He insists he is Mauritian. French-born Frederic however has one wish - that the colours of the rainbow mix so that Mauritius can be an even more beautiful nation.

Frederic was born in Ouagadougou, of French parents. His childhood was spent travelling, settling in a particular country for some time and moving on just as he had started making friends. Then, at the age of 16, he went back to France and discovered his parents? homeland for the first time. This ?citizen of the world? eventually met a lady - half-Chinese, half-Indian - who told him she was from ?Ile Maurice.? Where, in heaven?s name, was that? he wondered, slightly taken aback, he who thought he knew every country there was to know!

So Frederic had to visit, didn?t he? That was way back in 1988. The couple moved to the island and decided to settle a year later. And Fréderic is now a successful businessman. He makes cakes, pastries, frozen puff pastry, pizza bases ? and the list goes on. The idea is to bring French flavours to Mauritians.

?Mauritius has given me the opportunity to be an entrepreneur. Which is why I think that if somebody wants to make it here, they will,? says Frederic, full of admiration for this country he now calls home. ?Mauritius has been able to rise to the challenge of feeding its people.? He adds that, if people are poor, it is because they are unwilling to make the effort.

Over the years, Frederic has managed to make a home here. He has seen the country change. ?But I predicted what Mauritius went through. I?ve seen it in France, I?ve lived through it.? Frederic hopes to spend the rest of his life here. ?But I wish that people would stop thinking that the intermixing of people is a problem. In fact, it is what we should aspire too.? And he knows what he is saying, Fred. He, himself is mixed, as is his wife and now, even more so, his child.

?And I sometimes wish that people would treat each other with the respect that you show to a fellow human being?, says a sad Frederic. Why? Has anything happened? He says no but I guess travelling makes you wary. Then he laughs: ?We live on earth with men, you know, not in the sky??

Frederic would, however, not want to live anywhere else. ?I look around me everyday and I see this beautiful lagoon (Grand Bay)??