, the reasons for its occurrence have little to nothing to do with any sort of ‘sexual titillation’ provided by a victim. No rape victim ‘asks’ to be raped, nor should she be made to endure any further humiliation by the suggestion that she somehow contributed to the heinous act perpetrated upon her.
“For years Goa has coasted on its reputation as a free love, sun, sand and sea location, made famous in the late 1960s and 70s by hippies, who hung around its beaches, mostly nude. But since becoming a premier vacation destination, Goa has opened to all sorts of travellers, not all of them happy ones. Russian women, in particular, have found themselves to be targets of sexual harassment and rape,” writes New Delhi based journalist Sonay Fatah in the US-based newspaper Global Post under the headline – Goa rape case threatens Indo-Russian relations.
An earlier story by Jason Overdorf in the same paper reads – Goa tourism books link sexual assaults to bikinis – A shocking case provokes outrage. The local government blames swimwear.
“Once upon a time, the beaches of Goa were known for free love. But as a string of high-profile sexual assaults on tourists culminated in the alleged rape of a 9-year-old Russian girl, the idyllic strip of sand along the Arabian Sea is fast gaining a fearful reputation,” wrote Jason.
It was on 28 Janaury, that a 9-year-old Russian girl was allegedly raped by two Indian men in Morjim village. But is Goa the place where ‘free love’ thrives and is it the rape capital of India?
Foreign journalists have picked up a quote from here and there and the stray incidents of rape to create an element of sensation for their story.
They cannot be faulted on that count. It’s their job. Controversy sells and the Goa politicians and tourism officials have provided enough fodder for the news corps.
Is Goa the land of ‘free love’ as has been projected by some writers? For a native Goan, the place still retains the old charm, minus all the vices of tourism. The real Goa thrives in the villages, the ‘free love’ zone is restricted to few areas of the state, extending the domain to entire Goa, which the journalists have done, is an insult to the entire Goan society.
For Goans, some of the ‘free love’ beaches remain out of bounds for them, some by choice and others due to policing by foreign tourists. A Goan planning for a beach side family vacation has to do his survey before taking the plunge, nudism is his biggest headache. He or she has to keep away the children and family from the nudists, who sun bathe on the beaches in nude. Anjuna, Vagator in North Goa and Palolem are notorious for nudism, but stray incidents of foreign tourists strolling without a square cm of cloth on their body are noticed on almost all beaches in Goa.
According to the law, on paper, nudism is banned. Notice boards at prominent beaches announce it to the world and warn of penal action. But, that is only on paper and not enforced. I have not heard of anyone arrested for nudism.
Hordes of desi tourists come to Goa from other states, to ogle at the nude or semi-nude foreign tourists. Tourists have an obligation to respect the dress customs and cultural sensitivities of the place. “What many would agree with is that, wearing sexually offensive clothing is sexually provoking and thus inappropriate in a foreign society which abides by a deep modesty. It parades an enormous naivety to go to these countries and behave and dress as if you were at home, where walking three-quarter-naked in public is accepted,” says a reader of Global Post in response to an article by Jason.
And it is for the tourism authorities to address the issue. They ought to be clear on the do and don’t for tourists in Goa. Bikini ban cannot solve the issue, in one stroke of the pen, as some tourism officials and minister believe. There is a need to impose specific rules that are spelled out appropriately and enforced fairly. “You can’t blame the locals; they have never seen such women. Foreign tourists must maintain a certain degree of modesty in their clothing. Walking on the beaches half-naked is bound to titillate the senses” – New Delhi’s Mail Today newspaper quoted Pamela Mascarhenas, Goa’s deputy director of tourism.
A US-based Goan said, “Goa has been the tourist spot for more than four decades, nude, bikini clad or in full sarees! It is not credible to blame what people wear for crime. Goa is not an uneducated, narrow minded society. It has a native population that is well attuned to the needs of the tourist.”
Rui Collaço from Lisbon Portugal said: “These comments made by Government officials are outrageous! It is quite unbelievable that someone linked to the tourism sector, at the highest level, and a female at that should make such inappropriate and unwarranted remarks on what is basically a shocking crime, committed by criminals against a foreign tourist. Do they expect Russians or any Europeans to go to the beach and the sea in trousers and shirts or long dresses? Only last month, I saw Goa’s stand at BTL (Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa). There was no mention anywhere about bikinis not being welcomed. If the Goa Government does not want western tourists, it should clearly state that, and stop advertising in the west.”
But to deny that a rot has set into the system of governance of Goa will be trying to pull a rug over the eyes.
The virus of bribe taking and bribe giving thrives in all strata of Goan life. Police personnel pay politicians to get into the force. They pay higher ups and also politicians for plumb posting. Lucrative postings are those on the beach belts, at city police stations and on the state borders.
Hence, the reason we hear of 80-year-old grandmothers being raped, or rape occurring in cultures where females are forced to cover
themselves entirely.
A rape here, a murder there happens everywhere in the world. But terming Goa as a Rape Capital of India is shooting ones mouth too far. Rape is a crime of power, control, and dominion over another, and has nothing to do with how a victim is dressed. Wearing bikini is not the reason to rape. Rather, what drives individuals to rape females is their skewed perception of the victim and a desire to humiliate, denigrate, and exercise complete control. While the end result of a rape is a sexual act committed by force against an individual, the reasons for its occurrence have little to nothing to do with any sort of ‘sexual titillation’ provided by a victim. No rape victim ‘asks’ to be raped, nor should she be made to endure any further humiliation by the suggestion that she somehow contributed to the heinous act perpetrated upon her.
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