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Mauritius: Illusive Firecrackers
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L'Express (Port Louis)
OPINION
14 January 2008
Posted to the web 15 January 2008
Alain Jeannot
Port Louis
"We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools."
Martin Luther KING
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind" Mahatma Gandhi
Those who thought that fire crackers and end of year festivities would, like a magic wand, wipe evil from the threshold of 2008 must be disappointed by now. In fact if we only take the issue of crime and violence, an outpouring of highly regrettable events are shadowing the hopes we founded on a year full of promises.
When a trivial argument ends up into a fatal scissor blade assault; when chopping an ex lover's wrist becomes an answer to jealousy; when a woman, her lover and her two children are burnt to death at the altar of gloomy motives; when a man reaps a fatal blow for dancing with a woman fancied by the culprit, what more can you expect?
These are just a few striking cases reported by the press for the first week of January. Many others, which fortunately enough did not end up into tragic loss of life, were not echoed by the media.
Due to their perceived hierarchical unimportance in the sea of misdeeds we are gradually becoming used to, sometimes they are not even reported to the police! A guest who left the New year's eve party at my neighbour's place to ease himself in a nearby vague land was viciously assaulted with a cutter and dispossessed of his belongings by ambushed criminals. Lucky enough he was save for his watch, mobile phone, purse with a few thousand rupees and... some blood vessels, nerves and tissues in his cutter inflicted wounded arm.
A few days ago, while I was driving at night with my family, I came across a man copiously watering the asphalt with his fleshy hose.
I instinctively horned in disapproval and stopped a few meters ahead for a business of my own. Great was my surprise to see our ill-bred person querying my horning, which I explained with no difficulty.
He became even more furious and wanted to teach me a lesson with a weapon. Fortunately enough, the situation was diffused and I can still use my computer to relate my misadventure.
I have been travelling extensively for the past 22 years and have never come across a person urinating in public in foreign countries except from a few destitute areas of India. I have difficulty in understanding why some local males do so quite frequently!
This uncaring attitude encouraged by a public laisser-faire attitude might well be contributing to the slow but sure drift into an unsafe and unhealthy society.
Liberty comes with responsibility. Are we being bred to take our responsibilities as free civilized citizens of an independent nation?
Is discipline, aimed at underpinning these responsible and rightful behaviour, being adequately enforced in our country? Is the family, cradle and unit cell of society, being protected and educated, as it should be? Are love, respect and such values enjoying as much promotion and consideration as the unavoidable remembrances of our origin and remote past tribulations?
The clip against brutality screened on TV stands out as a very praiseworthy initiative of promotion and education for rightful behaviour.
This year is stewn with occasions for creating awareness on non-violence starting from the very first month.
What do we have in store for Martin Luther King's day on the 15th while remembering that the non violent leader left us 40 years ago in April 1968? Have we prepared some food for thought around Mahatma Gandhi's 60th death anniversary on 30th January?
Only wish these opportunities are seized to promote a nationwide change in attitude. Why not flood the country's billboards with posters of these two non violent heroes and their most pertinent reflections on violence, besides using the media fully to talk about them?
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Violence is the child of careless and selfish attitude. Teaching citizens the duty of care is as important as enforcing the concept of a harmonious society upon the people. It's only at that price that we will see a better day. Other mermaid songs are as empty and misleading as the hot air produced by bursting firecrackers.
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