This penultimate column is a summation of the factors and trends that culminated in the outbound migration of Goans, firstly to Karachi and then to the West and Australia etc. It was a continual movement for nearly five decades with families trickling away to, mainly Canada, and to the USA, the UK and Australia.
However, there was a change of heart after the last wave of people who left in the 1990s. Though the movement didn’t stop, the numbers reduced. While on one hand, an uncertain future remained a concern, on the other, well-educated young men and women were secured in their jobs. This group of people felt that the grass was not always greener on the other side and chose the ‘bloom where you are planted’ route, to stay back and make best of their professional achievements and social interventions.
Although migration to Canada is not as easy today as it was some decades ago, and the long wait sometimes discourages people from applying in the first instance, opting to leave is not a top-of-mind phenomenon anymore. The craze for migration has fizzled out to a great extent simply because many are well settled in career jobs, have integrated professionally, participated in collaborative activities, volunteerism in parish churches, and have an adequate financial sway to enjoy a decent lifestyle.
Therefore, I would think the waves of migration have minimised, at least among the Goans. This conclusion, however, cannot be reached about the Christian community in general. There are other factors to be considered in understanding the trends of migration. The numbers, however, have an answer to the predicament; of the approx 3.8 million Christians in Pakistan, less than half are Catholics, of which Goans (mostly in Karachi) account for 6,000 or less. Christianity in Pakistan is made up of approx 90% Urdu-speaking Christians (Clergy and the Faithful) of Punjab origin. It's a growing and vibrant Church.
The Goan community in Karachi, though smaller in numbers than ever before, continues to thrive in many ways. They are still pursuing noble professions, as teachers and administrators in our educational institutions, nurses and doctors, engineers, and architects, and in office cadres. As far as the younger lot is concerned, there are multiple choices in the new trends of employment, information technology, technical skills and human resources, and social media dynamics among them.
On the social and sports side, few Konkani-specific events are held, though a group called the Goenkars Own Academy (G.O.A.) which was formed in 1992 by the late Maurice Coutinho, nurtured by Deborah Santamaria and now led by Peter Mendes, continues to organise skits and songs in the Konkani language. The recent World Goa Day celebration in Karachi brought out many talented entertainers to the delight of the audience, which included His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Coutts and the Archbishop of Karachi, His Grace, the Most Rev Benny Travas, both from staunch Goan families.
Organised sporting activity, which at one time was the backbone of Goan excellence in sporting arenas, is on the downside, and not many Goan sportsmen and/or women are sharing any limelight in mainstream competitions. Efforts are being made to restart tournaments in cricket, football, badminton, table tennis and other popular indoor and outdoor games.
Next: Conclusion – The magnanimity of a tribe afar!
