The Mauritian in me.
Funny how some people despise Mauritians living abroad. For most of those despising the “foreigners”, the first thing is a sense either of jealousy or inferiority. But I can’t blame them for obvious reasons! When I was a kid I had uncles and cousins coming from the UK or France. We Mauritian children had to make the effort of speaking English or French, they would never get as low as start talking Creole. I recall my grandma trying to understand my cousin who could speak Creole but never did with her.
At the same time, they would tell me how great their life was abroad and, dude, let’s face it, that cousin was younger or the same age as me and he had already got on a plane. Everybody seemed just to bustle around those people coming from abroad and practically abusing of the Mauritian sense of hospitality. There was always a something to do around them since the minute they got up. The “foreigners” got eggs every morning at breakfast. I was entitled one that I ate sitting on my grandad’s lap every Sunday. Everyone somehow wanted to bask in that faint light shining around the Mauritians from abroad. For us kids, “langleter” was an El-Dorado, every plane we saw flying was going “There”, where life was great and changed you so that people just had stars shining in their eyes when they look at you when you came back.
And here we were, kids, looking up to them. We were trying to imagine their wonderful life there in Europe while we here, in the small village of Cottage went to sleep on a mattress on the floor in our little corrugated iron house. We shared the mattress in three, some cousin or my brother, my Dadi (grandma) and I. The “foreigners” chose, on their part, to go and sleep at the only relative in the group (we being an extended family) who had a real “lacaze blok”.
The best food was made for them when they came. We never had that kind of food really. People came to fetch their presents relatives gave the “foreigners” to bring to Mauritius. The whole day was a huge bustle. They were entertained and excursions were organised by the family to get a taxi to take them to the seaside, to interesting places and to enjoy their holidays. We kids spent our holidays either sitting around at home or helping Dada (grandad) in the garden or “caro pistass”.
It was fun to have them here though. Why? Because everybody was so interested in them that they left us, kids, alone. We could do what we liked since no one was paying attention. We could hang around the adults and listen to some forbidden, not usually understood but seemingly very interesting conversations till late at night. We could fish the cherries out of the “fruit au jus” without anyone noticing and we could drink all the “jus” out of it as at least 3 cans of this highly esteemed dessert had been opened.
However, some things were terribly wrong. When I grew into a teenager I started understanding the conversations. There were arranged and nearly forced marriages when the relatives got back to Mauritius. There was back biting. There was a lot of “we foreigners are better that you ‘ti kaliter’ Mauritians having stayed here in your crappy village and going to watch your football matches seated on benches in the overcrowded village hall”. There was a lot of “we have 2 cars”, “we live in a big house in London or Paris”, “we make big money”. All in all, it was the confrontation of the “better” Mauritian to the local Mauritian.
This made me understand that somehow, the Mauritian hospitality was such that you would always be welcomed like a prince, but that the ego was a thing that messed people’s minds. Ego even killed your relationships with your own family. The fact of leaving the country and living abroad made the past generations think that they had climbed up the social ladder such that even relatives should be considered as inferior. I don’t know if this still prevails. Too bad for me, I never also expected to leave the country and finally end up living abroad. For me it was supposed to be a 1 year to 4 year trip but things never turn out as expected.
Living far from Mauritius has strengthened my bond to that small piece of land. It has sealed my belonging to the Mauritian nation as a whole, where there is no difference between races and religion for me. Mine, rasson, briyani, ti-puri… tell me which Mauritian has never eaten at least one of those while each can represent a part of the Mauritian multi-culture. Years spent abroad teach you that in racism there is no communalism, its not because you’re of Chinese origin nor of “grand nation or ti nation” (it took me 22 years to understand this b*llsh*t) or even a bit fairer that you will have better treatment, you’re just a foreign tit. Say what you will but the persecution of the Creoles during slavery is part of my history as much as the coming of indentured labourers to work the sugar cane fields is part of the history of any other Mauritian.
This, dear reader, is what makes me speak only Creole when I’m with Mauritians or when I get back to Mauritius even if it means, true story back in 2001, being served last in a shop because all the other people present spoke French. Even in my family, relatives say “to encore conne coze Creole?”. How can you forget a language you’ve spoken all your life? This is the Mauritian in me.
Category: Chronicles
Twitter: yashvin
Great article!!!
The way you used your words, your style…
Yashvin´s last blog ..Rs100,000 fine for a phone call prank
Twitter: sachindb
Thanks Yashvin. I was afraid that it would be too long.
Twitter: blebon
“Funny how some people despise Mauritians living abroad. For most of those despising the “foreigners”, the first thing is a sense either of jealousy or inferiority.”
Oui c’est bien vrai! Ena bocou Moris ki ena un complex d’inferiorite!!! Something I can tell you, being abroad has really changed my perception on life and Mauritius. I see things much clearer now.
“For us kids, “langleter” was an El-Dorado”
Hahahahha, bokou pas conner ki manier difficil ici, meme kan travay, surtout avec gros tax, depenses loyer, transfort, chauffage (bon chauffage bien moins ki loyer mais li un t somme kan meme, surtout pou sa ki pas habituer ek fraicheur.) …
I feel too many expatriates abuse of Mauritian hospitality. They seriously do! I don’t abuse when I go back. Mo meme impe gener kan zot fer ban dinner kan mo la …
Bruno´s last blog ..Units
Twitter: sachindb
I know that you just can’t abuse of this hospitality but you cannot insult them by refusing also. But hey it is fun to be in the family and leave ancient ways behind. True enough, we think that abroad is wonderful, it has its charm but home also has its charm.
Ce texte m’a renvoyé quelques années en arrière. je me rappelle encore ces cousins d’Australie ou de France qui venaient à la maison avec leur drôle d’accents et tout plein de cadeaux pour tout le monde. c’était noël avant l’heure lol…
Nice one…
P.S: Mo krwar Yashvin envi maye to likou lol…
Guiblog´s last blog ..Intégristes made in Mauritius
Twitter: sachindb
Merci Guillaume. Eh oui, c’est le mélange d’excitation d’avoir des “étrangers” à la maison et celui des souvenirs. Ca fait quelque chose.
P.S: Pou Yashvin, mo croire ki ca post la ine touche enn lakord sensib…
Twitter: __sun__
Maybe its true for some mauritians to consider ‘them’ as ah.. they live ‘there’.. so nice.. but personally for me, someone who has never been on a plane, who know many foreigners in mauritius, i’ve never felt the need for something other than THIS LAND. Our Motherland.
I believe.. now that im thinking about it.. its kinda hard not to have the SEA nextdoor.. and the city on the other side, a university a few kilometers from here, and DAL POURIS! whenever u want!
I love the whole world.. my whole world is Mauritius. Ze tador!
There’s no place like home.
Twitter: sachindb
I understand your point of view. Sometimes you just don’t choose and things are not readily manageable when you’re only 18. You try to get the best out of life and if life just takes over you have to carry on with it.
I, compared to many an expatriate, am proud of my roots and my country whatever the situation is and I now have two homes but still, I am a Mauritian, my wife is becoming Mauritian and all our kids will be Mauritians.
Twitter: yashvin
haha!
Another nice article from you
think many people face the same situation when the foreign relatives came here to pay us their rare visits …I had a cousin who lived in France when she came here she said that she can no more speak creole and here people despised the creole language cos its inferior but think they dont realize they are just continuing to adhere to the post colonialism period where french and english always best…the mentality still here…abroad always better….
Gaia´s last blog ..Are You addicted to the Coca Cola drug
Twitter: sachindb
What people tend to forget is that Creole IS the mortar of our society. Without it you would only have had a mixture of different languages which would increase misunderstanding amount the different parties.
Reminds me of an episode… I had just won the 2000 Web d’Or of Servihoo with my friends, and a distant uncle was visiting us from the UK. He sat down in our living room and started to explain how airmail was outdated and that now they were using fax machines to communicate with his other relatives. And he went on to explain to me how a fax machine works! My brother and I looked at each other, we had a PC with Napster downloading music in the other room and this guy was asking us how a fax machine works! We chose not to say anything. Until he asked if firemen in Mauritius still rang the bell when they went out. We got up there and then and left him to my parents. Till this day everybody calls him “Pompier”.
Twitter: sachindb
Everybody has these little anecdotes. Its fun to go back to them, isn’t it? Some look at Mauritius with such “grandeur” that they forget the strength of the Mauritian population: curiosity + hard work.
I think that you must have had a good laugh in his back that day
.
Twitter: angelmandini
Really nice post and some truths uncovered.
Honestly, my chachi’s sisters live abroad, and when they come to Mauritius, dimoune pli grand noir ki zot pena! Zot pa kone fer ene bonjour, ene namaste, ene alo… meme pa ene signe de tete! Pa fine, sa coup la mo chachi declare pli grand noir akoz so soeur vivre a l’exterieure, li ena buku cash, li acheter bon bon linge pu li et pu so bane zenfants…. akoz soi disant chez moi, nu pena famille ki vivre a l’exterieure… mo truv sa ene mentalité banal…
Because my parents can afford to buy me stuffs, but it’s just not our priority…
Mais sa c’est le “movais” coté… like you mentionned {“we foreigners are better that you ‘ti kaliter’ Mauritians having stayed here in your crappy village and going to watch your football matches seated on benches in the overcrowded village hall”.}
Kan mo cousine vine moris, nou bien content pu recevoir li et so bane zenfants chez nous… c’est toujour un plaisir acceuille li chez nous parski c’est apres plusieurs années ki nou p trouve li… et sane cousine la li rode nek du riz-bouillion-chatini-pomme de terres frits… Bane manger simple… purement a la mauricienne
Chaya´s last blog ..Soz of Soz
Twitter: sachindb
Yes, there’s also this appearance thing. To show that they are different they will be wearing new clothes all the time. Man I just love my “Island Style” T-shirts. And as you rightly said, whatever the degree of betterness is shown, expatriates will fall for rougaille poisson salé in the end.
Mentality is a way of life. Some people just think that if their salary is in pounds or euros, it makes them better than everybody else. How come? You can have a huge sum of money on Mauritian standards but it only is some normal sum in European standards. People can be so backwards in their way of thinking.
Twitter: kurtavish
“”All in all, it was the confrontation of the “better” Mauritian to the local Mauritian.”"
And IMO it is still the same for many. Like some who went to some country and pretend to have forgotten their original language. Or like some who pretend to be the new language dictionary editor while the world never cared about their supposedly new grasped language perfection. Finally all they want is a point to show to the local Mauritian that they are another more evolved version. (Its sad but truth that they are the inverse however). Fortunately not all Mauritian metamorphose like this.
“”This, dear reader, is what makes me speak only Creole when I’m with Mauritians”"
Sa wai. Ek mo confirm sa.
Sa ki apel un vrai mauricien. Ena buku foi mo critik mo pays pu buku kitsoz mai a linterier mo cone maurice nu paradis sa. Mem si nu politicien dan bez…omoin ici zot pa touy toi acoz tone oze coze.
Mem si nu ena pollution…omoin nu pa parmi ceux ki p contribue pli pu detruir planet la.
Mem si nu ena ban communalist entre nou…mai jska zordi nou enkor solid.
Mem si nu pa pays pli rich dan le monde…nu omoin pli rich ki zot tou dan nou culture.
Coment Sun in dir….There’s no place like home.
Kurt Avish´s last blog ..UOM Student Union Election 2009
Twitter: sachindb
Cheers Dude!
O moin mo fer inper komenter en Kreol. Ena dimoun kroir ki seleksion natirel fer zis parski zot napli viv Moris. Li pa vrai. Li pa parski to coz Angler ou bien Francer ki tone vinn pli bon, li kan to mentaliter evolier dan bon direksion ki lerla to kapav dir tone evolier.
Mo geter de foi, ena morisyen ici fer gran noir dir ki zot pli bon kan guet dan coter ledikasyon. Ena dir moi zot lir Proust, Zola tousa. Selma, kan Leclézio inn gayn nobel, personne pa ti la pou kapav coz lor li. Kan Natacha Appannah ou bien Ananda Devi pe gayn prix ici grase a literatir morisyenne ban la fail. Ki zot pou dir? Non, mo pa lir sa kaliter literatir arierer la? Ici dimoun p laguer pou aseter sa ban liv la.
Ce sa evolision, to al dan enn lot pei, to appran so kiltir so lavi, so langaz. To kapav adopter li 100% selma to pa blier to ti bout later kinn guet toi grandi.
Twitter: rabinbhujun
Sachin, to fine rann moi melancolique mon frère. I totally relate to what you’re saying. Having heard myself a few thousand times “chez nous c’est pas comme ca” et des “the system is way better there aint it?” Then you get to live “there” and see for yourself what is what is not…
Bon sinon rann moi ene service, lot coup to al Paris, dessane Chateau d’Eau et al manz ene dhal pouri pou moi!
Rabin´s last blog ..Le taxi le plus cool de l’île Maurice
Twitter: sachindb
. Inper souvenir ena ladan frere. Bon, mo promet, mo pou al manz en dhal pouri Chateau d’Eau ek mo ava envoy toi enn foto. 
Mo ti koner sa ti pou fer toi inpe leffet. Toi tone viv mem zafer ki moi monn viv ici
Twitter: rabinbhujun
Serié!
Rabin´s last blog ..Le taxi le plus cool de l’île Maurice
Twitter: sjdvda
This article, Sachin, is a masterpiece. I just wish most of the ‘foreigners’ were as open-minded and as cool as you.
sjdvda´s last blog ..Goodbye GeoCities…
Twitter: sachindb
Thank you Saajid. As I said earlier, its the plain truth, that’s why its like this. Written with the heart.
mo mauricienne et mo completement dakor avek toi…mais kurt kifer to bisin vine koz kk lor blog dimoune? to anglais pa bon ditou…alors kan mone critique toi savedire mo p critique tou mauriciens?
Mo dakor mo nepli dan Maurice mais to pa trouve moi critique tou zafer mauriciens…o contraire mo defan mo pays et so culture…dan nimporte ki facon mo kave…mo promote mo pays a toute occasion ki mo gagner…
Kurt to ene hypocrite!
WDB nice article!
New Language Dictionary Editor?!´s last blog ..Another Happy Day
Twitter: sachindb
Thanks P.T. I know that some Mauritians do promote the country. Another true story, this summer I met an Mauritian old guy in the TGV (train à grande vitesse) who told me that the day Mauritius became independent in 1968, he left for France to never get back there. For him the country is just sh*t.
Twitter: kurtavish
Seki pli comik ladan mone donn mo lopinion ici…mai ena certain maggot in feel mari targeted too. Mo truv certain in mem commence fer attack personel lor mo nom ek mem met mo fam so nom lor twitter. (mo coir sa fam la ena un low self esteem and mank dafektion problem rofl).
Sa montrer ki kalite certain dimun in senti zot vize. lol.
Enfin comend nou dir en creole kan lisien zape…li p plis montrer li un lisien…
Bon just pu precise..attention lezot dimun in coir mo p coz pu zot ici la…NON. Seki mo fek dir li pa pu PERSON KI ici mai un certain cretin lor un social netwrk ki nek grate senti un journee ek coz palab lor dimun.
Mn donn mo lopinion ici…lin dan so cote lin comence critik lor twitter..alor…bon “lisien zape..la caravan pass”.
Btw sachin, as saajid said…a really masterpiece article. Kudos.
Kurt Avish´s last blog ..UOM Student Union Election 2009
Twitter: sachindb
Thanks for the “masterpiece” side Kurt.
Twitter: sachindb
To All,
please people, I’ve tried to keep this blog as neutral as possible. I don’t think there was any open attack on anybody. Everyone writes one’s English or French as one feels. I think that the best achievement is to be understood, nothing else. When I’m on international grounds, everybody tells me that my English is heavily tainted by a French accent. This doesn’t bother anybody in any case since we all understand each other.
So I’m inviting you to please discuss on everything but leave your personal grudges outside.
Cheers to you all.
Dan les anner 60 ena boku dimoun kin kit moris, ti ene lot lepok ek ca lepok li vrai ki dimoun ki a fin al dan lezot pays zot in prosperer akoz moris pas ti enkor byen developer.
LI enn de ban raison ki boku dimunn penser kan to ale ene lot pays to vin “dimounn dehors”. To vin missier/madam blanc.
Letemps in changer mais boku mauricien zot atitude envers dimoun dehors pan changer.
Bref mo penser la dans ena ene touche de facon de penser ek ene mirage ki fer dimoun rever.
Dan nirporte ki pays ene dimoun eter limportance c que dimounn la byen dan so la peau.
Twitter: sachindb
Bien vre. Kan to bien dan to lapo to pa bizin traka. Selma li oussi vre ki dimounn pane sanz zot manier penser. Si ena enn zafer ki bizin reprose ban ansien kinn al dehor sa ki meme si zot lavi tinn ameliorer zot ti pe fer boucou gran noir. Sa kinn rester azordi.
“Si ena enn zafer ki bizin reprose ban ansien kinn al dehor sa ki meme si zot lavi tinn ameliorer zot ti pe fer boucou gran noir.”
Si nu essaye get situation la depi point de vuew dimoun kin al dehor la.
Kifer li fer grand noir?
Kapav akoz li senti li isecure… ki mauricien pu penser kan mo retourne moris. Tantion zot rie mwa. Mo bisin montrer zot ki mo extra dan byen.
Ca li result dan sa reaction gran noir la.
LI tou a fait ene zafer naturel ek li humain.
Twitter: sachindb
Li vre ki li himain ek li oussi enn kiltir du vizible. Dimoun labizin montrer.
Twitter: kurtavish
)
You are right Sachin. Anyway I was recently told to avoid trolls like someone (here). My argument was on a general basis and dunno how someone (above) felt targeted and started talking nonsense (on twitter). (Not just here..the person ALWAYS seem to feel targeted which is
I didn’t reply to the person directly as it would end up as a virtual series of insults she would not be able to bear, so I better avoid this specific person as many advised me to.
It’s funny though how people often tend to hate a meal but will keep looking at his friend’s mouth who is eating the meal. (A real sense of pity). Anyway trolls were always around for any blogger. And when trolls have no strong argument, they keep jumping and jumping around just to attract the attention of those around.
@Sachin: Sorry pu sa comment la mai mo tiena pu met ti rond la lor i la (lol) at the concerned person. Signing off
Kurt Avish´s last blog ..UOM Student Union Election 2009
Twitter: sachindb
OK, thanks then. I won’t comment more on that.
Twitter: yashi2612
Sachin, as usual, absolutely brilliant article! Absolutely hit the nail on the head!
As for Avish, who had to ruin this by mentioning “new language dictionary editor”, my friend, you have to be an absolute idiot to say that you are not targeting someone. The whole world knows who you mean by language editor. So don’t be surprised when she feels targeted and responds to the baiting. If you had any maturity at all, you wouldn’t have gone so low as to call her a dog. If she doesn’t approve of the level of english, she has the bloody right to speak her mind. As an adult, you either take in the criticism as you are meant to do or you can also act on it, so that next time, she wouldn’t have anything to say about your english. Alternatively, you could act like a kid and attack her indirectly by calling her names like language editor and dictionary. Which is exactly what you are doing.
If anything, learn from Priscus. She has managed to keep her dignity and has behaved impeccably despite having had a bad week in terms of her reputation and people accusing her from all directions.
Sorry, Sachin, I didn’t want to prolong this argument and ruin this fantastic article. It’s just that some things need to be said to certain people. Otherwise they just keep on going with their silly comments and name-calling.
Yashi´s last blog ..Delving Into My Psyche
Twitter: kurtavish
@Yashi, I wanted to avoid this reply to you but I think I need to clarify some points you mentioned and maybe are unaware of and end this discussion once for all.
About “new language dictionary editor” – I at least didn’t mention the name of anyone even though as the world know it who it was meant for! And it was also meant for anyone who feels targeted. So if someone (particularly) felt targeted, then so be it. You talk using names when you do it with your friends but not when talking to strangers and specially not when you blog (as she did). Else there is no difference.
As far as I remember did not insult that person concerned at anytime even though she DID IT on Twitter multiple times! (1st point). Secondly she would keep adding to it, so I have my right to reply back but I still have a sense of respect not to reply to an insult like THAT PERSON did. So I did reply as it should have been done. (above).
And if you are still wondering what I am talking about, then do take some spare minutes and look in the whole timeline of my argument with her to see WHO STARTED it with the knickers stuff and how I still replied without taking it too far.
Of course a time comes when a person goes over the limit and we need to reply in the way so that she gets the message.
“”If anything, learn from Priscus. She has managed to keep her dignity and has behaved impeccably despite having had a bad week in terms of her reputation and people accusing her from all directions.”"
FYI, it was not people in all direction as almost everyone knew it could not be Priscus. Only a very small closed circle as that blog said, was bent on creating a sensational havoc and we know who started it. And it was totally normal that I defend her from new people who jump to conclusions without even having solid arguments. And her reputation does not depend on an unfounded blog using lame arguments btw. (It is mean, but I think it was time I mention this clearly).
I’d also like to reply to you about “the English on my blog”. I have always accepted criticism no matter what topic it is about. Criticism is not new to me as I have been handling them for almost two years now, much before you even came into blogging.
I accept both private and public criticism as long as it is constructive. Every week there are people who tend to find something bad on my blog, and some will say it via the contact form. I’ll reply and correct my errors. Some even say it via the comments, and do look on Island Crisis archives for it my friend. You shall see the so many time where it was POSITIVE criticism and these people even became faithful long time readers and are still.
However the case of this girl mentioned above, is unique in the way that she will NEVER criticize something when she sees it, but instead she will use these as WEAPONS whenever she find an opportunity.
You are her friend so you will obviously not see these but people around see it very well. I would not mind if she came to my blog and told me this piece is not good or there is a mistake here and there. However to use the flaws of others during PROVOCATIVE discussions is immature. As a human being I have the right to retaliate and I did it in an ethical way instead of going around on social networks to curse and swear.
Finally do note that this is not the first case we have dealt with. There has been many attempts before but all failed. Genuine criticism is good. Trolls criticism to MOCK for personal reasons always fail.
Saying, that I end my comment and I hope you take it as a professional too. I wont be elaborating more on this topic as I have already said what I need to say and people who were on Twitter on that day know who was the cooks, the oven igniter and as well the aim of this shameful recipe. TC.
bel la faya ine lever finalement!
thats typical mauritian