There has been an outpouring of grief and indignation in the village of Agonda, Canacona, South Goa over the killing of Gregory Fernandes in Fawley, Southampton, UK last week.

Fernandes, the victim of a racially motivated assault, was beaten to death by a group of 20 youths, some of them as young as 13, soon after he and a colleague left a hotel in Fawley on the evening of October 20. The Goan sailor had arrived at Fawly the previous day aboard the cargo ship Garonne.

A BBC report said the Hampshire police had confirmed that the Indian sailor “was attacked and beaten because of his race”. The British police arrested a 14-year-old along with two others, who have been released on bail till January next.
For the Fernandes family in the coastal village of Agonda, the wait for the funeral is dragging on. A post-mortem has been conducted but the results were inconclusive and further tests are to be carried out.
“My parents are shattered. My mother cannot stand the grief of losing her youngest son,” Gregory’s elder brother Dominic told Deccan Herald.

Villagers from Agonda have been pouring in over the past week to condole and express their solidarity. There has also been an outpouring of outrage over the racial attack from readers in the British media. Residents in Hampshire village, UK are planning a candlelit vigil in Gregory’s memory on Saturday, led by the Rector of Fawley, the Rev Barry James.