Insecurity is becoming one of our biggest economic problems. Tourists and investors are now the victims of criminals, the latest being the Indian businessman Mir Mujeeb. This case is not the only one: the attack on two UN security guards in Port-Louis last month is still fresh in our minds. And this is nothing compared to the 200 tourists attacked between September and December last year. Where will it end?

We can?t let such a situation last while tourism and foreign investment are the two main pillars of our economy. While the other ?safe? sectors ? sugar and textile ? are in troubled waters, the authorities have given the guarantee that these two should bring us some hope for the future. Gérard Sanspeur, the managing director of the Board of Investment, declared in an interview ?Our best ambassadors are successful foreign investors?. If they are attacked, what will happen? What kind of publicity will this bring to the country? Will the marketing campaign launched in Europe for a mere Rs 91 million be effective?

The more so as nothing can be kept hidden nowadays. With the international press and Internet ? not to mention all the different means of communication ? every little event can be known worldwide within minutes of its happening.

The idea of setting up tourism police was not a bad one. In fact, it could have prevented a lot of bad experiences for visitors. However, this has not proved to be the case yet? Reasons for this ?failure? should be found as it could well be one solution.

Putting the right people in the right place for a discreet and strict surveillance of ?risky? zones? That is what it is all about! Plain-clothes policemen should be posted in certain problem areas to make them safer.

Likewise, they should be posted in a more rational way. When I saw five policemen crowded together around one motorcyclist because he had no helmet, I couldn?t help thinking that four of them would have been much more useful elsewhere.

However, the best way to avoid violence undoubtedly remains prevention. Mir Mujeeb?s father relates that his son ?said Mauritius was the safest place in the world.? There must be a problem of communication somewhere. How can statistics ? that is facts ? and the perception of people coming to Mauritius be so different. I mean, as long as these people are not confronted with problems, they don?t realise that Mauritius has become a dangerous place to live in.

It seems that the watchword in Mauritius is: ?Don?t tell anybody, especially foreigners, that they should be aware of the possibility of violence?? In case they decide not to come. There is a sort of irony in the fact that South Africa is known all over the world as one of the most dangerous places. Yet, as soon as you arrive there, there are so many policemen everywhere, signs to tell people to be careful, so many methods of prevention? that it finally appears as one of the safest of places.

Mauritius, however, is advertised as the safest place to go. No mention of risks that tourists should not take. Anyone can go anywhere at any time? So much so that people really do and are attacked by an increasing number of violent individuals. As soon as the media try to play their role by publishing cases of violence to warn people, they are accused of being unpatriotic. Yet, if reality continues to be hidden, violence won?t be tackled at its roots and will keep on increasing. And this will lead to a situation where no more visitors or investors will come to the country.

A vast prevention campaign should be launched. People wishing to come to Mauritius should be made aware of the situation. They should feel that the Mauritian authorities care for them and will do everything to protect them.