Claiming the Right to Say No-30 Nov 09-EQUATIONS - Equitable ...

Claiming the Right to Say No
comments we hear everywhere. We went from the fruit sellers to the tea
shops and hotels owners. I found a foreigner who was quite interested in
the owner’s personal life. She was questioning them about their livelihood,
their business as to how they landed in Goa, for how long they had been
working, their profit, and how to go about in Goa.
Vagator
At around 10-11am is the time when they come for a swim and play
‘mattka’.
I met two Israeli men at the beach. They were in their sixties; they had been
visiting Goa for the last nine to ten years and would stay for six months in
Goa. They had their own sailing boats which they would ride after their
game (mattka). I met a villager who patrols the area at morning, noon and
evening. He owned a shack but his cousin was running it for that year. He
was quite happy with these two men. He complained about the decrease in
the number of tourists this year (08). I questioned him about the movement
of Israeli tourists but he showed a few of them in that particular area and
said: “these are the only few visiting often and not a big crowd”.
The 9 Bar at Chapora
The 9 Bar was something exciting, the DJ stood right in the middle in a
small shed and the entire crowd around him dancing and enjoying drinks,
drugs and pizza, while some of the dealers were busy with their dealings
for call girls, and we were busy talking, dancing and keeping an eye on
all those coming in and moving out of the floor. There were youth selling
drugs very openly, but on each day there was a different group selling
drugs, mostly outsiders and a handful of the locals. Here I did not get any
information. One thing I did was observe, and spoke to only a few. It was
a hell being there.
Arambol
The last day at Arambol was a great day. We met an Israeli young energetic
musician and fire work specialist who told us many things. He helped us
to identify Israelis. He taught us a few sentences which he said we could
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