<B>By Deepa BHOOKHUN</B>

When I was a child, at Christmas, I always wanted what my brother had. I would always open my presents while keeping an eye on what he was doing, but above all on what was inside his numerous gift-wrapped parcels. And suddenly my dolls didn?t look as attractive as they had in my head while I was eagerly anticipating Christmas ? I wanted my brother?s truck and his board games instead.

Then one day, my father sat me down and explained how unattractive a quality envy was. It made me ugly, he said. I cried and vowed I would never covet what other people had.

Easier said than done, I agree. But over the years, I managed to understand the philosophy underlying this principle of ?don?t covet?.

Well, the way I see it at any rate is that if I don?t have something and somebody else does, then jealousy was certainly not going to help. All jealousy does to you is make you lose precious hours of sleep and you don?t look too good in the morning.

I also believe that when the time has come for me to reap the fruits of my oh-so-good actions (yes, it?s called self-delusion), then it will just come. Pining, swearing, cursing will make no difference ? the Lord works in mysterious ways, they say.

So now, at the ripe age of I?m-not-telling, I am happy to report that I am glad when something good happens to my brother. But I guess you have to love someone to be happy when something good happens to him.

My fellow Mauritians don?t love each other.

I wish I could explain to them, the way my father did to me, that when civil servants get a pay rise, there is no reason to be spiteful. That spite doesn?t bring us anything, that ill will backfires. That one doesn?t have to measure one?s success by the neighbour?s standards. That it?s not because the neighbour has a bigger car that yours is not nice.

But where does one begin when every single thing that happens in this country is seen through ethnically tinted glasses?

I don?t know if you?ve been unfortunate enough to hear some of the comments made by a few dimwits ever since the PRB report was made public but they ranged from ?one community gets it all? to ?what about us?? going through ?we have to pay for this largesse!?

And to ensure that the message gets across, some sick in the head people thought of a brilliant plan? they wrote their hateful message on their phones and sent it to many.

What is wrong with us?

P.S Do we really have to love someone to be happy when good things happen to him or her? Or should we strive to wish people well anyway?

And does it follow that if we are jealous of people, then it is because we loathe them?

If that?s the case, then we have a big problem, my friends.