Around thirteen months ago, ?le peuple admirable de Maurice? chased the MSM-MMM government from power and placed its destiny in the hands of l?Alliance sociale, led by Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, son of chacha Ramgoolam. With this ?sanzement?, a new panoply of aspirations, hopes and dreams were born to many Mauritians. The Mauritian nation saw in Dr Navin Ramgoolam the messiah who had come to save us! After all, why would Mauritians not dream of better days? Had l?Alliance sociale not promised us ?pou sanz ou lavi dan 100 zour??

Alas, with big hopes and dreams come bigger deceptions! Today, thirteen months after the ?beta? of Chacha came to power, disillusion and frustration are at their peak. Wherever one goes, one can only hear ?sa gouvernment la finn embet, nou, finn coquin nou vot!? Without being a ?prophète de malheur?, let?s take a look at the horrendous situation prevailing in the country ?

It is high time for our leaders to stop being oblivious to the serious problem of brain drain that our beloved motherland is facing today. Where are all our laureates today?

One need not be an economist from the London School of Economics (LSE) or an MBA-holder from the London Business School, as some of our ministers and MPs are, to know that prices have been rapidly soaring over the last months; one only needs look at how much one?s ?tant ration? is now costing to feel this harsh reality! Prior to last year?s general elections, the then opposition, with its multiple constituents, amalgamated under the banner of ?l?Alliance sociale?, told us that ?sa blan la? (i.e. Paul Berenger, the then prime minister) was working only in favour of his cousins of the sugar industry; yet, what do we see today?

?Dimounn pe nepli capav aste zot dipain, lafarin ek gaz menager !? This is what we hear on the lips of one and all today! In fact, the consumer price index (CPI), the indicator of inflation, has reached new records as at July 2006, as compared to July 2005. It is no secret, indeed, that the lower and middle classes will be most affected by these increases. Yet, we were told that l?Alliance sociale would be ?putting people first? and would work in the interests of the ?ti dimounn?! O disillusion!

Similarly, the new tax ?reforms? are seen by the population as an act of back-stabbing by l?Alliance sociale and the population can feel the clutches of Mr Sithanen being thrust deeper and deeper into its throats ? Ala couman nou lavi finn sanzer!!!

Civil Servants have not been spared either by this tsunami of price increases and tax reforms. Their travelling allowances, passage benefits, everything is taxed! Yet, we put a question to Dr Navinchandra, head of this ?caring government?: Who are these civil servants? They are middle-class people who represent the traditional electorate of the Labour Party since the days of Chacha Ramgoolam! They are the ones who brought you to power, Dr Ramgoolam! These people are not the sons and daughters of ministers and prime ministers, like Dr Navinchandra himself is; but, rather, these people are the sons and daughters of those working-class and lower-middle class people who have toiled and drudged day and night throughout a lifetime to save every single ?paisa? so that their children could have a more decent future! And today, these people feel betrayed by this oh-how-socialist ?caring government?!!!

Let?s ask ourselves a question: what signal does all this send to the younger population? Not a very positive one! Indeed, this is a euphemism to say that the signal is very dark and negative! Everywhere, youngsters are desperate to leave the country because they feel ? not to say, they KNOW ? that the future is bleak in this country where we were promised that ?ou lavi pou sanze dan 100 zour?.

It is high time for our leaders to stop being oblivious to the serious problem of brain drain that our beloved motherland is facing today. Where are all our laureates today? Those very same laureates whose studies are funded by the Mauritian Government and who signed a bond undertaking to come back to serve the motherland ? This very motherland to which, in primary school, every morning we so proudly sang : ?Glory to Thee, motherland, O motherland of mine??! Where are all these laureates today? Have they come back to serve the country? Or are they all working for big multinational firms in London, Melbourne, New York? ? Can the advocates of the ?reforms? who provide us with a ?world class education? answer this question? Can Hon. Dharam Gokhool and Dr Navinchandra answer this question?

I myself cannot think of a single laureate from my year at school who has come back to serve the motherland! They are not to blame either; they want a better future and they know that the future is bleak in the motherland. They know that they will be engulfed and choked and crippled by the so-called ?socialist? reforms of Hon. Rama Sithanen. They realize that people have experienced a drastic decrease in disposable income. They fear that, with a decrease in consumer expenditure arising from this decrease in disposable income, there might be an utterly negative multiplier effect on the domestic economy. They apprehend that economic recession is looming at dusk.

Being themselves products of the CPE cut-throat competition, they do not want their kids to mortgage their childhood in favour of schoolbags full of textbooks weighing 10 kgs and private tuitions seven days a week! Alas, their fears and apprehensions are not merely prospective; they are very real! They are tantalising! They are terrifying!

Yet, the youth of our beloved motherland never loses hope! The youth of this country urges each and every single person in whose veins runs the Mauritian blood to send a clear signal to this ?gouvernement dominer? that ?enough is enough!?, before it is too late and before all we are left to say is : ?Cry, beloved country? Bizin sanzmen encor enn foi ! ?

V.D. A Mauritian studying at one of Britain?s oldest universities