WORLD DAMAN DAY!

Here's some great news: Rene Barreto, the founder of World Goa Day contacted me for launching the first ever, WORLD DAMAN DAY along with World Goa Day on the 20th of August.

Like World Goa Day, WORLD DAMAN DAY is a day for Damaneses all over the world to celebrate our great cultural heritage which is so unique.

Rene asked me whether the culture of Daman is similar to that of Diu - this is what I replied:

"The culture of Daman has elements of both, Diu and Goa though more of Goa as Goa is the big brother of Daman & Diu.

However, Daman has a subculture mostly populated by the Catholics. I call this subculture, 'Damao.'

And, this subculture is more Portuguese than the Indo-Portuguese culture of Goa.

My book, Viva Damao! Guide to the Indo-Portuguese Subculture of Daman, portrays this."

Rene has invited me to be the World Coordinator and is now seeking Country Coordinators in the UK, Portugal, Macau, Dubai and every country where we have even just one Damanese.

Cheers!

Oops, They Did It Again!

It's been reported that an anonymously written letter objecting to the transfer of a priest back to Daman, was being circulated last week.

Phones of people with connections (other than phone connections:) buzzed late at night, with matters finally getting to a head when two people suspected of having written the letter were summoned by the police.

And to think that these are the very people who have been teaching us to be like Christ and to 'turn the other cheek' - what cheek!!

While I was told that one elderly man did appear before the police, the other one who has a history of diabetes and hypertension, took so bad that the last rites had to be administered before rushing him to a hospital! Last I heard, he was still in hospital.

I pray that he recovers completely - he has a wife and young children.

Sorry to disappoint you, my readers - I cannot divulge names (at least not yet) and am forced to use terms like 'alleged,' 'reported,' etc., because it is rumoured that some of our pastors are contemplating filing defamation cases against a few of their parishioners.

How foolish we've been to sit pretty, feeling safe that persecution of christians only happened in other parts of India and could never happen in Daman. Who'd ever think that it would be an inside job. I'd reword the saying that charity begins at home to - "persecution begins at home!"