It was midnight and Mauritius was welcoming 2005. The good vibrations were tangible. I remember thinking to myself that it was probably the only time in this country when all of us were on the same wavelength. It was a special moment. The fireworks were magical, everybody was happy and good wishes were flowing galore.

I was so wrong. At the same time, in Baie du Tombeau, a taxi driver was getting killed in the exercise of his duty. His murderers did not give one thought to New Year celebrations. Did not give one thought to the family they were depriving of its breadwinner. Did not give one thought to decency. They were only thinking of the loot. After killing the driver by strangulation, they disposed of his body in a cemetery. And went home to celebrate.

A few days ago, a newly married couple was thoughtlessly battered while they were on their honeymoon. On New Year?s Day, a mother shamelessly put to eternal sleep her three daughters before setting fire to her newly built house. Good vibrations? My foot.

Why do people kill each other? What brings people to the desperation where they think the only way out is suicide? Why is there such mindless violence? Why are people ready to kill just to steal some insignificant amount of money? How come a human life means nothing at all nowadays to some people? Where did we go wrong?

It would be easy to just shift the blame to ?some? people because ?that?s the way they are.? Easy but inaccurate. We are all responsible for this. People kill, people steal because they themselves are deprived. Places like Karo Kalyptis have become a haven for drug dealers and criminals because we have allowed it to be so. When people?s stomachs are empty, how can we expect them to give any thought to values? Values and principles and good vibrations become a luxury.

We are all to blame for this. In the rat race, in our preoccupation with our selfish well-being, we have forgotten that a society functions as a whole. We have conveniently chosen to ignore the needs of the less fortunate. And today we are the prey of those we have neglected. Evil, says Khalil Gibran is good tortured by its own hunger and thirst. ?When good is hungry, it seeks food, even in dark caves and when it thirsts, it drinks even of dead waters?.

If we have to make a new year?s resolution, let it be to eradicate the social evils in this country. Our happiness, our social health depends on it. We, journalists are getting sick of stories of people getting killed, mugged and so on. Forget about the good stories they make. People?s tears do not make us happy.

Let us take our collective responsibility and stop thinking that bad things only happen to others. This is an appeal to politicians and civilians. Otherwise we might all end up waiting for an absolution that will never come.