Social unrest : Rising conflicts dividing neighbours

Those were days when there were sharing of food, space and clothes among neighbours. It was a time neighbours were considered as precious as relatives. But since some time now, those blissful moments have turned into nightmares. Lack of harmony and conflicts have crossed the garden fence.

A representative of the Savanne district at the Senior Citizen Council, Vengrasamy Rungasamy, shares with us how people were living cordially long ago. Aged 83, Vengrasamy tells us that, after working hours, people would gather under a tree and discuss about their day. “They would also share the stories of their grandfathers or great grandfathers who came from India and how life was at the time they came to Mauritius. There were no communal mindsets at that time,” says the resident of Souillac.

Vengrasamy was born and grew up at Chemin Grenier. At a very young age, he lost his mother. “We had Muslim and Christian neighbours. They are the ones who supported my family. My elder who was 10 at that time became the one responsible for the house chores. I still remember how the neighbours, specially the women, would come to our house and look after us. They also helped my sister in doing the work, supported and taught her how to do the chores. They taught her how to cook food. There was truly that kindness in people at that time,” he reminisces.

The senior citizen says that there was mutual respect and understanding between neighbours long ago. “People were generous and they had that sharing spirit. When one is in difficulty, the other would support in whatever way possible. I also grew up seeing my father showing much respect to those neighbours. He would call them ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunty’ as a sign of respect, instead of calling them by their names. So I grew up with these values, which unfortunately children are not taught nowadays.” He adds that there was no jealousy at all among people. “Now with our material world, people have become individualists and are jealous of what others have. People are fighting for petty things like some inches of land. We must work towards a change of mentality.”

Vengrasamy Rungasamy also explains that at school, emphasis was laid on the development of good manners and politeness. “In each class, there was a moral anecdote at the end. We also had much respect for our teachers. Unlike today, emphasis was not only on academics but on value and moral education,” he reveals. Vengrasamy Rungasamy trusts that there is the need to go back to our values. “We need love and fill the gap between the young and the old. Our senior citizens can spread their knowledge and values. We also need parents to instil values in our youths.”

Our senior citizen also advises that the government should invest wisely in our future generation. “All stakeholders must join their hands and work towards the same end. We must work together to bring back vital values in our society. We must not feel more superior than our friends. We must also ban the word “I”. Emphasis should be one the word “We”,” trusts Vengrasamy Rungasamy.

Reasons behind the rising conflicts

The case of l’Escalier has left so many people stunned. A small country like Mauritius has so much bitterness and terror hiding inside the minds and hearts of people. There was a time where each and every individual was living peacefully in different areas. However, now with recent shooting, stoning and putting fire on houses, we wonder what could be the ultimate reasons for such degradation.

MACOSS Presiden Dana Chengen and anthropologist Pavi Ramhota enumerate the main reasons for the rising conflicts in the neighbourhood. Pavi Ramhota argues that we are hearing about big infrastructural projects from the budget but nothing is done to remediate to our social degradation. “We are at worst regarding our social area. We have nothing in the Budget regarding the education of our children that focuses on social matters.”

Political issues

Dana Chengen explains that we are living in a society where each individual or community work for their own benefits. “Unfortunately during our electoral campaign itself, the division between different communities is perceived. Each group tries to protect his community. Elections are more communal. People only see how their communities will benefit from the election.”  

Individualism and disappearance of community interaction

According to the anthropologist, there are several factors affecting our society. He trusts that the major reason behind the weakening of neighbour relationships is individualism. “Long ago, you would have barely heard about quarrels and fights between neighbours. Our elders lived in harmony and peace with others. People would generously share what they have. Now the mentality is about gaining and keeping for oneself. The value of generosity and sharing is in decline. People are living an egoistic life where only their personal well-being matters,” says Pavi Ramhota.

In the old days, there were various structures which used to regroup all communities having the same mission, says Dana Chengen. “There was a keen interest of various individuals to join different organisation. For instance, there was an association of young farmers and cooperatives regrouping people having the same interest. With time, this part has not evolved so such. But some of the communal practices still have their effect. For instance, sports.”

Jealousy

Another factor affecting the relationship between neighbours, underlines Pavi Ramhota, is jealousy. According to him, jealously has invaded people’s hearts. “Neighbours are often in competition with each other as they are jealous. They are jealous of the materialistic gains of their fellow comrades. There is also jealousy in terms of love and friendship. Many issues and quarrels arise due to this. Husbands and wives are in conflict because maybe one of them spends too much time at the neighbour’s house. Extra marital affairs between neighbours are also another major issue,” he explains.

Alcohol and drugs

Pavi Ramhota also trusts that alcohol and drugs are negatively impacting our society. “These two are greatly affecting our family units and also our youth. We often see neighbours having a drink together. However, some situations often end in bloodshed when they lose control over their senses due to the effect of alcohol. People in the same neighbourhood who are involved in drugs are dangerous elements in our society. The drug dealing gives rise to gang war, quarrels and bloody settling of accounts.”

Education system

According to the anthropologist, the education which nowadays parents are giving to their children is hugely different from before. “Emphasis was previously laid on good morals and values. Today, due to the busy lifestyle, parents are teaching their kids to become individualists. Moreover, as they have less and less time to dedicate to their kids and are more attached to their cellphones, their TV serials and films, they have no time to socialise with their kids. There is no social interaction. So how can we expect neighbourhood relationships to be healthy and harmonious?” Pavi Ramhota underlines that the mutual respect and understanding is no more to be seen between neighbours. According to him, one cause of the bad relationships between neighbours is also due to the fact that family units are more and more nuclear. “Our senior citizens are sent to residential homes. They are no more living with their children and grand children. When a family unit is extended, grandparents are the ones teaching moral and social values to children.”

Similarly, Dana Chengan states that our education system pays more attention to academic rather than lays emphasis on civic education. “Since a tender age, children should be taught how to work with other communities like a team. Children are more and more on their own. They do not interact much. Earlier, children from the neighbourhood used to play together, but today, children are busy with their phones.”  

No integral development

The President of MACOSS reveals that not all regions have been integrated in the process of development. “Social evils like drugs and prostitutions have taken over some of the areas. It has added value to existing poverty. In such a case, conflicts tend to rise in certain areas. We are now even hearing about the existence of gangs in different regions. People are afraid for their security.”

The nightmare of L’Escalier

The recent conflict at La Sourdine, L’Escalier has shocked the whole of Mauritius last week.  Gunshots were fired at a house, three houses were ransacked, one of them was prey to flames and a truck was damaged. It was a fight between neighbours that degenerated and caused this conflict. All started with a dispute over a road traffic incident. Sharban E., aged 31, was near his home at around 5.30 pm when a blue vehicle stopped near his house. The driver was honking, because a bus had obstructed his way. The man was furious. He came out of his vehicle and inflicted some blows to Sharban. “When my other son arrived, the man and his friends ran away. We never had any issue with Visham B., the man who assaulted my son. My son was hospitalised at Rose-Belle. He received 27 stitches in his left hand,” narrated the father of Sharban. However, he did not expect the situation to deteriorate further.  At around 11 pm, L'Escalier police received reports that some individuals had gathered at La Sourdine. They were hooded, armed with swords and sticks. They were looking for Sharban. A sergeant and four policemen arrived at the scene. The individuals threw stones at the police vehicle.

About thirty people then went to the home of Visham B and they ransacked his sister's house before setting it on fire. Six shots were fired. The police were mobilised until very late. On the night of Sunday to Monday, the victims recorded eight complaints. While one of them lodged a complaint, onlookers gathered in front of the police station.

At that particular moment, a green-coloured vehicle arrived on the spot where two shots were fired on the crowd. A man named Naim G, a resident of La Sourdine aged 38, was wounded. The SMF tried to catch those people but in vain. The man underwent a surgery. On the other hand, the police found a vehicle left in a sugarcane field.

Parveen J., 38, says he is traumatised. He took the young Sharban to hospital. He is also the one whose house was ransacked. “During the day, people were quarrelling with my neighbour. In the evening, they ransacked another neighbour’s house and mine. They damaged my truck. One of the criminals slapped my 65-year old mother. She fainted. It's a nightmare,” he says.

Roshni also has witnessed the same terror where her house was targeted. Her two children have been traumatised. “They keep crying and asking questions. I do not know what happened between Sharban and Visham. Why did they demolish my house?”

The sister of Visham, Mamtaratee, was also a victim of this incident. Her house was set on fire. “People were threatening to kill us. I took my daughter and took refuge in the toilet. Twenty minutes later, I went out,” she reveals. She then fell on a scene of horror: her house was in flames. “Everything was reduced to ashes, even my husband's money. He was at home with his mother who is sick.”

The police is looking for Visham and an investigation  is going on.