Did Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar overstep the line when he said, “Nigerians create problems not just in Goa, but in the entire country,” and added that a strict law should be enacted to deport them? The tourism minister did not stop there. He accused all Nigerians of being involved in “narcotics and other unwanted things”. Parulekar’s outburst follows a complaint of rape lodged by a 39-year-old woman against a Nigerian who was later nabbed at Panvel in Maharashtra.
Is it right to paint all Nigerians with the same brush? Firstly, it would be extremely unfair to link every Nigerian with the narcotics trade, although some of them are definitely involved. Secondly, the rape case registered by the Mapusa police is still under investigation and the tourism minister ought to have waited until more details emerged. In this regard Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza demonstrated more maturity when he said, “It is a very sensitive case and I don’t know all the facts”. Lastly, Parulekar has launched an attack on Nigerians at a time when the Central government is going out of its way to extend an olive branch to African nations over the murder of a Congolese man in New Delhi.
There is something about the Nigerians that seems to intimidate others. Yet they continue to live in Goa in houses rented by locals. A few years back a group of Nigerians blocked the highway at the O’Coqueiro junction after one of their colleagues was murdered by a rival gang. Then, there was a backlash against Nigerians in general and a strong demand to deport all those who had overstayed. But the laws pertaining to deporting foreigners who overstay are weak and once the din over the episode died down everyone forgot about them.
Over a decade ago it was the turn of the Russians to face criticism and bad media publicity. Then, the picture painted by the media gave one the impression that every Russian arriving in Goa for a holiday was a member of the mafia and connected with the narcotics trade. The appearance of hoardings in Russian was deeply unsettling to the local populace. A mention of Russians settling down in Morjim was enough to conjure images of Russians taking over the state. After the number of Russians increased to a point where they became the largest group of foreigners to visit the state all the animosity died down and Goans began to court them.
That is how conservative Goa reacts to things it does not understand. The stereotype image of Africans as aggressive race seems to be embedded in the minds of Goans, including Dilip Parulekar. Unfamiliarity with the African race also makes it difficult for Goans to easily recognize faces or pronounce and remember their names and this further exacerbates the problem. However, locals living along the coast, who give out rooms to Nigerians and other African nationals have a different view on the matter. There are a lot of Indians living and working in Nigeria and any unjustified attack in India could have repercussions there. In that sense, it appears, the deputy chief minister was being more sensitive to the issue than Parulekar. If a foreign national commits a crime in India then he or she will be tired in accordance with Indian law. But to paint every Nigerian with the same brush or treat all as guilty until proven innocent is grossly unfair.
