I wrote this article in French recently but considered it interesting enough to be replicated in English. Criminality among non-Mauritians living on the island is a delicate subject but concerns me, in many ways, as I have been professionally engaged in facilitating relocation of people to the island for more than two decades. It is more than a delicate subject, rather flirts with taboo, as no one wants to show a dark image of the island which relies heavily on foreign direct investment (FDI) to sustain its economy. The migration of people (and money) is one of the economic pillars, benefiting so many actors. Here we are not simply referring to the tourism industry, but to financial service providers, relocation agents, real estate agents, lawyers, banks and many others. Let’s be honest and put this on the table today.
Two recent cases hit me: the first was the murder of a Swiss retired person which is the result of a burglary gone wrong and second was the horrendous acts committed on a four (4) year-old girl, sold by her aunt to a Nepalese expatriate worker. The little angel was at her aunt’s during the short absence of her parents. In both cases, the common denominator (or detonator) was money
In the first case, I note that the gentleman was living in a region which is not common among the expatriate community : Terre Rouge. Choosing the right place to live is very important. I would definitely eliminate a suburb on my client’s list without hesitating. These areas are often a concentration of less fortunate people and the pressure that your Dollar or Euro could have on them should not be underestimated. A retired person living alone, without generalizing, is a naturally vulnerable person and an easy prey to evil minded people. People with pale skin are culturally assimilated to wealth in the DNA of Mauritian culture. Reasons ? They have the means to change country and live on our island, they were colonizers in the past, masters of slaves, landlords, and the first tourists able to stay in luxury hotels while normal houses where under sugar-cane thatch roofs. You get the point?
The rest, you can guess. I’m not being racist here – but there’s no other words to say it as it is
On the other side, there are numerous billionaire ghettos being created ; those famous villas under PDS schemes, with lush yards and world-class features, worth millions of Dollars and Euros. This is an official scheme promoted by the Government, again to attract foreign capital and investments. However, we should be aware that these regions showcase a concentration of liquid wealth and therefore residents are automatically classified under the ‘rich’ label. Now if there is an additional demonstration of wealth on the public space, it worsens the situation. It might be difficult to become famous in a large city, but on this island, everybody knows everybody. You can be locked as a target anytime. This is the difference between a small island and a large cit.y.
In the second case, we are referring to a different type of expatriate : workers. The Mauritian human resources situation has been very complicated in the past years. The philosophy of ‘one degree holder per family’ has created a white-collar population where no one wants to explore any profession within the manual works segment. So, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and similar sectors are employing more and more foreign workers, which now constitutes a community with thousands of heads.
Each community comes in with its own culture, ethics and mostly its quest for adventure. Unfortunately, in every society, there are evil persons …
In this abominable pedophilia affair, a Nepalese worker is concerned. This shows different elements around the socio-economic situation of not only the expatriate but also of the one sending the child to hell. If we look deeper, it is not only about money, but also about the expatriate cultural background. He comes from a restrictive society where such folly is not possible. On the island, far from his family, he thought himself free enough to let his inner animal loose. Many are in this psychological disposition. We have witnessed the same kind of wild behavior from the Bangladeshi community where many of its members were (are?) involved in obscure activities : drugs, prostitution, etc. They seem to understand that they are not accountable to Mauritian society.
The expatriate worker is far from his family, and thus loses any sense of his moral obligations.
To worsen the situation, we have this extremely sensitive socio-economic situation where the gap between the rich and the middle class is growing every day. A few are getting rich overnight while many are getting poorer at the same pace. Money.
In the past there was a pale trend toward sex-tourism which included pedophilia. Some mistook the island for another destination, famous for this type of tourism. This is no longer visible, but the question remains whether we have completely eradicated it or simply pushed under the carpet. There exists a very discrete tourism sector composed of very-high-net worth people, but invisible to the ‘naked’ eye. There is a clientèle who visits the island for crazy private parties, far from anybody’s sight, except tour operators, event organizers and hotels who charge a premium price for such ‘extra’ services. Parties where there are no boundaries, very often on a yacht parked outside the lagoon, in hyper-private villas, or even some private tiny islands surrounding Mauritius.
If there are parties organized by locals with entry tickets reaching up to Rs150,000 (with one or two white lines offered) then you can imagine the type of parties that well-off celebrities, diplomats, and sons / daughters of … can organize. It is obvious that the logistics and devices to accommodate such events exist. It is still cheaper than Ibiza or St Tropez and very much hidden from the lenses of paparazzi.
Mauritius is a small island by its surface area, surely not by the type of activities it hosts ; whether we are referring to its role on the international business scene, geopolitical influence or to the dark side of the moon. Everything, almost, happens on the island. It is having marvelously kept its status as a safe place since the Ying and Yang are kept in different spheres and are not mixed. Having lived here for my 49 years of life, I have not been victim of any crime, and nor has been any member of my family. It is easy to find yourself at the wrong place at the right time, but much easier to avoid it. It is important to learn about the island backstage and educate yourself on the culture, crime habits and history. This all, when glued together, will make more sense to you.
I concur that this blog does not propose the usual paradise image of Mauritius, but it stick to its fundamental value, that of saying the blunt truth. It allows readers to have a real understanding of the island’s life, its beauty as well as its dangers. Choosing a location as residence for you and your family cannot be done via a postcard. This is a serious topic that requires honest answers and not property-selling or service-selling motivated arguments.
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