With dreams of making pots of money Tony Fernandes left Goa four years back to seek his fortunes abroad. He left behind two ageing parents, his wife and two children aged 10 and eight. Today, his children are 14 and 12 and he hasn’t seen them since taking the train to Mumbai from where he flew to the Gulf. At present, Tony is an
illegal alien in the United States. He works in the kitchen of a hotel in Detroit and the only time he ventures out is to buy a calling card for his phone.
There are thousands of Goans like Tony, who live and work abroad, often illegally and more often than not they possess a Portuguese passport.
For many, a Portuguese passport is their ticket to freedom, or so they think till their dreams turn to dust. Since the state was governed by the Portuguese till 1961, any Goan whose parents were married in Goa before 1961 can apply for a Portuguese passport.
“They think that with a Portuguese passport it will be easier for them to earn money. The only thing that it is good is to migrate abroad. But once there, you are on your own. Most Goans are not well-educated and lack conversation skills, so once they go abroad, many are left with no option but to take low paid menial jobs at construction sites, oil rigs or in kitchens,” said Laurenco Mendonca.
Mendonca’s father is past 80 and for 30 long years he had worked in Saudi Arabia. “In those days, it was not so bad. Most Catholics who were land owners were well-educated and fluent in English and Portuguese. So my father had a middle-level job in a company and made much more money than what one could have earned in Goa or in India at that time,” adds Mendonca.
The current situation, however, has drastically changed. Most Goans who want to go abroad for work or to migrate are not fit for managerial posts. Joe Manuel had lived in an oil rig off the coast of America for the last seven years. Recently, he could not take the life any longer and gave himself up to the nearest Indian embassy which deported him back. “There were around 15 Goans on the off shore rig and all of us were illegal aliens. The company did not mind as they paid us below-minimum wages with no leaves. It’s not that the people who go abroad to work are not aware of the conditions, there is no fraud involved by any placement agency. We all knew what we were in for, but the money was very good.”
Joe has come back with roughly ` 24 lakh that he saved after periodically sending money back home. He has bought a small flat and started a provision store with the leftover money. “At least I am settled and my children won’t grow up in poverty,” he says adding, “But after going through the ordeal, I think that being a beggar here in your own country is much, much better than earning a lakh a month abroad.”
Unfortunately only veterans agree with Joe. For those Goans who have no chance of earning more than a couple of thousand bucks a month, going abroad is still a good option. Thus, Nelson D’Souza left his wife and two pre-teen girls at their small Baga home last month and left for Miami. He has got a five-year job contract in a hotel kitchen and when he comes back, he knows he will have at least ` 20 lakh saved up; enough to set him up for life. “I don’t mind him going for such a long duration. I teach in a kindergarten and my day goes looking after my daughters. If things get difficult while he is away, I can always go to my parents,” says Anna, Nelson’s wife.
The accounts of Goans roughing it out are endless. From Savio, who was a steak chef in a Kuwait hotel when Saddam Hussain attacked to Justin, who left for Portugal 30 years back and is one of the top lawyers in that country today. Like Justin, some stories have happy endings while others end in a lot of sweat and heartbreak, but Goans continue to apply for Portuguese passports. In 2008, 312 Goans got Portuguese passports, in 2009, 432 and this year, already 433 Goans have got their ticket to a better life, or so they think.