Printer-friendly versionOur Minister for Tourism, Xavier-Luc Duval,spoke very highly of our tourist industry in a recent speech (le mauricien 15/01/2010). He talked of the progress made by his ministry from 2005. . " Tous ces efforts, rappelle enfin le ministre, ont été couronnés à Londres en novembre dernier lors de la cérémonie des World Travel Awards lorsque Maurice a été élue Leading Island Destination in the World”. We are all glad at this news. Pour ce qui est de l'avenir, il prévoit qu'en 2010, " nous franchirons la barre d'un million de touristes ". This is again very nice for the economic development of our little country. Those involved deserve all the praises. He speaks of: “1) l'accessibilité ; 2) la visibilité ; et 3) l'attractivité," as a foundation stone for the tourist industry. This is all wonderful; however, one key ingredient is missing, i.e. protection of the tourists from all types of theft, burglary and attacks on them while in our country. Unless those visiting our beautiful island are protected his vision may not be achieved. The country will be the poorer; already there are reports in our daily papers of the way the tourists are treated by certain groups of our own citizens. The quicker steps are taken to redress the situation the better for all concerned.
Responsible people in Mauritius are saying that we are neglecting all human values; our society is degenerating. Some sociologists too have been saying the same thing for quite sometime now; and yet despite all efforts by some well meaning individuals and groups no change seems to be on the horizon.
Le président de l'Union of Post Office Workers (UPOW), Ootesh Ramcharitar, noted in the same paper(ibid). " Actuellement, notre société est malade ", en parlant de la criminalité montante à Maurice et aussi du mauvais comportement des Mauriciens, particulièrement de certains jeunes. Our society is sick. All of us are responsible for the state of this sickness. Let’s get started. Assist our police force to catch and apprehend those who are giving us a bad name. Law and order is everybody’s business in a civilized society. Corruption from top down must be eradicated. Our top leaders must be seen to be taking the right decisions to ensure our safety, and we must back them up in this move.
“Elle est malade, dans tous les sens - dans la rue, au travail, à la maison, en famille, partout. Il n'y a pas de respect entre les uns et les autres. Nous courons tous après le confort et le matérialisme, et pour l'obtenir, nous nous permettons beaucoup de choses illégales,” remarked the trade unionist. Our society is too lenient. Politicians must not play to the gallery to win votes; stronger measures for punishment by the court must be instituted. It is high time our leaders take note and ensure our society is made safe for all if we wish to play a prominent role on the world stage.
Instead of tourists flocking to the island they will be keeping away resulting in much needed revenue to our country. The news is spreading like wild fires that Mauritius is a dangerous destination to spend one’s holidays there. Overseas Mauritians themselves are feeling ashamed to talk of their country as a suitable place for tourists. So, be warned; don’t take things for granted. Do everything possible to change the impression you are giving to the outside world.
Dr David B.Lingiah
Glasgow
