The mishandling of the October 31 crisis in Goa has delivered a body blow to the symbiotic relationship between Nigerians and locals, and fallaciously tainted an Indian State with a racist tag
When Nobel prize-winning writer Ernest Hemingway and his wife were caught between a herd of wild elephants and a river full of beastly crocodiles in African forest decades ago, it was a Goan boatman who saved the Hemingway couple. Ethnic Goans migrated from these shores to colonial Africa to serve as tailors, sailors, railway guards, clerks, even as elected politicians after the Dark Continent shook off the colonial shackles. Therefore, for a cool and hip State with rich and pronounced ties with the African continent, Goa is struggling to come to terms with the recent conflict between Goans and Nigerians. The clash has not only resulted in an angry backlash against the Africans, but it has also tried to ‘award’ Goa with the racist tag.
Tragically, foreigners of all colours who never felt even a tinge of racism during their stay in Goa are now a little skeptical about their well being after the Nigerian incident.
Spoiler October 31
The fateful event of October 31 and its consequences have left some puzzles unsolved. When Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar labelled Nigerians as “big, muscular guys, who are difficult to control, and who scare even the police personnel”, he, perhaps, only articulated what has been a general sentiment in these parts.
Nigerians eking out a living in Goa in accommodation provided by locals is not a new phenomenon. It is a formula which has worked symbiotically for both Goans and overstaying foreign tourists. A homeowner makes an extra buck by hosting tourists, and the tourists save money because the accommodation is much cheaper than the rent of a hotel room. Moreover, given that Nigerians often offer more money than the fellow Indians, particularly those from North-eastern states and Nepal who work in the hospitality industry, finding an accommodation in Goa has never been a problem for the Africans.
It was an unwritten rule of mutual non-interference that allowed both Goans and Nigerians to live peacefully. The Nigerians slept during the day, went out during the night even as whispers in the neighbourhood suggested some hanky panky there. They cooked their own meals but made sure they do not antagonise either their hosts or the neighbours in the community.
But the October 31 incident muddled the amiable atmosphere. The success of the Nigerian mob to intimidate the ill-equipped and scared police force and hold locals hostage “in their own land” by blocking traffic invited nemesis for the foreigners. It triggered a public outrage participated by all Goans, including the disinterested ones.
Collateral damage
Biggest tragedy is that the innocent non-Nigerian Africans who share the similar features are feeling the heat of the clash. Students from Angola (also an erstwhile Portuguese colony like Goa) who are pursuing higher studies as part of exchange programmes now claim that they face “odd stares” and “rude comments from strangers” despite having nothing to do either with Nigeria or with the drug trade in the State. Even French and Brazilian nationals with African origin are not feeling comfortable and therefore have moved to the south for the rest of their holiday.
Suddenly, everyone has a story to tell about some unpleasant stories involving Nigerians. The All Goa Rent-a-bike owners association even went to the extent of putting a banner across a street in Mapusa which read: “Say no to Nigerians, Say no to drugs”. The association has also resolved not rent two-wheelers to Nigerians.
A 23-year-old Nigerian visitor, Chioma Ghansoli, was made to leave her accommodation immediately by her landlord on account of the “government asking all Nigerians to leave”; it is what her landlord told her. She and her friends had to spend a night on the beach before the landlord compromised and let them stay in.
Maybe, under diplomatic pressure, the State Government relented. But that did not stop local village councils to pass resolutions against Nigerians — asking locals to avoid renting out accommodation to the Africans without proper verification of documents. Strangely, the rule does not apply to other guests who seek a rented accommodation. Couple of years back, the coastal village of Morjim had taken a similar decision in the wake of a local taxi driver being at the receiving end of a fatal fistfight with a Russian tourist. Two years down the line nothing has changed in the village.
Bhatkal alarm
The backlash against the Nigerian community comes a few weeks after the State woke up to the news that notorious terrorist and Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal had stayed in Goa in a similar rented accommodation without having to go through the hassles of formally identifying himself. It was later discovered that he had left behind a bomb-making contraption that was later seized. It caused a considerable alarm in the tiny State, where even the smallest of conflagrations receive maximum attention.
But once a dominant force in the drug peddling scene in Goa, Nigerians have slipped through the police net into other metros of the country, where they are expected to stay till the Goa heat cools down. But Goa sadly feels the emptiness as the coastal belts no longer witness Nigerians zipping around on their two-wheelers at night. Several political and social observers in Goa admit the political rhetoric against Nigerians following the October 31 misadventure may have had racist tones, but some argue that the locals’ outburst was the result of irritation on account of being kept hostage by angry Nigerians who blocked highways for hours, and the police inaction.
On the other hand, the Nigerians were angry with the administration for sitting idle and not acting against the murderers of Obado Simeon. The new twist to the crisis was the allegation that the gang involved in the fatal attack had a backing of a minister. The alleged political connection is a real challenge for the Goa Government as the Nigerians are naturally looking at the October 31 as a larger conspiracy.
The October 31 aftermath has the potential to change the character of Goa. After the village council resolutions against Nigerians, a South Goan beach village of Majorda discussed a resolution at a gram sabha to ban Kashmiris from doing business within its jurisdiction. Now, when the seeds of discontent have been sown and being watered by diplomatic mismanagement by the Union Government, even as Nigerian Parliament has passed a resolution inferring that racism does exist in India, only future will spell out how relations between Africans and locals shape up in Goa.