Two Mauritians living overseas, recently flew back to Paradise island to be at the bedside of dying close relatives. While the first one?s mother, aged 80, was suffering from terminal cancer, the other one's brother had been so savagely assaulted that he is hardly responding to stimuli in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of SSR hospital and swinging between life and death.

His brother is not the only one to have been admitted to the ICU in those appallingly unexpected circumstances. Another severely beaten unconscious man was admitted a few days ago, while a lady, mugged by her husband, lately left the ICU for the other world.

Although death is a certainty, it is not always easily dealt with, especially when it touches your inner circle. Yet when it comes through disease associated with old age, it is more readily accepted as a fact of life.

However, accident or crime related deaths are more difficult to digest. Unfortunately, they might well be on the rise in our country. Last year our blood thirsty roads claimed 140 lives, i.e. more than 11 lives per 100,000 inhabitants whereas in 2006, Australians lost 7.8 lives per 100,000 inhabitants on theirs. They are on a decreasing trend and aiming at 5.6 deaths per 100,000 by 2010. Are they reaping the fruits of clearly set objectives and implemented measures such as ongoing road safety awareness campaigns? In any case, they is still some road to travel to reach the exceptional road fatality rate of 5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants displayed by Singapore!

On the crime chapter, each week brings its lot of horrible misdeeds fit for people living in uncivilized, remote ages. The least conflict often ends in life-threatening ways. Did two youngsters not mug an old man to death because of a cigarette? Were a mother, her two daughters and her suspected lover not found lifeless in a sugarcane field in what could be a collective murder or suicide? Was the corpse of a naked burnt man not discovered in a hunting ground lately? A real-life horror film was recently staged in Cite Beau Séjour, heart-rending excerpts of which were reported in the press. Only hope, for justice sake, that the culprits be brought to justice without hindrance. This rise in violence needs to be addressed urgently. For instance, people should be taught and encouraged to adopt non-violent conflict-solving methods, while being discouraged to even think of attempting to their fellowman?s life to quench their anger. It might sound simplistic but that?s the way it works in some countries. Poverty, frustration, economic situations and the likes cannot justify the rise of a violent mentality. Mauritius has known worse situations in the past but it was more driven by cooperation rather than competition, more fuelled by unity than by individuality. Have the times not come for a change in mentality?

This is, however, not at the tip of fairy Godmother's wand. It demands goodwill and humility to follow those who have successfully built a low-crime society with a low rate of road fatalities. It demands that we reject gang culture, violence, drugs, covetousness and such evils while putting back into fashion the timeless values of dialogue, mutual understanding, cooperation, truth, justice and non violence. It?s not easy but it?s worth trying, unless we wish to sacrifice our frame of mind at the altar of the unforgiving cancer of violence and carelessness!