God created the world and enriched it with enormous amount of natural resources for the benefit of human beings. In the Gulf region God gave plenty of Oil that brought lot of wealth for the Gulf countries, Kuwait being one of the Gulf countries it is enriched with vast quantity of oil and by selling it Kuwait generates lot of funds which it invests in its development projects. For this development Kuwait hires manpower from all around the globe, India being one of the global countries supplying manpower to Kuwait. Since Goa is a part of India from 1961 yet from 1950 Kuwait started hiring manpower from Goa by paying them lucrative remuneration. Thru this remuneration Goans working in Kuwait developed their economies in Goa thereby providing good education to their children, constructing good houses and bungalows and other such rich amenities.
After the last Arab-Israeli war in early seventies, the Oil producing countries including Kuwait increased the oil prices very high thereby fattening their wealth which they invested in increased amount of investment. The immediate beneficiaries of this bonanza were the manpower whose remuneration was increased to very high level compared to the previous level. When money started flowing more into the hands of Kuwait Goans they started doing social work and charitable work as well. It was during this period I entered in Kuwait and embarked more forcefully in helping financially the important movements in Goa thru donations collected from likeminded Goans. One of the movements we Kuwait Goans undertook was giving the donations in lakhs of rupees to Goa Church and to Goa priests to construct and to repair Churches, to construct Church Schools, Chappels and other such ventures undertaken by the Church authorities and priests.
Goa Church and its priests and nuns were the recipients of our financial doles from Kuwait in huge amount. I was instrumental in helping such Church ventures in Goa very much being on forefront to collect donations for the work undertaken by the priests in Goa. We brought so many priests to Kuwait, so many of them stayed at my residence and returned back with huge amount of donation collected from my friends, colleagues and well wishers. Candolim Church was one of the beneficiaries of our donations to erect the upper floor of the Church school. To collect funds as donation for this project the priest principal of this School came to Kuwait and thru my personal efforts he got a visit visa to come to Kuwait from where by contacting Candoicars in Kuwait he collected a huge amount which helped him to complete the upper floor of the school. Besides me, the late Messias Barreto and Joaquim Dias also rendered enormous assistance to the visiting school principal in his fund collecting mission in Kuwait. Additionally Mr. Sebastian Dias the brother of Joaquim Dias also gave lot of financial help for school and to the Church.
Similarly many Goans in Kuwait helped priests and nuns to collect funds for the projects they undertook in Goa on behalf of the Church. But did these Goa priests, nuns and Goa Church show any gratitude to us during the invasion of Kuwait and later on? When we Kuwait Goan evacuees organized our movement by holding public meetings and rallies in Panjim Goa to raise our voice against this invasion, to our regret not a single priest nor a single nun nor a single representative of the Church associated with us to lend their support to our movement. What ingratitude oh priests when you preach from the Altar and Pulpit the virtue of gratitude!! Gratitude for whom? Not to those who helped you? You are traitors and disgrace on Christianity. Where was the priest from Candolim who came to Kuwait begging for the donation to complete the upper floor of the school? Where was Fr. Freddy J. D’Costa who was one of the biggest beneficiaries of our doles? On top of it he applauded the invasion of Kuwait. We gave donation and Church built the School but we did not get any financial benefit of this school. Because of this school the money coffers of the Church is filled and not of ours. At our cost the Church became rich thereby enriching the priest Principal whose purchasing power of expensive things increased from the money generated from the school.
Recently on 26th February this year we Kuwait Goans in Panjim at Menezes Braganza Hall organized a public meeting to mark the 23rd anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait and as a chief guest one top Kuwaiti especially came to Goa. On Goa TV, media and on internet it was announced the schedule of this meet but again to our regret none of the priests attended this meet thus again showing ingratitude to Kuwait. There was no principal of Candolim School in attendance nor Pe. Vigar when this school and Church received so much of donation from Kuwait. This shows how our priests, Church Pe. Vigars and school principals are ungrateful and such ungrateful are not fit to be the priests. Ingratitude and Christianity cannot go together. If the Principal of the Candolim Church school had any gratitude for Kuwait he would surely be present for the meeting but he is ungrateful like many such priests. They want Kuwait and Kuwaitkars only for money. They are like Judases in Christ’s Robes. Even the Kuwaiti chief guest was surprised to see no priest in the hall attending the meet when we helped them so much.
As a matter of interest, after the liberation of Kuwait almost every country and every diocese sent its Catholic emissary to Kuwait to find out how their respective people working in Kuwait are doing and how they are coping up with the situation in liberated Kuwait putting stress on their spiritual aspects. South Korea sent its Bishop even though there were hardly one hundred South Koreans in Kuwait. Unfortunately Goa Church sent none even though there were thousands of Goans in Kuwait needing moral and spiritual solace. But to our surprise, following the liberation of Kuwait there was a flood of Goa priests who came to Kuwait to collect funds for their Churches and schools and also to meet their concubines. This is the quality of “Beiman” Goan Priests and “Beiman” Goa Church.
Candolim,
Goa.