Simon Pereira’s battle is personal. His struggle against coalpollution began early as a five year old. “I would open my dad’s marine spareparts shop in the City Centre facing the jetty and sweep off bucket loads ofcoal dust,” he states, recalling Vasco’s tryst with coal pollution. The cityhas never quite come out of that menace.
The fighter is an anxious father, a dutiful son, a concernedcitizen. And when he speaks, the protagonists shudder. On Sunday last,September 16, he told a jam packed audience in Mormugao Municipal Council’sMain Hall “forget the future expansion of MPT, what are you doing about thepresent misery of coal that will not leave anybody alive, in the future?”.South Goa District Administrations bigwigs, MPT officials, consultants and cityfathers looked in awe, as a boyish looking man stumped them.
Childhood was a bit of a song though. He hung aroundGoodyland, as childhood buddy Reggie would strum the guitar and Simon wouldjoin the chorus of other friends singing. “I never imagined myself standinghere and speaking for the city”, says Simon.
The fight against coal happened as he grew older. “We sawleaders like Karl Vaz taking out a morcha and a rasta roko and I joined in too”says Simon. In the resultant melee, the reluctant warrior got two police batonwounds and suffered anxious hours in Verna Police Station lockup. The die wascast but two things moved young Simon. “I saw two Keralites T T Shreedharan andKrishnan fighting in the courts for Vascokars. I saw, even as Goans didn’t care,that there were these outsiders who were fighting to give us fresh air”. Then apersonal tragedy that shook him. “My six year old son would often end upcoughing and it was here that doctors told me that he was suffering from a dustrelated breathing disorder. Coal was my enemy and this battle was personal”says Simon.
From fighting against coal to fighting for Kharewaddoevacuees, from fighting against shifting Kharewaddo Jetty to protecting BainaBeach against MPT’s once planned cruise terminus, at 36 Simon combines youthfulbrashness with pride of a veteran. “We took our trawlers and blockaded themovement of iron ore out of MPT when the government did not listen to us” grinsSimon. The man turned down an offer to sip tea with one of the major importersof coal in MPT because “I don’t want someone to say that he spent a paisa onme” says Simon. These values have created a band of admirers who remain loyal.
For the loving father of three, his major inspiration are“his children because for a healthy air for them I shall keep fighting even ifI am the last man standing”. The city rallies around everytime, Simon roarsagainst the coal dust.
