A review of Eat Dust: Mining and Greed in Goa

Hartman de Souza has blessed those interested in Goa and its history with his must-read book, Eat Dust: Mining and Greed in Goa. It is no easy task to write about the mining industry. One can easily get bogged down by facts and figures, and thereby disengage the reader without painting the bigger picture of what mining means beyond extracting elements from the earth. With great expertise, de Souza weaves his narrative from a compelling blend of memoir, travelogue, and investigative reportage, taking the reader on a guided tour around Goa’s mines. This approach to the writing lends the human touch to this subject that it so desperately needs, drawing the reader in right from page one.

The book focuses in particular on the ongoing battle between the villagers of Cawrem and mining giant Fomento, featured regularly in the Goa news and kept in our consciousness via social media through the work of the locals and their supporters throughout the state and the diaspora. Importantly, Eat Dust also offers a reality check to those who still believe Special Status is in the cards—or ever really was—for Goa.

de Souza’s ability to vividly describe even the most grotesque and tragic images of Goa’s destruction will keep the reader turning the pages with wonder at what he has to say next. Take, for example, the following: “When they were done pumping the water out, there was still a small amount left in the pit. That water would, like a festering sore turn rancid and green with slime after a few days in the sun” (p. 18).

In de Souza’s impeccable writing, one cannot help but be drawn in by his palpable love for Goa. The frustration that can only come from such a deeply personal connection reaches a climax in the following account of his choice to run away to Pune as operations were about to accelerate in Maina and Cawrem:

I wanted to speak for the earth’s injured voice, but needed to run away from my own notes and the pictures in my mind. By early August 2008, they were beginning to eat circles in my head. I could even see them in my sleep. Those days, I felt like swinging at anyone who even suggested that the greed could be halted with our tactics and strategies. (p. 140)

Also commendable is the author’s boldness in spotlighting individuals who have either contributed directly to promoting the interests of the mining industry or who have shown the kind of preference for greed over ethics that has helped fuel the rampant apathy toward the obliteration of the environment. de Souza is not afraid to name names!

There is no greater time than the present to read this book. The title itself is indicative of the present state of Goa. On a recent trip to the state, I was struck by the number of people who now ride their scooter or motorcycle with their face covered, and the chorus of coughs I heard during mass. I, too, found myself inhaling dust while travelling short distances around North Goa. Perhaps we are all choking on development!

My only criticism of Eat Dust is an editorial one. Much of the material in the ‘Afterword’ is as essential to the text as the chapters that precede it, particularly the takedown of trickle-down economics. Just as the foreword is given the title ‘A Bird’s Eye View’, integrating it into the text (because some readers will skip right to Chapter One), this should have been accorded a descriptive title to clarify that its contents are integral to the larger text.

Nevertheless, Eat Dust engages and leaves the reader thinking about the future of Goa. What more can one ask of a book?