27 February 2008
Port Louis — "What really kept my attention when I first arrived in Mauritius (in 2004) was its dynamism in relation to its characteristics. In fact, geographically it is as well as its population.
This took me into questioning how such a small country could succeed to maintain itself in a worldwide environment, which moves towards extreme concentration. Consequently I was fascinated by this internal dynamism. It is so relevant to an extent that people in general tend to forget the challenge of this country. In other words, despite its small size, it is still going forward in terms of giving off a great impression of its assets. Let's think about it, when they travel and so on to make publicity for the country, they spend a lot. However, their revenue is not as huge as their expenses. Furthermore, they manage to display a great image of their country, so much so that people think about it as a heavenly island. Even to acknowledge people about this island is phenomenal bearing in mind it is so small and sometimes not noticeable on certain maps of the world.
Moreover, I find the sense of creativity incredible. I mean we can develop a structure with a small amount of human resources. But, on the opposite, I think it is sad that some people do not find the potentiality of doing things here. As a result, I see quite a few Mauritians going abroad without coming back. This is a pity. Indeed, I would suggest to those who do to go only temporarily and then come back to share the expertise and experience acquired abroad with others here to make Mauritius even greater.
I do not want to criticize anyone or anything but if you compare Reunion Island to Mauritius, you see the difference as far as "diffusing their image" is concerned. Maybe Reunion Island would have been different if it were independent. Nevertheless, one should not forget that Mauritius became independent only 40 years ago. I simply think that Mauritian people are endowed with a vital energy. I will give a simple example. In which country other than Mauritius, do you find someone doing several jobs at the same time, or running three businesses at the same time. That makes me wander how Mauritius will be in the next ten or 15 years. I pay tribute to the Mauritians for all this."
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