“When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.” – Desmond Tutu

URVASHI BABAJEE

Unfortunately, this statement by Desmond Tutu is a real picture of many countries where the larger crowd is blinded by the concept of power that politics exercise on them and the outcome can be negative. In not a blurring image, the larger crowd have nothing except their daily routine lives and struggles. Building a nation is essential for emerging economies even if they have to face many serious challenges. The space where we live in a democracy is applicable when we can express our views, where our voices are heard not only by showing our right to vote at elections but also for the right of order to be established in the future and for own security by providing regular checks and balances.

Today’s Mauritius is becoming more and more a nation where corruption prevails with no transparency at all, where its own people’s interests and voices are at zero. It is becoming a disorderly nation burning with increasing uncertainty. We feel pity for the poor along with the working class at the other side of the line, in fact, both affected by anxiety, anger and unconditional pressures which make them to be in a vacuum of frustration. As a nation, we are being pulled and pushed in multiple directions. On the other side, with institutions working under pressures would be a fatal error for our country. It is crystal clear that our opinions are biased by ethnic, religious convictions and favouritism occurs just for some people only among the larger crowd and for those who hold the strings of decision-making.

Given this, the question arises ‘Who would be the ideal political party to vote for the upcoming election?’ or perhaps ‘If politicians carry out their given tasks properly, our voices would be heard?’ which remains a source of hope for many citizens. In a plural society, what please one will not make the other person happy. In other words, we are tied up in a society where peace prevails and we are supposedly in a stable democracy although we have our different cultural preferences. Hence, to avoid dysfunction as well as discontent, the government has to satisfy everyone to cohabit. However, when having issues which have not well been addressed, and having political parties as always which have promoted their own leadership for their own interests, then, we probably have to think seriously for the upcoming election and the right vote to be given.

The future of politicians is brighter only with our votes. Otherwise, they are nothing and equally they will never be able to be in a better position unless they are given powers to meet our aspirations. History keeps on repeating itself as it seems quite impossible to break this vicious cycle as we have so many centric, corrupted leaders and unwilling to have a proper balance in their political engagement. Of course, failure is the backbone of such a political system, where the big players monopolise the political arena and our social, economic and financial problems are not tackled along with their promises made. In so doing, they reject to review reforms and the right policies are not implemented which result in more problems like public debt at all levels. It must be recognised that our diversity is at harm and in order to establish a dialogue, our sectors need to be well positioned, we need the right people to monitor and to make proper information public.

Significantly, these barriers could be eliminated which demonstrates an essential role of a democracy. All public speeches by our politicians are good, at times entertaining so that to retain and force the citizens to be in the realm of illusion. As a result, citizens are unable to deconstruct the simulacrum of Mauritian politics, as they become puppets at the hands of politicians. Make no error, be that passive citizen of a mislead culture and fragmented at times with no expectations become a form of entertainment for the big players. Our struggles are never depicted as a symbol of identification of our country because we are feeding so much of parochialism in a democracy where the nature of intolerance does not fit in.