That the country last week witnessed the birth of yet another sectarian group, the Federation of Mauritian Creoles, should come as no surprise to anyone. If anything, the surprise is its delayed birth. It was a matter of time before a Creole leader stepped up and took charge after the death of Duval.

The advent of the federation is neither good nor bad; it should be judged in the wider context of life in Mauritius. To claim that we live happily side by side is hollywoodian; to say we live side by side is more realistic; and finally, to say we tolerate each other is a more honest appraisal of the situation. But for how long? That was probably the question that Father Grégoire asked himself and others who cared to listen to him, and the answer was the creation of the federation.

The Catholic Church has always been at the centre of life in many countries. Catholic priests are trained to be leaders in and outside the Church. For too long, the local Catholic Church has neglected to protect its most vulnerable members differing, in that respect, from the Church in other countries, like the Philippines, France before the Revolution of 1789, Quebec until the Quiet Revolution and many Latin American countries today.

Is there any reasonably-minded person who can argue with Father Grégoire when he compares the 2.5% of Creoles in the public service against a population of 35%? That is a total aberration of current and previous governments for having failed to treat the Creoles justly and fairly. And the argument that Creoles are not educated and therefore not qualified for employment in the civil service just does not wash. It does not take a high school qualification to work as a labourer for the government. Yet, a significant portion of government jobs are menial. Even in India, the government has realised it cannot forever ignore its Muslim minority. It is about to enact a quota system to ease its access into the government.

The advent of the Federation of Mauritian Creoles was forthcoming, its sole purpose is to advocate the rights of Creoles and fight for their rights. Why not, although for the sake of social peace, many were hoping it would not happen. But I will argue the contrary, that the federation will advance the cause of social peace and possibly be the saving grace for the country. It has brought forward the hapless plights of Creoles who for too long have been the country?s forgotten children. At least now, Mauritius is made aware of their difficulties and of the prejudices they have been suffering from. If we can find room for them and accommodate their grievances, the country will avoid another round of sectarian rioting. The entire country and all its ethnically-different communities will end up being the winners, for we all know what can happen when a community is marginalised. Look around, and learn: Shias in Iraq, Armenians and Kurds in Turkey, Chechnya in the Russian Federation, Kashmir in India, and the list goes on.

The association of creoles is not a danger per se. The real danger lies when it is pitted against other sectarian groups; when, God forbid, the police will be called upon to bring law and order between two groups. Akin to the Lebanese army made up of mostly Shias tasked with reining in the Hezbollah!

Saoud BACCUS