[Reader-list] from Goa (Communal riots)

[PREETU NAIR]

RANE AND PARRIKAR ARE BOTH CRIMINALS' – Victims of
Sanvordem
(Article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim edition
dated March 6,2005)

When Godhra happened, Gujarat had a BJP government.
Goa is ruled by a party Muslims trusted blindly
 till
they were blinded last Friday.

Does anyone care to listen to the voice of the Muslims
in Sanvordem and Curchorem? This is their verdict. You
want to know why? Here's why. Nighar Agha was asked to
leave her rented house by her landlady cos she was
forced to by Hindu mobs. She ran away with her
4-year-old daughter with a heart problem. Seeing her
run, the mob snatched away the medicine bag of her
daughter. She could have died
 running from the mob.
Noorjah Sheikh broke her back but managed to cover the
mouths of her children so that they didn't shout,
Sheikh Rafiq locked himself and his family, but the
mob came, broke his garage and damaged both his cars
and 2 of his shops. The Sheikh brothers screamed out
to the police to help when eight of their shops were
ransacked and looted. Not a single policeman came
forward. 

We looked for these victims in Sanvordem, Curchorem,
Margao and at the Margao railway station to present
voices that would have otherwise been numbed

By Preetu Nair
preetu_nair at gomantaktimes.com
MARGAO/SANVORDEM /CURCHOREM: It was the greatest test
of endurance for Nighar Agha last Friday. The images
of the riots will haunt her forever. Living alone in a
rented house at Sanvordem, Nigar has three little
kids. Her husband is in the Gulf and her four-year-old
daughter has a heart problem and is easily susceptible
to infection. 
 
"On that unfortunate day, my daughter got an eye
infection and fever. I was scared and worried about
her health. Though I wanted to take her to the
hospital, I couldn't and her condition worsened. In
the morning, our landlady, a Catholic, came to my
help. She took my daughter to the hospital. But when
she returned, she advised me to vacate the house as
people from the majority community in the area were
threatening to attack us," she recollects and pauses. 
 
Taking a deep breath, she again continues with the
horrors she underwent on Saturday afternoon. "Along
with some boys, who had taken shelter in my house, and
children, I walked to my brothers' house as no one was
ready to give us lift and it was impossible for my
brothers to enter Sanvordem. Four boys lifted my ill
daughter and we walked for nearly 6 km, when a mob
surrounded us and abused us. One man snatched the bag
containing my daughter's medicine and threw it in the
field. They beat two boys and said, "We will ensure
that you people are not able to raise your head for
atleast another 10 years". When I pleaded and cried,
they allowed us to go." 
 
57-year-old Noorjah Sheikh still squirms in pain. "We
were scared and helpless. When we heard that mobs were
attacking our homes, we armed ourselves with the
masalas and utensils. But when they started pelting
stones and shouting slogans we got scared. So I rushed
upstairs in the dark (they didn't switch on the light
that night) to collect some sticks but lost my balance
and hurt my back and neck. Though in pain, I didn't
scream, lest the mob heard my cry. I was scared for
the lives of the young children at home. I was really
scared and helpless," she reveals. She admits that it
is shocking that majority of people from the mob were
people whom they knew, if not by name, but atleast by
face. 
 
Revealing his tale of woes, Sheikh Rafiq from
Sanvordem reveals that he was at the mosque when he
got message that homes and shops of minority community
were being ransacked. So he rushed home to be with his
family of 10. "I locked the door from outside. We
switched off the lights and were too scared to even
breathe. Around 8 pm, we heard noises and a mob of
youngsters approaching our home with torch, shouting
"Jai Mahadev". They broke open the garage and
destroyed two cars, while I stood near my window as a
hapless and speechless spectator. We were so scared
that women held the mouth of our children, lest they
make any noise," he revealed. 
 
Questioning the role of police in the communal riot,
he said, "I called DIG Ujjwal Mishra for help. He
promised to send help, but then cut the line without
taking the address. The police never came. Late in the
night, we along with the women and children in our
neighborhood (around 20 persons) escaped in their
Maruti van to my brother's house in Margao." 
 
Sheikh Brothers, who own nearly 10 shops in Sanvordem
reveal that eight of their shops were completely
destroyed by the mob, homes attacked and vehicles
destroyed and burnt. "Everything happened before the
police and they stood their helpless as if unwilling
to help us. All pleas for help fell on deaf ears,"
they added. 
 
Thankfully, an eye for an eye is not the motto of the
minority community, who allege that just as Nero
fiddled while Rome burned, in the same manner, Rane
was busy attending functions even as Curchorem and
Sanvordem was burning. "It is Congress government and
it was the ruling government's job to protect us. In
Congress raj if this is our fate, then what is the use
of having Rane as the CM?  More than BJP and RSS, we
blame Rane for the communal tension," alleged Ussein
Gazi. 
 
 * People tried contacting DIG Ujjwal Mishra on Friday
and Saturday for help. He promised help but never
delivered. 
When they contacted CM Rane when mob was burning their
cars and attacking homes, he said everything is under
control. Later, he cut their calls abruptly. 
All Congress MLAs and MP's had only one answer, we
have called DIG. 
 
* During a meeting at Margao, the minority community
leaders criticized Rane and asked Digambar Kamat (who
was present there) what he would do for them? He was
absolutely silent. 
***********************
WAITING TO CATCH THE TRAIN TO FREEDOM! 
 BY PREETU NAIR
Preetu_nair at gomantaktimes.com
MARGAO STATION: In March 2002, Gujarat burnt as
bloodthirsty mobs attacked homes and killed innocent
people. In March 2005, Goa is burning. Hundreds of
people from the minority community are rendered
homeless and jobless. The politics of hate is slowly
threatening to erupt the fabric of a harmonious
society and robust democracy that Goans have always
been proud of. 
 
Scared that people who wrongly justified the burning
of vehicles, destruction of shops and homes, all owned
by the Minority community, by saying that armed people
came from Bhatkal and Hubli, would also harm them
without any rhyme or reason, they are leaving the
state, which was their home for long. 
 
At 3.25 pm, the Margao railway station is packed with
women in burkha, their children and men, all waiting
to board Jan Shatabdi express bound for Mangalore.
Somehow their scared and agonized looks were more
chilling than the event itself. They were scared to
talk and appeared withdrawn. There was shock and gloom
prevailing all over. 
 
Well, they can't be really blamed, after all their
homes were destroyed by the very people they knew.
They also never thought that the homes of friends and
neighbours would be shut for them during the riots due
to fear of a backlash. 
 
As violence flared up in Curchorem and Sanvordem and
politicians slowly made it an insider-outsider issue
(to quote Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar: Heavy
influx of migrants to the state was the cause of
creation of social tension and disharmony), it has
left a feeling of fear and mistrust. "We have been
living in Goa since last 20 years and had a small shop
at Curchorem. The mob dragged us out of the house and
burnt our house. They destroyed our shop. We came to
Goa to earn a living, not to spread communal
disharmony. It hurts that even after living here for
20 years, we still can't call Goa our home," said a
person who was boarding the train to go to his
hometown Bhatkal, who didn't wish to be named. 
 
Just as the train arrived at the platform at 3.32 pm,
they eagerly boarded the train. Once in the train,
they removed the burkha, breathed some fresh air and
smiled in relief as they set out on a new journey.   
  



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