9 Years, since the death of Felix Dahl at Patnem,Goa : Fight for justice continues for family.
A mother's agonising letter, tells all about, why foreign tourists are now shunning Goa and the reason for it's lost glory.
Exactly 9 Years ago,today; the dead body of 22 Year old Finnish-Swedish man Felix Dahl was discovered at a secluded place in Patnem, Canacona. He had expressed fear for his life, couple of days back to a few locals and was apprehensive, that he would be killed.
Felix was a third year student of Economics and arrived in India in 2014 as a Tourist. Post Mortem indicated death due to the force of a blunt object, with 5 fractures in the skull. Goa Police concluded that Felix died on his own while doing cart wheels on a lonely stretch of road at Patnem, all alone.
There has been off late a lot of discussion going round in every sphere of Goa, regarding this TOURIST SEASON 2023-2024.
As previously said on Twitter, some locals call it "Disaster" and some call it "Murder"!
Hippies and Foreigners started arriving in Goa in 1960s, when there were no smartphones and reels. The information regarding Goa was abysmal, if at all. Everything spread by the "Word Of Mouth", both literally and figuratively.
Some Hippies would have stumbled here, on their exploration around India, or probably would have asked someone in Bombay, which is the best place to visit nearby, almost like a Paradise?
And then they probably caught a rickety bus and descended here, totally mesmerized at the beauty of nature, and they kept bragging and telling about this piece of Paradise to all their brethren, and thus Goa became a Hippie Destination.
A place where rebels and counter culture proponents found refuge in an idyllic surrounding, with like minded people and friendly locals.
Besides sending some photographs and letters, no other medium would have been used. Also, raving about Goa at their community meet ups.
So what went wrong this Tourist Season when the arrival of foreign tourists are historically low? Ukraine-Russian War was raging last tourist season as well, more fiercely in fact. Only few thousands Israeli tourists visit Goa, each year and can be comfortably, discounted .
How come foreigner travellers are no more liking and raving about this Paradise?
The answer could be found in a letter addressed to authorities in Goa, by the mother of Felix Dahl (who died on 27th January 2015) Ms.Minna Pirhonen, who is a senior researcher and Professor at University of Helsinki.
Here is the letter, published in its entirety:
To authorities in Goa,
Felix Dahl was a young tourist who visited Goa. He was afraid to be killed, he shared this fear with few people the day before and next day he was found dead on an isolated road with 5 wounds on his head and a broken skull.
The worst thing is that he was afraid of beforehand he was murdered. The police, courts and even the CBI in Goa try to cover up his death as an accident. Felix is not the only one. Several hundred tourists have died in Goa during the last years.
Many families have noticed suspicious circumstances in the death of their loved ones and discrepancies on police statements and suspect that foul play is covered up by the Goan authorities.
Only very few of these families have had the time and resources to fight for justice in courts. So far only one tourist death has been solved and guilty prosecuted, it took 10 years to achieve.
We do everything we can online and elsewhere to highlight the dangerous nature of Goa tourism.
We do this to protect the health and life of the future tourists. Tourists can be assaulted, raped, scammed, and in the worst case murdered when they come to visit Goa.
It would be best if at least the Westerners who are not aware of the Goan culture would travel elsewhere.
We will continue to spread the information about the dangers of Goa until Felix Dahl’s killer is prosecuted and jailed and thus prevented from assaulting future tourists.
Felix Dahl’s mother Minna Pirhonen
Imagine the plight of a mother who first had to fight in District Court for the "Unnatural Death" of Felix Dahl declared by Goa Police despite stark in the face circumstantial evidence declaring otherwise,to be registered as "Homicide".
Then fighting in High Court for CBI enquiry, after Goa Police closed the case, citing no evidence of homicide.
And then waiting for more than 5 Years for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to do justice.
After so much of apathy being displayed by all and sundry of the state of Goa for her son, would she advocate and advise anyone to visit Goa?
And would anyone, after hearing her tragic and heart breaking ordeal, would still have the galls to visit the state of Goa?
A big NO is the straight answer to both the above questions.
Wise people know, that the "Domino's Effect" works both ways.
While the Hippies spear headed the upward trend to "Visit Goa" ; the deception, deceit and utter apathy towards foreign tourist in last one and half decade or so, has started the downwards Domino's Effect.
Treating them like a perpetual money making machine, without empathy and behaving as if they do not have any other option in the entire world, but to visit Goa; has led to a sorry situation of today.
We are here only talking about unsolved tragic deaths of foreign tourists, being randomly dismissed as "Unnatural Death".
The latest one is of Emma Leaning on 31st December 2023.
The family knowing the apathy of authorities from top to bottom in Goa, accepted the conclusion provided by Goa Police and chose to not pursue the case, swallowing a very bitter and heart burning pill; probably betraying her, but still saving themselves from years of agony and mental plus emotional torture.
For the mother of Scarlett Kealing, it took 10 years for her daughter's rapist and murder to be prosecuted and sentenced.
The trial of Danielle McLaughlin is still on for past 6.5 Years with 234 Hearings being taken place so far.
Under such circumstances, who would pursue justice in Goa?
They quietly bury their loved ones, cry alone and resolve that no more such death should occur. And the only thing they can do is to spread the word.
No more Scarlett Kealing. No more Felix Dahl. No more Danielle McLaughlin.
That's their war cry.
In last one and half decades, there have been many hundreds of foreign Tourists killed in Goa from all over the world and their cases closed as "Unnatural Death". Friends and families and other near and dear ones, won't be singing praise about the state of Goa and it's authorities. They won't be making enticing Instagram reels, promoting others to visit the state.
What they would be doing is this. .
Mostly discreetly and quietly, literally through the "Word of Mouth".
One "Word of Mouth" revolution lead to Goa being famous and the second one due to; Deception, Deceit and Apathy is making Goa hugely infamous.
Ironically, the leaders of this such sheer apathy towards tears and sorrows of the family and friends whose loved ones have been snatched away tragically from them; have been singing "Atithi Devo Bhav!" and "Vasudev Kutambakam".
It's like proverbial "Moonh mein Ram, Bagal mein Chhuri" in Hindi language.
Fighting a prolonged legal battle is not for everyone in India, let alone for those in foreign land, who choose not to betray their loved ones and fight for the justice of the deceased. Already suffering from grave mental trauma and PTSD , every hearing day is an arduous ordeal for them, just to survive that day.
Those who chose not to fight for the justice are being presumed to have given up and quietly sulking and no more of an effect to the glory of Goa.
But that's like living in a fool's paradise. Which is what Goa has transcended into.
The only way to "Make Goa Great Again!" is to get rid the state and of all its elements; of Deceit, Deception and extreme Apathy.
And thus, to ensure that justice is delivered to those who suffered great injustice no at the hands of destiny, but through DDA.
Until the soul of Goa is cleansed up, empty rhetoric and gazillion festivals would not bring back neither it's lost glory as a "Hippies Paradise" nor foreign travellers.
All about Felix Dahl’s death and the ordeal thereafter has been published here and can be found under this section: https://99goa.substack.com/s/felix-dahl-murder