Albertina Almeida participated in a panel discussion on “Civil Society Responses to COVID Management: Case of Goa,” organized by the Department of Political Science, Goa University, on 26 November 2020. See the flier below:
By DALE LUIS MENEZES
The current COVID-19 crisis and the financial unpreparedness of governments worldwide in dealing with it are a cautionary parable. In Goa, the situation is no different. If there is a difference, the situation here is undoubtedly worse than in other places. (more…)
By DALE LUIS MENEZES
All the worst predictions about COVID-19 have, thus far, been proven true. Whether it was the rise of infection in a particular month, or the fact that the Government would clear “projects” in the absence of any opposition, or the increase in poverty and unemployment, the COVID-19 crises have deepened existing inequalities in accessing basic resources for sustenance, and technological ones such as internet and smart phones. With India’s GDP diminishing to about 23 percent in the first quarter, these technological inequalities will deepen further. (more…)
By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA
To feel citizenship is to feel belonged, to be able to take part in the decision making processes that shape that society. It means one should be able to leave and return to the country/ies of citizenship. From this lens of citizenship, if one looks at how the Government of Goa has treated its citizenry through actions taken statedly to address the COVID 19 pandemic, then it has left in its trail much to be desired. The pandemic struck, shortly after the people of Goa (and India as a whole) were up in arms against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens (CAA-NPR-NRC). (more…)
By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA
There is the oft repeated saying popularized by Mark Twain, that there are three types of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. And that is what comes to mind as one tries to grapple with the basis on which the COVID 19 statistics, that are released each day to the press, are computed. Reliance is said to be placed by the Government on tests conducted. Fair enough, there had to be an yardstick by which an designation of someone being COVID 19 positive qualified to be entered as a statistic. So one would assume that it is after testing positive that a number would be entered in the statistical records. (more…)
‘But this is varan-bhaat, a traditional and healthy food’, was a response to the criticism on social media of a meal served at one of Goa’s shelters for stranded workers – the pictures showed paper plates containing just rice and dal. The reaction, though, was not completely wrong. Varan-bhaat is indeed traditional among some savanas, and may even be healthy if you do little work and have access to other nutrition – as again is the case with savarnas. But does it work for all? Or does this not matter? (more…)
The pandemic or, it seems to me, the actions taken in the garb of measures to address the pandemic, has resulted in many people being rendered jobless and incomeless. I don’t know whether to call what is happening a health crisis or a crisis caused by manipulated or negligent or incompetent political decision-making. But the outcome of it all is a humanitarian disaster. People have suffered innumerable indignities in India, and closer home in Goa. (more…)
Politicians cannot stay away from publicity. They depend and thrive on it. Through propaganda, politicians suggest that the polity is in good health, even if the reality might be completely to the contrary. While at other times, this publicity culture creates dense smokescreens of misinformation, in times of a pandemic, it could be fatal. (more…)
By AMITA KANEKAR
Bhaile, that oft-used and pejorative Konkani word, literally means outsiders, but has been usually used in Goa to mean nonGoans. This is however changing, with the wealthy nonGoans with second or tenth homes in Goa rarely called Bhaile. These are the sorts who managed to escape from the supposedly sealed ‘red zones’ during the nationwide lockdown, to drive in their personal cars to the ‘green zone’ of Goa, where they got star treatment, including free Covid19 tests (reserved, according to the Supreme Court, for the poor), before retiring to their luxury retreats. These Delhi-ites and Bombay-ites are obviously not Bhaile at all but very much Bhitorle (insiders), in fact more Bhitorle than most Goans, so much so that one phone call from some of them can nowadays help a Goan get her or his work done in Goa. (more…)
By DALE LUIS MENEZES
Good laws are necessary in times of crisis, or even otherwise. The poor management by state and central authorities of the COVID-19 pandemic lays bare the legal and infrastructural unpreparedness in India. As if the threat of the disease was not enough, the country-wide lockdown created more problems regarding the welfare of the countless million laborers in the casual and informal sectors. There exist no laws, and no new ones were made that protect such laborers in times of crises. Consequently, the government’s policies in tackling COVID-19 essentially lacks a strong legal basis. (more…)