Suresh Ramphul
5 January 2008
Port Louis — More and more tourists are being attacked. In the streets. On the beaches. In bungalows. In hotels. We pride ourselves on being generous, accommodating and sympathetic. Perhaps we don't realise it but the truth is that we're slowly but surely losing this image.
Explain to the tourist who has been the victim of an armed robbery that Mauritius is a paradise and we'll see. We are doing a lot to promote tourism. Are we doing enough to tell all the tourists that we have taken the necessary steps to ensure a safe and tension-free stay here?
Gone are the days when you could walk on the beach with your friends or your family in perfect freedom and peace of mind. Today there's this idea in your mind that if your fellow countrymen have been the unfortunate victims of thefts and aggression on the beach, you could very vell be the next.
It's worth considering twice before going to the seaside alone or with a girl or a woman at a time when it's not crowded. There may be people lurking around - the sort whose demeanour hardly provokes suspicion, the sort you'd never look at twice, but who may harbour evil intentions. A watch, a mobile, a ring, a necklace, a bag may take someone's fancy. Soon you're hemmed in by a bunch of guys. It hits you all of a sudden that you're faced with a stark choice: either you give what yo u have or you're wiped clean with a knife.
They aren't out for a fun day, let me tell you. A wrong move and you are handled roughly and unceremoniously dumped somewhere. Thank your stars if they don't do something outrageous to your companion.
Talking of roads, you're again unsafe. No question about it. You know the way certain people drive in Mauritius.
A bank should have been the safest of all places. We have security guards, policemen and sophisticated security gadgets. Yet nothing deters a few brave souls from perpetrating hold-ups. You may be waiting for your turn to carry out your transaction like every responsible citizen. Suddenly a gang barges in with guns and weapons. What normally happens in films is now unfolding right before your eyes.
Outside the bank it's not safe either. There may be a few people watching you coming out of a bank. They may stalk you down the road and make off with your possessions on their motorbikes, leaving you severely injured if necessary.
Imagine you find yourself with counterfeit notes. Obviously you don't have time to verify the money handed back to you when you do your shopping. So you remit one of them to a merchant or at a counter in a supermarket. The person discovers the money is fake and contacts the police. You are now required to give lengthy explanations. You may even have to answer in the court.
Yes, it could be you. Any day. It's possible. Anything is possible.
Makes your flesh creep, no?
At no other time in your life has the word "precaution" been more relevant than now. This is the word you keep thinking of wherever you go. Which makes your life difficult, true to say.
A new construction here, a new road there, a new market here, massive investment there. And we tend to contemplate all this with a smirk of satisfaction. Right. But what about doing something radical to protect citizens from the real threats that endanger their lives every day?
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 L'Express. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
MAURITIUS IS A HOLE,I WAS THERE WITH SOME FRIENDS FOR A FIVE WEEKS HOLIDAY WE WERE ROB FROM PASSPORT TO AIR TICKETS ,MOBILE TO CAMERA ,MONEY YOU NAME IT.
THE POLICE ARRIVED THEY WERE ALL PISS THEY ATRE REAL JOKES THE POLICE,SO SO MUCH CORUPPTION.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN VICTIM OF ROBERRY IN MAURITIUS LETS GET TOGETHER TO BOYCOTE THIS F.... ISLAND .PARADISE MY A..
THE SYSTEM IS SO CORRUPT FROM POLICE FORCE TO THE GOVERMENT.
I WAS STOP BY THE POLICE I DID NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG IN THE TRAFFIC THE POLICEMAN ASK ME IF I DO NOT WANT A FINE GIVE HIM 500 ROUPIES,YOU ALL BUNCH OF WANKERS.
I HOPE THAT THE NEXT SUNAMI IS YOUR WAY OR SOME SORT OF EPIDEMIES.