Africa-Press – Mauritius. I have been coming to Mauritius for years, the first time as a tourist and, ever since, to visit family. Mauritius is an island divided in two halves: on one side, what brings tourists to the island and, on the other, the real Mauritius.
I know from experience that tourist facilities are excellent, hotels are world-class and beaches exquisite. The shops are full of everything a tourist could dream of and souvenir shops abound with dodos and memories of a wonderful holiday.
The real Mauritius is another world! There are people living in poverty in tin shacks by the roadside while saving to buy medicines that aren?t available from a decent National Health Service and there is no consistently high standard of education.
Don?t misunderstand me, I love this island and its people but it breaks my heart to see the pain and hardship people endure to make a living. I cannot imagine what it must be like to walk past these tourist shops and know I?ll never be able to afford any of the goods displayed.
Just as I cannot imagine the fear of the people living in these tin shacks when they hear cyclone warnings. Tourists are safe in their luxury hotel rooms with room service, whilst the Mauritian staff brave the elements to deliver their every whim during the storm.
The cyber city is a great idea and has brought in huge investment, which you would think could only be a good thing. But what about the price increases in everyday items like rice and gas, just because they know the foreign staff at the cyber city can afford it.
I cannot understand the mentality behind building so much accommodation for cybercity employees next to the cyber towers. Foreigners working there do not want to look out of their apartment window and see their workplace; they want to open their curtains on a sea view.
Living on the plateau, overlooking his/her workplace is not a foreigner?s idea of working in Mauritius. Make a difference I cannot understand why typical Mauritians believe it is their lot in life and they have to put up with what they have.
In the UK, where I come from, the government increased the tax on fuel to the point where transport and haulage companies were going out of business. This forced a large number of motorists and transport company employees to blockade oil refineries.
This effectively brought the country to its knees and the government backed down. I am not advocating violence or civil unrest in any form but you must know that you can make a difference.
In 50 or 100 years from now, what will be left of the Mauritian heritage? I can imagine that tourists will visit crumbling 4- and 5-star hotels as the government seems hell-bent on removing every trace of what made Mauritius what it is. Where are the monuments and museums to slavery? You have a few but not ones that really matter.
The sugar mills, which are the main reason Mauritius is populated as it is today are being closed and their land, especially those with prime beach-front land, is being sold to developers who will demolish all remnants of the mill to build a lovely colonial style hotel.
Where are the tours of the island showing the history of the place? You have places like Casela and Chamarel, which are wonderful tourist locations and many such places around the island but where can you see how Mauritius was formed? For crying out loud, one of the most impressive monuments, the Citadel, is being used for a music event.
Why stop there, why not hold a concert in Port-Louis Cathedral or old Government House, surely they have similar places in the history of this wonderful island? How many Mauritians know who Matthew Flinders was? Not many, would be my guess.
In brief, he set out from Mauritius and was the first man to circumnavigate and map what is now Australia. Yes, he has a monument but not much else. Mauritius spends too much time promoting an extinct bird without realising you will be losing a lot more of your heritage than a bird.
The education system is archaic, I have not met a single Mauritian who has never left the island for any length of time and speaks good English. If English is the official language then the populus should be educated as such.
If you would rather choose French or even Creole then so be it but, please, if English is to remain the official language then it must be taught by better educated teachers.
I realise that this paragraph will upset a number of English teachers but let me ask them one question, what is the English translation of the French word vêtement? I would bet a month?s wages that the majority of these teachers and, because of them, the population would say clothes.
I would also wager that they pronounce it cloth ez. The word is pronounced clothes, and it rhymes with loathes as in to detest or hate. Receipt is pronounced with a silent P, you pronounce it as you would reseat.
These are basic common mistakes made by Mauritians. Your politicians also make these mistakes and, although you might think me petty, these are important on the world stage, not the words themselves, but the standard of English in general. I occasionally watch Mauritian television and I listen to the radio, the funniest part of the broadcasts is the news reports.
Why do these people all sound as if they belong to a by-gone age of colonial rule? They speak what they believe to be perfect English, but they are as close to perfect English as a dog is to a cat, they both have four legs and fur but that?s about it.
I often imagine the radio announcers in particular, sitting in the studio reading their news reports as if their job was the most important one in the world and it must be perfect.
Perfect for the early days of radio broadcasting perhaps but no good in this day and age! Soap box I would gladly meet and speak to anyone who believes anything I have written is untrue and I will prove what I am saying.
I would meet with the prime minister if he were open to constructive criticism but I doubt he could spare the time as he ponders what roads are suitable for an Aston Martin.
Whilst I?m on my soap box, there is only one place on this island suitable for such a car, the runway at SSR airport! Perhaps the lucky few who live between the prime minister?s house and Port-Louis might find their roads upgraded and resurfaced in the very near future but the rest of the roads are appalling.
Whilst I am on the transport system, the roads are not very good but they have a unique charm. The vast majority of lorries and buses on these roads are a different matter.
The next time you are stuck behind an over-loaded lorry struggling to climb even a slight incline, relax and do not try to overtake it before the on-coming car hits you. This lorry is no doubt, also driving slightly crab-like with the rear of the lorry sticking out a little further than the front.
This is not only dangerous to other road users but it won?t be long before this lorry either snaps or breaks down for good and is confined to a rusting hulk on the side of the road.
A large number of buses are the same as they belch out smoke to anyone stuck behind. As I said at the beginning, I love Mauritius but it has a long way to go before it realises its full potential on the world stage. I would love to see this happen but I don?t think I will in my lifetime and I?m only 38 years old.
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