Xit-Koddi - Mar 2015

Young Goans Club Has A New Committee 

After almost a decade, the Young Goans Club (YGC) has a new managing committee for the year 2015. Limited revenue for the club was a major reason for members to show lack of interest in taking over the reins of the club. Over the years, the club also saw its membership dwindling. 

The 61st annual general body meeting of the club, however had a pleasant surprise for members. A group of enthusiastic members under the leadership of former vice-president Noel Fernandes stepped in to form the managing committee. Xit-Koddi welcomes the initiative of these members. We are hopeful that they will put in their fresh ideas and plans to strengthen this 61-year-old Goan institution in Bahrain. Xit-Koddi congratulates the incoming committee and hopes to see more and more members of our community onboard as members of the club to help them. 

Xit-Koddi also salutes outgoing president Francis Correia. Inspite of all odds, he, with his team, kept not only the YGC flag flying high but also put the club finances on a sound footing. It is not an easy task to run a club for 9 years in a row, especially given the current situation with social clubs in Bahrain. Hats-off to the outgoing committee. 

Xit-Koddi has over the years, promoted this age-old Goan institution and we assure the new committee of our continued support. 

Long Live Young Goans Club.

= GR Crasto

Noel Elected President of Young Goans Club: Noel Fernandes was elected president of the Young Goans Club at the  the 61st Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) held on March 23. Noel has served as vice-president of the club in the past. The other members of the managing committee for the year 2015 are Steven Dias (Vice-President), Roland Varella (General Secretary), Beverly Viegas (Asst. General Secretary), Terence D'Costa (Treasurer), Marshal D'Souza (Asst. Treasurer) Zafar Ali (Entertainment Secretary), Kevin D'Cunha (Asst. Entertainment Secretary), Rico Braganza (Sports Secretary), Eric Almeida, Bonnie Mascarenhas and Clayton D'Cruz (Committee members). David D'Costa was nominated Internal Auditor. A representative from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Govt. Of Bahrain attended to oversee the proceedings of the AGM. 

Grievance redressal for NRIs: Indian citizens living abroad will now be able to file consular grievances online as the government has launched an e-portal to address such complaints promptly with a high degree of "accountability". The portal Madad (Help) was very recently launched at the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The portal seeks to significantly reform the linear process adopted to post grievances from the originator of the grievance to the concerned Embassy or Consulate of India abroad, and cut down the time required for grievances to be sent from Delhi to our Missions abroad and to get them to take necessary action," Ms Swaraj said. The speedy handling of complaints, improve tracking and redressal and escalation of unresolved cases are among the chief characteristics of Madad. The pilot project for the system was started with seven countries, the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Malaysia. 

Konkani Researcher Visits Bahrain: Kyoko Matsukawa, a Japanese cultural anthropologist doing research on Goan culture was in Bahrain on March 16 and 17. Matsukawa, who was in Goa for a year and a half, working on her PhD project through Goa University speaks, writes in Konkani. She has done extensive research on the Konkani language, especially on Tiatr. She was in Bahrain as part of her study tour and met with Francis Correia, the president of Young Goans Club and our editor GR Crasto, to gather first hand information on the situation of Konkani and the Goan community in Bahrain. She is expected to visit Bahrain again, in the near future to complete her studies on migration of Goans.

Press Note on Merger of PIO and OCI:  There have been several inquiries from PIO cardholders of Goan origin regarding the way to making the switch over to OCI card status. On a clarification received from the Government of India, the Director for NRI Affairs, Goa U.D. Kamat has issued a Press Note for the benefit of foreign citizens of Goan origin holding PIO card status. The press note is attached at the bottom of this newsletter for the benefit of our readers.