Let Us Pray

Mauritius Times – 70 Years

By Peter Ibbotson

Bit by bit, news of the widespread destruction wrought by Carol has leaked through despite the disruption to normal channels of communication. Truly was Carol a terrible ordeal, especially coming as it did on the heels of Alix, before in fact the disruption of the first cyclone had been repaired.

At the time at which I write, the total of the destruction, in lives, in property, in agricultural production, is unknown. Certainly, the effect of the two cyclones together

— indeed, of Carol alone — is the most terrible disaster which Mauritius has faced, “The worst since 1892” is the commonest description of the second cyclone; but in view of the greatly increased population and the present economic state of Mauritius, I would suggest that in its effect Carol outstrips the 1892 cyclone as a disaster.

Sympathy for Mauritius is widespread. It is of course well-known by now that the Colonial Office had agreed to grant £2 million in respect of the first cyclone; this will be greatly augmented, of course, now that Carol has struck.

Mr Wilson has described the grant of £2 million as “most generous” — I agree. For once I do not agree with the attitude of the British Labour Party as expressed in Parliament, that the Government has been niggardly over the grant. If no further grant would be forthcoming, there would be cause for grumbles; but further grants will assuredly be made. The whole cost of the two cyclones is far too much for one small territory to bear. I should hazard a guess that another £3 million will be forthcoming.

The British press has given widespread publicity to the ordeal and plight of Mauritius in its successive calamities. The Daily Telegraph front-paged the news on February 29 and followed this with a long report and a leading article on March 1. The Daily Mail was able to print, on March 1, a letter describing the first cyclone; a letter from Mrs Sonia Manton (of Hamstead, now living in Mauritius with her husband) to her mother. Mrs Manton graphically described the night-long terror of Alix; and this description will do much to bring home to readers of the Daily Mail the ordeal which all Mauritians have gone through.

When I telephoned all the national dailies to ask that they publicise the Governor’s Relief Fund, I met everywhere with sympathetic hearing; and in the News-Chronicle, Daily Herald, and Daily Mirror I saw the fund (with the address for donations from the UK) referred to. On February 29, the news stories referred to the fact of the cyclone and its effects; on March 1, the fact common to all was the chronic rood shortage. Typical was this headline in the Daily Mail: ‘Homeless Roam City Without Bread’.

As well as the Daily Telegraph the Daily Express had a brief editorial comment, headed ‘Proud to Help’. It referred to the grant of £2 million and the cruiser Gambia and said, “Mauritius is far away, but it is British”.

The extent of the damage is not yet fully known. But it can be said that Mauritius, having pulled itself up by its bootstraps during the last 15 years, is now — because of natural causes — once again on its beam-ends. Hard work and privation are the immediate prospect for the whole island; everyone must now sink his differences and pull together for the sake of the common weal. Master and man; employer and employee; labourer, Etat major and plantocracy — all have but one task: the rebuilding of Mauritius out of the ruins of Alix and Carol.

“We sink or swim together” is the choice facing everyone. Political differences must be sunk until the task of rebuilding is well under way. It looks as though the plans for long-term development must be postponed — though I hope not. But for a while there will inevitably have to be a period of marking time in the progress of Mauritius. But just as after the decade of disasters in the 1890s Mauritius grew prosperous once again, then assuredly after these two disasters and the lean year ahead Mauritius will once again progress and prosper anew.

Let us all hope and pray that such will indeed be the case.

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Destruction… Hope and Reconstruction

Cyclone Carol spared nothing: Its wrath was let loose as if to destroy and where that was not possible to paralyse everything. Together with the hundred thousands victims the Mauritius Times had a fair share of disaster; that is why we are appearing today after fifteen days. We have no doubt that our readers and advertisers will appreciate our difficulties. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that we renew our weekly contact with our readers. Although belatedly we wish to tender, today, our heartfelt sympathies to all those who have suffered either through the loss of relatives or through loss of all their belongings. The tragedy of Pointe aux Sables, a man’s whole family was drowned, has saddened the country as a whole.

So, here we are today surrounded by ruins and deep in the grasp of a corroding despair. Death and destruction came in all their ghastliness bringing demoralisation in their wake. Forty-one persons have died, more than 100,000 are homeless, our industry has been shaken: this is the result of a ten-hour cyclone, the kind of which the country has never witnessed before. Had this prosperous, sweet little Island which has been struggling to improve its conditions and claim its rightful place in the world become the envy of the Gods? Why should we be made to bear so brutally the wrath of nature? There is no use setting ourselves this type of question. It’s futile. Indeed, it is a sheer waste of time to quarrel with happenings beyond human control. We all well know that the sight around us is enough to make us despair, but we can’t afford to cry over spilt milk. We have to reconstruct; we must rise out of the ruins in which we are. At the bar of history, we shall be judged not by the extent of the damage we have suffered or by the amount of help we shall receive from friends and benefactors: we shall be judged by the efforts we shall put in to rebuild our country.

We had not yet recovered from the losses of cyclone Alix when we were so severely hit by cyclone Carol. The problems facing the Government are therefore complex. In view of a disaster of such magnitude two sets of problems cropped up. First, emergency measures had to be taken to restore normal life and, second, the decision had to be taken to reorient the Government’s housing policy.

The Government, in conjunction with one or two charitable institutions, have taken excellent measures to allay the sufferings of the refugees. Shelter was provided in every village, and in places where there were no refugee centres camps were put up immediately. The flow of rice and bread to refugee centres was continuous. The health authorities were alert, there is no danger of epidemics breaking out. Large scale vaccination has been started. The idea of putting up temporary shelters to house the refugees is praiseworthy but it must be done as quickly as possible. Also, no shelters should be built on school premises. There is one point which we feel must be taken up immediately by the Government: steps must be taken to provide work for the people. There should be less reliance on charity. The Government’s motto should be: Let’s help the people to earn their living.

Regarding the long-term policy it seems that we’ll have to wait till the arrival of the housing experts. However, we must make it clear right from now that we must have a comprehensive housing programme — a programme which will fit in with our present standard of living.

In conclusion we would like to make the following suggestion to Government: Government workers should be given a month’s salary in advance. Whether we like it or not, Government servants are entitled to this sympathy from Government. They have worked selflessly during the cyclone and they too have suffered losses in one way or the other. Given the present circumstances they are bound to run into debts.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 22 November 2024