<B>Karim HUGLI, </B> <I>company director of Hugli limited

?I have been living in Mauritius for 13 years now. Ever since I have been here, I have always been impressed by the great respect Mauritian people have towards religious beliefs. Indeed, I have noticed that youngsters are very close to religion, and as a result, are more respectful of their parents. Actually, when I compare youngsters from Mauritius to European youngsters, I realize that the controlled skid is less frequent than in the European context. I firmly believe that this is widely due to the closeness and the proximity

between Mauritians and their religions. I consider that this is one of the reasons why, after their studies abroad, youngsters want to come back here and be reunited with their families. Moreover, I would even go beyond this, by saying that this is one of the keys of the success of Mauritius.

The amalgam of cultures hereby is totally positive. One of the consequences is that it helps the people, and especially youngsters, to be more open-minded. People are more tolerant and, in addition to this, I have noted a desire from them to learn more on the religion of their neighours. This is how I perceive things. I think this can only be positive in the development of the youngsters as this may allow them to be flexible towards other cultures.

I concede that I have not been raised in a very religious environment. In fact, I have grown up in quite a liberal way. So, it goes without saying that I am gladly surprised to take note of the Mauritians? attitudes in this regard. Furthermore, I believe that this helps the Mauritians to have several attributes such as being calm, not aggressive but more importantly to be always listening to others.

Finally, I tend to see that Mauritians really wish to conserve their roots, cultures and values. I find this very interesting and I must say that I am proud that my children can grow up here in such environment. Hopefully, this will help them to conserve their values??