<B>By Deepa BHOOKHUN</B>

MMM MP Alan Ganoo comes with an interesting question in parliament today. He asks the Prime minister if Government will consider the advisability of amending the law to make ?non-assistance à personne en danger? an offence.

We obviously do not know at this stage what the head of government?s reaction will be but with hope, Prime minister Ramgoolam will give due consideration to the question. What this entails if it comes to it will be that we would be held liable if something happened to our ?neighbour? and we didn?t do anything to prevent it, provided of course that it were within the realms of the possible and the reasonable.

We all know by reading the newspapers and listening to the radios every single day how the indifference of people on a daily basis has one way or another helped a criminal perpetrate his crime, how the indifference of the ?admirable? people of this country has contributed to the violation, abuse and deaths of many people including and especially children.

We all know that whatever the minister for children may say, sadists will keep on violating small children, irresponsible mothers- if I may use the word- will keep on turning a blind eye to the sorry plights of their children for whatever reasons and neighbours and relatives and teachers will keep on pretending not to know what?s happening next door because they can get away with it.

You don?t agree? If you were walking along the streets at night- or during the day- and someone came over and started threatening or abusing you, how many people do you think would come to your aid? Someone is bound to, you?re probably thinking. Yeah, someone is bound to if you?re lucky. But it shouldn?t be about luck though, should it?

Go for a walk in Port Louis during the day and see for yourself. Or go to one of the most populated areas in the capital at night- the waterfront- and see if people come and help if you find yourself in some predicament. This is true everywhere in Mauritius in 2006. It was also true in 2000, 2002 or 2004 and way before, in case some of our respectable politicians think about gaining political capital out of this distressing issue. Think about all the cases of child abuse that could have been prevented had the people who were in the know spoken out. Think of all the pointless murders that could have been prevented.

French law imposes a duty on every person to help another in distress. It is called ?assistance à personne en danger? and the failure to give assistance is an offence. English law recognizes no such affirmative duty on the individual. Mauritius does not either. The rationale behind not imposing such a duty is a valid one. Can the State force a legal duty on us to give aid to fellow human beings? Is that not interference in our freedom? Maybe so. But can we really enjoy that freedom if other people?s rights to life are not being respected?

Can we operate as totally separate entities from others and hope for a healthy society?

It?s a shame though that we have come to that, that we have come to the point of talking about imposing a duty to care for others when that feeling should have been spontaneous. It?s a pity that there are no more willing good Samaritans anymore among us.

So how about making each and every one of us responsible for the well being of our fellow countrymen? How about having a law to turn us into good Samaritans?