I met Isabelle who teaches English at the European School of Goa. Her pupils are German, Indian, half Italian and half Greek, half English and half Israeli...this shows how mixed the population in Goa is.
Some of them have written about what they think of Goa. Thank you to all of you!
Sita, German, age 14
"Goa is a nice and tropical state and has, compared to India, a small population. The politic in Goa is not very clear. Goa has the highest rate of road accidents in India. Here everybody gets their driving licence very easily and if a policeman finds somebody without a driving licence, he has to pay him RS 100 and the matter is forgotten and both of them are happy.If an accident happens and you want to make a report to the police station then you have to pay for reporting only a lot of money. Many people, like taxi drivers, can not afford this money. And so these accidents don't come to daylight. In Germany where I come from, the rules are more clear. In Goa there are no traffic lights and nobody stops, the drivers do overtake even on riskly turns without thinking of the consequences. Every day you can read in the newspaper reports of at least one or two deaths due to risky and fast driving. Even the motorcycles don't bother with wearing helmets. Some Goan politicians want to have "speed governors" on the roads, but especially truck drivers and bus drivers are opposing this. If any accidents occur, there is no first aid and no emergency ambulance and naturally no helicopter or emergency doctor. Sometimes I'm very scared of the traffic. I think this is an important theme in Goa on which they have to work."
Some of them have written about what they think of Goa. Thank you to all of you!
Sita, German, age 14
"Goa is a nice and tropical state and has, compared to India, a small population. The politic in Goa is not very clear. Goa has the highest rate of road accidents in India. Here everybody gets their driving licence very easily and if a policeman finds somebody without a driving licence, he has to pay him RS 100 and the matter is forgotten and both of them are happy.If an accident happens and you want to make a report to the police station then you have to pay for reporting only a lot of money. Many people, like taxi drivers, can not afford this money. And so these accidents don't come to daylight. In Germany where I come from, the rules are more clear. In Goa there are no traffic lights and nobody stops, the drivers do overtake even on riskly turns without thinking of the consequences. Every day you can read in the newspaper reports of at least one or two deaths due to risky and fast driving. Even the motorcycles don't bother with wearing helmets. Some Goan politicians want to have "speed governors" on the roads, but especially truck drivers and bus drivers are opposing this. If any accidents occur, there is no first aid and no emergency ambulance and naturally no helicopter or emergency doctor. Sometimes I'm very scared of the traffic. I think this is an important theme in Goa on which they have to work."
India has the world's highest rate of road fatalities.
Most of the accidents are blamed on reckless driving, old vehicles and poorly maintained roads.
Sarah, German, age 11
Hi, my name is Sarah, I am from Germany and I live in Goa, India. Goa is beutiful with its many beaches and hotels but it is very undeveloped. It doesn't have any malls, amusement parks, and men seem to have more power than women. It is also very traditional and cultural and you can barely do anything. But Goa is still a very nice place to visit and to relax in...for a few weeks of vacation!
Orin, 14, English-Israeli, brought up in Goa
2 little tales of every day beach life.
The grounded oil boat
In Goa, in 2004 during the monsoon an oil boat was drifting to shallow waters in Candolim in pitch dark while the crew was asleep. Unfortunately the oil started seeping out from the ship to the beach. A week later loads of boats started to try to pull the boat out into deep waters. They did not succeed and left it there and it is still there now in 2008.
The unforgiven boat drivers
In Goa in 2006, a fisherman's boat was taking a load of Indian tourists from the flea market in Anjuna. The baot was heading for Baga but tipped over in between both beaches. The drivers left the people to drown and swam to their own safety. Nine people died and about two years later the police found the drivers and put them in jail.
Nathan Joseph, 12, Indian.
Thank you for giving me this chance to know better some facts about my school, my country and the city of my birth – Bombay, now Mumbai. I, Nathan Joseph, all of 12 years, am a student of European School of Goa. European School has been started by some western ex-patriates who have made Goa their second home and needed a school where their kids could continue their education. I too am nearly new to Goa having been born in Bombay. When talking of Bombay and India a lot comes to mind but I will just give some facts and figures for you to get an idea.
a. India has a population of one billion !
b. More than 300 million Indians use mobile phones.
c. Indians speak 15 distinct languages with more than 50 dialects.
d. More than 7 international religions are practiced in India.
e. Bombay has a population of 22 million, of which 6 million travel daily.
f. More than 20 persons lose their lives everyday in train and road accidents in Bombay.
g. India makes more commercial movies than the rest of the world – over 200 every year – that is nearly 4 every week.
h. Of the world's top 10 richest persons, 4 are Indians.
i. More people in India live in poor conditions than in the rest of the world besides Africa.
j. India is the third biggest economy in Asia and the ninth in the world.
It can continue but now for some pictures. Bye and Namaste !
Sarah, German, age 11
Hi, my name is Sarah, I am from Germany and I live in Goa, India. Goa is beutiful with its many beaches and hotels but it is very undeveloped. It doesn't have any malls, amusement parks, and men seem to have more power than women. It is also very traditional and cultural and you can barely do anything. But Goa is still a very nice place to visit and to relax in...for a few weeks of vacation!
Orin, 14, English-Israeli, brought up in Goa
2 little tales of every day beach life.
The grounded oil boat
In Goa, in 2004 during the monsoon an oil boat was drifting to shallow waters in Candolim in pitch dark while the crew was asleep. Unfortunately the oil started seeping out from the ship to the beach. A week later loads of boats started to try to pull the boat out into deep waters. They did not succeed and left it there and it is still there now in 2008.
The unforgiven boat drivers
In Goa in 2006, a fisherman's boat was taking a load of Indian tourists from the flea market in Anjuna. The baot was heading for Baga but tipped over in between both beaches. The drivers left the people to drown and swam to their own safety. Nine people died and about two years later the police found the drivers and put them in jail.
Nathan Joseph, 12, Indian.
Thank you for giving me this chance to know better some facts about my school, my country and the city of my birth – Bombay, now Mumbai. I, Nathan Joseph, all of 12 years, am a student of European School of Goa. European School has been started by some western ex-patriates who have made Goa their second home and needed a school where their kids could continue their education. I too am nearly new to Goa having been born in Bombay. When talking of Bombay and India a lot comes to mind but I will just give some facts and figures for you to get an idea.
a. India has a population of one billion !
b. More than 300 million Indians use mobile phones.
c. Indians speak 15 distinct languages with more than 50 dialects.
d. More than 7 international religions are practiced in India.
e. Bombay has a population of 22 million, of which 6 million travel daily.
f. More than 20 persons lose their lives everyday in train and road accidents in Bombay.
g. India makes more commercial movies than the rest of the world – over 200 every year – that is nearly 4 every week.
h. Of the world's top 10 richest persons, 4 are Indians.
i. More people in India live in poor conditions than in the rest of the world besides Africa.
j. India is the third biggest economy in Asia and the ninth in the world.
It can continue but now for some pictures. Bye and Namaste !
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