Hardly a week goes by without a heinous crime being perpetrated somewhere in such a tiny island like ours. Our forefathers would have stirred in their tombs. Certain crimes send shivers down our spines. Are we living in an age of barbarity? Such bestiality can only be seen in the early dawn of History. Have we become heartless? It seems that some have lost their senses to spare not even their loved ones, slit their throats, bury a mother in the backyard, or beat to death an innocent babe. Such bestiality has never been recorded before. The ghosts of some unsolved crimes still haunt the national conscience.

Nowadays, we talk of Cybercity, skyscrapers and beauty contests but realise what a heavy price we have paid for such metamorphosis. Progress has been so amazingly rapid that we have unconsciously discarded spirituality Christ said: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul.” Mauritius is soulless. Money is the new god and many worship Mam mon. We may be a Croesus: we may have the Midas touch and, if we have amassed wealth through unscrupulous means and achieve prosperity, it is the fate of these kings that awaits us in the end. Islam has rightly termed it as ‘Haram’ mo ney. The craze for easy money in horse ra cing, hitherto regarded as a noble sport, speaks for itself.

Papers, power and prestige have become the sole objectives. When family ties weaken, the whole edifice of society crumbles down with it. Violence is ever-present, verbal and physical, and it has become a way of life. Once the country was known as god-fearing but today it defies all religious values. The proliferation of sects in certain areas becomes symptomatic and exploits the credulity of people. Even holy places are desecrated and religious priests are mercilessly assaulted and robbed. Elderly people are the prey of pickpockets and burglars. Insecurity prevails and, as soon as darkness encroaches in some areas, there is hardly a soul outside except those of the underworld.

Anarchy seems to prevail in Port Louis. Street-vendors fill the pavements with such a motley of goods that pedestrians have to walk on the streets in peril of their lives. Port Louis is held hostage by the hawkers who have become as if the rightful proprie tors. They constitute a reservoir of electoral dividends.

The roads are a mirror of our society. Indiscipline prevails and might is right. Road regulations are good only for test-driving and once the driving licence is obtained, everything is forgotten.

We have emerged as a materialistic society. We become indifferent to anything so long as our feet don’t get wet. Where is the generation of the 60s full of idealism and altruism? Success is measured in terms of our pay-packet. Soaring prices have caused a sense of disillusionment among the population. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening and we are witnessing the withering of the middle-class. Birds of ill omen have forecast a social explosion.

Quo vadis, Mauritius? It is not a surprise to find the ravages of the brain drain in our midst: the country is dispossessed of its best brains. The younger generation has practically lost faith in the future of the island (low salaries and absence of meritocracy) and they settle where the grass is greener.

<B>Philip LI CHING HUM</B>