?We are upset...?

Following the death of our dear friend Patrice Merle, the Mauritian community at Warwick University has been in mourning sincethis Thursday.

We are all in shock, and the University has dealt with this situation in an extremely professional manner, keeping the details of the incident as confidential as possible, especially in this trying period of exams.

Reading ?Un ancient lauréat se suicide? in l?express of Saturday 26/05/07 was the first time most of us came to hear of the presumed details of the tragic event, which according to Patrice's relatives, are not even backed by fact. We were most upset with the way the article depicted the death of our friend, and frankly disappointed, and outraged at the journalist?s lack of research, ethic and professionalism.

First of all, Warwick University being in Coventry, and not in London as stipulated by the article, shows clearly the lack of professional commitment from the journalist in information gathering. Furthermore the whole tone of the article went against l?express?s ?Code de Déontologie? : ?manque de rigueur?, ?manque de fidélité?, ?manque d?honnêteté?. The statement ?un geste de ras-le-bol provoqué par le manque de ressources pour terminer ses études?, and the crude and blunt way in which the article described the way he died is disrespectful to both the memory of our lost friend, and the mourning of his family and friends.

Patrice was much more than a laureate, he was the President of the Warwick Mauritian Society for two years, a hard-working student, and above all a dear friend who will be deeply missed by all of us. This article does not do justice to his memory, and has been seen by many of us as an expeditious way to deal with yet another ?faits divers? by a news-mercenary, rather than a professional journalist.

Mauritians at Warwick University

Editor?s note : This letter is written in an angry tone but we do understand that the loss of a dear friend may drive one to despair. In fact, it is true that the first article we published on Patrice?s death contained a few inaccuracies but we made the necessary corrections the next day as more information poured in. We do apologise for having stated that Warwick University is in London.