{"id":46207,"date":"2026-06-22T11:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T07:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=46207"},"modified":"2026-06-22T11:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T07:50:19","slug":"a-praiseworthy-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/a-praiseworthy-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"A Praiseworthy Effort"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Our Archives –A Glimpse into 1961<\/strong><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

By A. I. Cassimally<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The 25th January 1961 issue of Trait d\u2019Union<\/em> most certainly deserves wider publicity. It contains, besides the Christmas messages of last year from various countries, messages of goodwill from members of the Mauritian community “dans le cadre de la semaine de la charit\u00e9 fraternelle.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The local contributions are from: (1) Mr Guy de G. Sells, British Council representative; (2) Messrs Pierre de Sornay, Jean-Georges Prosper, and H. L. D., on behalf of “La Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des \u00c9crivains Mauriciens”; (3) Mr R\u00e9gis Fanchette, for the “Centre Culturel Fran\u00e7ais”; (4) Mrs K. Hazareesingh, Secretary of the Indian Cultural Association; (5) Mr A. Joomaye, President of the Islamic Cultural Association; (6) Mr Ng Kwet Chan, on behalf of the Chinese Youth Federation; (7) Mr John Beckett, representative of the International Voluntary Service; and (8) Mr Max Moutia, speaker at the MBS.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although each contributor has viewed the problem from a different angle, all have expressed their faith in the possibility of “charit\u00e9 fraternelle” and its ultimate fulfilment.<\/span><\/p>\n

How inspired Mr de Sells must have been when he wrote: “To pause and refresh the mind by a conscious effort to replace perversity by understanding, bigotry by tolerance, enmity by affection — an indispensable exercise if there is to be any hope of healing the breaches and repairing the rents which disfigure the fabric of humanity.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The main argument of Mr R\u00e9gis Fanchette reminds me of the four “freedoms” of Franklin Roosevelt. Is it not the truth itself which crystallised from the pen of Mr Fanchette when he wrote: “Et nous restons des \u00eatres avort\u00e9s, \u00e9cartel\u00e9s, tron\u00e7onn\u00e9s parce que nous avons peur de nous-m\u00eames et des autres.” Mr Fanchette concludes on what may appear to be a paradox: “R\u00e9jouissez-vous plut\u00f4t de nos diff\u00e9rences, de notre particularisme, de nos idiosyncrasies. ‘Enrichissons-nous mutuellement de nos diff\u00e9rences,’ disait, je crois, Val\u00e9ry \u00e0 Gide.” Mr Fanchette may be a na\u00eff, but how much better the world would be if there were many more like him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mrs Hazareesingh, on an optimistic note, reminds us that “in any case our difficulties are insignificant when compared to the tragic events which are now taking place in other parts of the world.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The discourse of Mr Joomaye on “charity” comes from the typical Islamic angle: “Every good act is charity. An exhortation of your fellow men to virtuous deeds is equal to alms-giving. Your putting a wanderer on the right road is charity. Your assisting the blind, your removing stones, thorns and other obstacles from the road is charity.” He ends by saying: “Only through kindness can man claim to be the rightful heir to God’s creation.” How finely put!<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most poetical contribution comes from the pen of Mr Ng Kwet Chan. The opening paragraph stuns us with its amazing simplicity and disarms us by the strong faith the poet places in the brotherliness of man: “Si je suis ici \u00e0 vous parler aujourd’hui, c’est que j’ai foi en la Charit\u00e9 Fraternelle. Je suis confiant que le jour n’est pas loin o\u00f9 tous nos pr\u00e9jug\u00e9s dispara\u00eetront \u00e0 jamais pour faire face \u00e0 la Fraternit\u00e9.”<\/span><\/p>\n

One can sense immediately that these words come straight from a noble heart. Mr Ng Kwet Chan further says: “Aucun effort ne doit \u00eatre \u00e9pargn\u00e9, surtout quand il y va de notre bonheur. Et il n’y a jamais de vrai bonheur pour nous-m\u00eames sans le bonheur des autres.”<\/span><\/p>\n

As a poet and philosopher, he epitomizes his thought: “A mon avis, aucun probl\u00e8me tant moral que mat\u00e9riel n’est insoluble si nous sommes capables d’aimer notre prochain.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, a man like John Beckett, who incarnates by his actions and his deeds the “charit\u00e9 fraternelle,” can talk on that subject with authority; he exhorts us not to throw “la pierre \u00e0 son voisin” or judge all his acts. Max Moutia’s message is similar in many respects: “Les pauvres, ceux \u00e0 qui on fait l’aum\u00f4ne, ceux qui ont besoin d’aides de toutes sortes, peuvent aussi pratiquer \u00e0 leur mani\u00e8re la charit\u00e9 en se montrant dignes, en bannissant tout sentiment d’envie ou de rancune envers ceux qui leur font du bien.”<\/span><\/p>\n

We offer our congratulations to Mr Edwin de Robillard, the editor, founder, and “animateur” du Secr\u00e9tariat Social, and with l’Abb\u00e9 Pierre, we formulate the hope that “une \u00e9tincelle va jaillir dans le monde, qui allumera \u00e0 travers tout l\u2019univers un amour concret des hommes les uns pour les autres.”<\/span><\/p>\n

8th Year – No 338
\n<\/strong>Friday 24th February 1961<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 19 June 2026<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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