Entries from October 2007 ↓

WasH20

Haier le fabriquant Chinois innove en proposant une machine à laver écologique. Si cette machine est efficace ce sera une aubaine pour notre île. Je pense aux tonnes de produits toxiques que notre sou sol Mauricien, surtout la nappe aquifère Mauricienne a besoin de résorber !

Comment WasH20 fonctionne ?

Le procédé de lavage sans lessive WasH2O de Haier repose sur une réaction chimique bien connue: l’électrolyse de l’eau. Soumises à une décharge électrique, les molécules d’eau se scindent en deux entités: les ions H+ chargés, selon Haier, de «stériliser» le linge et les ions OH- qui le lavent en «attirant et en retenant les salissures». C’est si simple qu’on se demande pourquoi l’idée n’est pas plus utilisée. Au contact des corps gras, les ions OH- ont en effet la propriété de former du savon bien connu de nos grands-mères. «Mais, il est illusoire de croire qu’ils pourront faire le travail tout seul!», explique le professeur Armand Lattes, chimiste au CNRS et à l’université Paul-Sabatier de Toulouse, qui ne cache pas son scepticisme.

Une lessive moderne contient en effet une vingtaine de composés différents. En particulier des détergents qui dissolvent la saleté, des agents «antiredéposition» qui l’empêchent de se fixer de nouveau sur le linge pendant le lavage, ou encore des azurants optiques qui rehaussent les couleurs. Ils évitent que les chemises blanches ne virent au gris ou au jaune pâle comme c’était le cas autrefois…

Un marché qui progresse  

Il y a bien une tendance de fond: les consommateurs se tournent vers les lave-linge de grande capacité et plus «écolos». Ils sont notés en fonction de leur consommation en énergie, leur efficacité de lavage et d’essorage.

Malheureusement à Maurice, Goupille n’importe plus l’électroménager Haier.

Lc 18,9-14.
Jésus dit une parabole pour certains hommes qui étaient convaincus d’être justes et qui méprisaient tous les autres :
« Deux hommes montèrent au Temple pour prier. L’un était pharisien, et l’autre, publicain. Le pharisien se tenait là et priait en lui-même : ‘Mon Dieu, je te rends grâce parce que je ne suis pas comme les autres hommes : voleurs, injustes, adultères, ou encore comme ce publicain. Je jeûne deux fois par semaine et je verse le dixième de tout ce que je gagne.’ Le publicain, lui, se tenait à distance et n’osait même pas lever les yeux vers le ciel ; mais il se frappait la poitrine, en disant : ‘Mon Dieu, prends pitié du pécheur que je suis !’ Quand ce dernier rentra chez lui, c’est lui, je vous le déclare, qui était devenu juste, et non pas l’autre. Qui s’élève sera abaissé ; qui s’abaisse sera élevé. »

Le sermon du Père qui célébrait la messe ce samedi était un irlandais. Dans son pays la fête de la Toussaint est précédée de la fête d’Halloween, fête rendue aujourd’hui très populaire dans des nombreux pays. Selon notre prédicateur Halloween veut dire en irlandais la veille de la Toussaint tout simplement. Pour le Halloween comme c’est toujours le cas, les enfants se déguisent, se couvrent de masques et d’habits généralement horribles et épouvantables pour surprendre les gens. Le but des déguisements : c’est pour faire semblant et surprendre les autres. Le jour de la Toussaint serait ainsi en contraste, la fête de la vérité éclatante. Les masques tombant nous n’avons plus que la vérité. Le pharisien certes n’était ni un voleur, ni injuste, ni adultère, mais un masque cachait et couvrait son humilité. Par contre le publicain s est présenté au Seigneur sans masques, nu en reconnaissant ses fautes à tel point il n’osait même pas lever les yeux vers le ciel.

Déjà St Bernard écrivait sur ce texte de l’évangile, plus de mille années auparavant qu’il fallait se dépouiller des nos masques et rendre disponible nos cœurs pour recevoir la grâce de Dieu.

« Le publicain…n’osait même pas lever les yeux vers le ciel »

Quel est le vase où la grâce se déverse de préférence ? Si la confiance est faite pour recevoir en elle la miséricorde, et la patience pour recueillir la justice, quel récipient pourrons-nous proposer qui soit apte à recevoir la grâce ?

Il s’agit d’un baume très pur et il lui faut un vase très solide. Or quoi de plus pur et quoi de plus solide que l’humilité du coeur ? C’est pourquoi Dieu « donne sa grâce aux humbles » (Jc 4,6) ; c’est à juste titre qu’il « a posé son regard sur l’humilité de sa servante » (Lc 1,48). À juste titre parce qu’un coeur humble ne se laisse pas occuper par le mérite humain et que la plénitude de la grâce peut s’y répandre d’autant plus librement… Avez-vous observé ce pharisien en prière ? Il n’était ni un voleur, ni injuste, ni adultère. Il ne négligeait pas non plus la pénitence. Il jeûnait deux fois par semaine, il donnait le dixième de tout ce qu’il possédait… Mais il n’était pas vide de lui-même, il ne s’était pas dépouillé lui-même (Ph 2,7), il n’était pas humble, mais au contraire élevé. En effet, il ne s’est pas soucié de savoir ce qui lui manquait encore, mais il s’est exagéré son mérite ; il n’était pas plein, mais enflé. Et il s’en est allé vide pour avoir simulé la plénitude. Le publicain, au contraire, parce qu’il s’est humilié lui-même et qu’il a pris
soin de se présenter comme un vase vide, a pu emporter une grâce d’autant plus abondante.

Seigneur, je te demande de me donner le courage de scruter mes masques, mes prétentions mal placées et de me rendre humble, et de me dépouiller de mon ego et mon orgueil. Tout petit devant toi, me voici Seigneur, comble moi de ta grâce.

My recent sojourn in France caused me to miss out the president’s dinner of the Chinese Business Chamber (CBC). Year in year out, I was always present to the annual function of the chamber to which I belong. On my return, my friends told me that the dinner was an exceptional one this year. Each year, it was the opportunity to listen to an overseas guest speaker. I recalled the addresses of Mrs. Moni Lai Stor, who spoke of ‘Chineseness’ and Ms.Peng Wen Lan who shared with us her life story of an overseas born Chinese to become the top TV telecaster of CCTV in China. This year, a Mauritian member of the Chinese community addressed the CBC on the theme of Hard Work.

Some time ago, in my earlier blog days, I wrote the story of my wife’s father in June 2006: ‘les tribulations des immigrants venus a Maurice’. Chief Justice Bernard Sik Yuen speech this year is much alike the story I wrote before. I was glad to have been able to read the speech on the website of the CBC.

My mathematics training generates the following formula: N + P = H W

Necessity coupled with Perseverance seems to yield Hard Work. May my fellow

Co-members of CBC understand and practice the formula especially when ‘Necessity’ in today’s context has loss its potency in comparison with our fore father’s days in the last century and ‘Perseverance’ is not a common value in the zapping world of today.

Today (25 October) is a great day for Singapore and for Airbus, the first commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney of the Airbus A380. 150units of the aircraft ordered for a break even number of 400units, will be another Concorde economical disaster? Airbus experts reckon that the A380 will be an economical success in the long term.

The commercial flight only became possible 2 and half years of strict and strenuous testing the specimen model. The unveiling of the test specimen aircraft was held on the 15 January 2005.A giant of 300 tonnes of 24 meters high and of a span of 80 meters capable of transporting 900 passengers on a 15000kms trip. The 18 months delay in the first delivery, caused the shaking up of the organization of Airbus and the holding corporation Eads is the story preceding the launching of the most modern commercial aircraft. 50000 engineers, technicians and workers from 4 European countries ganged together to realize the construction of this incredible wonder made up of 4millions components.

Special airport terminals have been built to accommodate his giant of the air as the A380 is a double decker aircraft. Can you image the movements of 900 passengers in one go?

A number of books have been written on the construction of the A380. Erik Orsenna is one of the authors who gave an interview on the French radio yesterday. Gérard Chambon & Jean Denis Renard published “La grand aventure de l’Airbus A380”. Pierre Sparaco wrote « Airbus la véritable histoire ». Yves Marc has his version of this formidable challenge in ‘A380: le defi’.

Is not battle of Boeing and Airbus to a large extent alike to the race of the Euro and the US dollar in becoming the world’s currency?

J’étais heureux ce matin. Pourquoi cette effusion de joie ? La joie d’avoir aidé quelqu’un peut être, mais mieux encore, content de moi d’avoir trouvé une solution pour quelqu’un. Ainsi mon bonheur, était-ce autant d’avoir aidé une personne que d’être heureux de ma personne ? Est-ce la conjugaison d’une charité vertueuse, généreuse et noble avec un narcissisme méprisable et honteux ?

Ecoutons mon histoire pour mieux comprendre et analyser : je reçois un coup de téléphone un très cher ami, qui me demandait de l’aide pour un autre ami. Il me parla ainsi : « Mon ami pensant que je suis un ‘Conne tout’ me demande, pour les besoins d’un jeu  de questions – réponses en culture, de compléter la phrase suivante : la grandeur de l’homme est grande…………j’entends bien cela mais je n’arrive pas à répondre  à cette colle. Peux tu m’aider ? » Pensant aux possibilités d’Internet et aux nombreux outils que j’ai : dictionnaires et encyclopédies et autres, je lui répondis : « je te donne la réponse dans quelques minutes. » Immédiatement, je google le texte et je retrouve le site de
philia.on line.fr avec une citation de Pascal  qui se lit ainsi : « La grandeur de l’homme est grande en ce qu’il se connaît misérable. Un arbre ne se connaît pas misérable. C’est donc être misérable que de se connaître misérable ; mais c’est être grand que de connaître qu’on est misérable. Penser fait la grandeur de l’homme ». Ma joie étant grande d’avoir trouvé la solution rapidement. Je m’empresse de rappeler  l’ami qui était lui aussi aux anges pour en faire part à son ami.

Revenons à ma poussée de charité ou à mon narcissisme. En effet, j’étais généreux et charitable en voulant aider mon ami à trouver une solution à son problème. D’avoir pu arriver à mes fins, d’avoir trouvé la solution rapidement, j’étais content et heureux pour moi et de moi. Avec cela, je dois avouer que mon estime de moi et ma confiance en moi de trouver des solutions se sont accrues. Soit. La question que je me pose maintenant : où serait la limite qui me passerait d’une estime et confiance en moi sur mesurées qui me balancerait dans le narcissisme ? La réponse serait-t-elle dans le but de l’action ? Qu’est ce qui m’a motivé d’agir ? L’acte de générosité ou de prouver que je suis le plus doué.

Nous pouvons donc être heureux pour des raisons nobles et vertueuses aussi bien que pour celles qui sont hideuses, méprisables et honteuses !

“The extraordinary overlap between human and chimpanzee genomes does not result in an equal overlap between human and chimpanzee thoughts, sensations, perceptions, and emotions; there are considerable similarities but also considerable differences between human and nonhuman primate brains. “From Monkey Brain to Human Brain” uses the latest findings in cognitive psychology, comparative biology, and neuroscience to look at the complex patterns of convergence and divergence in primate cortical organization and function.” This is the essence of the work published by ‘Stanislas Dehaene’ who I had the chance to listen to yesterday thanks to the internet. He also published earlier another book: The number sense: how the mind creates Mathematics.

“But how then did the brain leap from this basic number ability to trigonometry, calculus, and beyond? Dehaene shows that it was the invention of symbolic systems of numerals that started us on the climb to higher mathematics, and in a marvelous chapter he traces the history of numbers, from early times when people indicated a number by pointing to a part of their body (even today, in many societies in New Guinea, the word for six is” wrist”), to early abstract numbers such as Roman numerals (chosen for the ease with which they could be carved into wooden sticks), to modern numbers. On our way, we also discover many fascinating facts: for example, because Chinese names for numbers are so short, Chinese people can remember up to nine or ten digits at a time–English-speaking people can only remember seven. Dehaene also explores the unique abilities of idiot savants and mathematical geniuses, asking what might explain their special mathematical talent.” I rejoice now because I have arguments to my belief and accepted general saying in my younger days that Chinese are better in maths. No, it is not a racist statement,the differentiation is cultural from educational methods. I understand and accept that my statement is a general statement and may be statically valid with large variances.

Cancer seems to be nibbling away the health of a number of people close to me. Last Saturday, my dear friend, a co-founder of Toastmasters in Mauritius told me that his wife Suzanne has relapsed in her illness; they are rushing to Singapore for help. My wife mahjong’s mate’s husband is suffering from cancer. A second degree cousin Nicole married to my university mate is undergoing treatment for cancer in Singapore. Nicole & Maurice being away in Singapore keep a blog to log in their experience. A friend broke the news to me yesterday: Philippe Chan Tin, a primary school mate may be dying soon of this dreadful and painful cancer. Is it because of my age period that the occurrence is getting closer to my entourage? Or is it the style of living the cause? Is it the polluting environment we are living in? What ever it may be, it is worthwhile taking advices to run away from this disease. Prevention should be the name of the game. I take this opportunity to salute the wonderful work done by a group of volunteers to alleviate the pains of Cancer suffers in setting up a palliative care center which operates at couvent de Belle rose.

There is a hoax email circulating the internet. As is the case very often all is not hoax, all is not true. I do believe that a more healthy living style should help. Nicole is undergoing an alternative cancer treatment in conjunction with the traditional chemotherapy.

What ever may be the case, when faced with an incurable disease, anybody would attempt any available cure. For us who are apparently free from cancer what should we do to save us from catching the evil?

See the official sites JHU

The hoax mail

*** Cancer Up-date ***

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY (TRY THE KEY WORD) AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.

Cancer Update from John Hopkins

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.

3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage , like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells , tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size .

However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells . Sugar substitutes like Nutrasweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts.

Table salt has a chemical

added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork.

Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day.

Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water- best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become purified and leads to more toxic build-up.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.

Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

(PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT) CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL, U. S)

This is the title and theme carried on BBC TV for the month of October. The past Sunday, I decided to stay late in bed in the morning. I woke up late and watched immediately a film on the hard work and determination of three Egyptian ladies. And I was moved.This film, Egypt: We are watching you, prolonged my getting off my bed, after all it was Sunday. To see the back drop of Egypt in the film aroused also in me the sweet memories of my trip to his lovely country 10 years ago.

I enjoyed most of all, the determination of these ladies to fight of the pest of corruption of the system in place in Egypt. Their might, persistence and conviction to achieve their goals got them to their resources and intelligences unthought of. They coupled their resolution, persuasion skills with the internet technology available to attain their target: fight off corruption for democracy. “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.” We are watching you. Indeed! Truth and transparency are real tools to democracy. I wish that such transparency in the ruling of public affairs could apply to Mauritius. Hats off to the return of people power! I encourage you to watch the film.

Directors Biography
Sherief Elkatsha was born in the USA, but raised in Cairo, Egypt. A graduate of Boston University, with a BA in Film Production, he has worked on numerous television productions, from music videos with Wyclef Jean and the The Roots, to Discovery Channel’s Eco-Challenge. His documentary Butts Out, which follows smokers and their difficult and comical struggles to quit, won the Best Documentary Award at the 2006 New England Film and Video Festival. In 2006 he was selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus.

Leila Menjou was born in Cairo and obtained a degree in directing from the Cairo Film School. She has worked on numerous movies, including the acclaimed Mothers of the Desert, which opened at IDFA and won first prize at the Timbuktu Film Festival.

Film Context
In 2005, Mubarak announced that Egypt would hold multi-party presidential elections in Egypt. The elections were given strong support by the U.S. government. The vote was marked by violence and fraud; it was boycotted by large parts of the opposition because they believed it was run unfairly. The voter turnout was remarkably low – according to the Carnegie Endowment it was a mere 23 percent. Regardless, the U.S. Government described it as a “victory”. Mubarak won a fifth term in office and very little was done to address the unfair aspects of the elections. In response to indifference about government and democracy three Egyptian women formed Shayfeen to educate the people about democracy.

Political History
Egypt was under monarchic rule until 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power. Nasser was president from 1954 until he died of a heart attack in 1970. Nasser was a proponent of Pan-Arab nationalism, socialism and the non-alliance movement. He is famous for leading Egypt into the Six Day War with Israel in 1967, which Egypt lost.
In 1970 Anwar Sadat came to power. Sadat is most famous for signing the first peace agreement between Israel and an Arab country. The peace agreement was signed in 1979 and is believed to have been the reason for his assassination in 1981. Since then Mubarak has been in power.

Mubarak has been liberalising Egypt’s economy with the help of his current economically liberal cabinet, who have made big plans for far-reaching reforms. However, despite these efforts, unemployment and low standards of living are still prevalent.

Mubarak maintains friendly relations with the West, especially America. Egypt is the third largest recipient of aid from the United States, following Iraq and Israel. Meanwhile, Mubarak has resumed relations with the rest of the Middle East after a long isolation due to the signing of the peace treaty with Israel, which was perceived by many as a betrayal of the Arab people. Egypt currently plays a large role in the Middle East both as a regional media powerhouse and as an influential mediator in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The Political Scene
Egypt has a semi-presidential system where the president is both the head of state and the head of government. Mubarak is the leader of the National Democratic Party, which has been the dominant party in power since its formation in 1978. In recent years the Muslim Brothers have gained significant power in Egypt. The Muslim Brothers are the largest and most powerful Sunni-Muslim organization in the world and are present in several Arab countries. The group promotes the idea of an Islamic state ruled in accordance with the Quran and Sharia law. However, since the 2005 elections, Mubarak has made it more difficult for political opponents to gain influence.

World Relevance
In 2005 civil liberties in Egypt were extended to the public but since then partially revoked. For years civil society has come under pressure from the largely undemocratic state, the rise of religious groups and the vast influence of foreign patrons that have different interests in the political direction of Egypt. Egypt: We See You shows the struggling voice of civil society as it is in Egypt and many other societies across the world.

Looking Ahead
In recent years Egypt has seen a rise in protests, mainly organized by students, intellectuals and political activists. However, with Mubarak only about halfway through his fifth term, some worry that there is relatively little chance of democratic change in Egypt. Islamic groups are gaining popularity and the Egyptian population is becoming more sceptical of the extensive aid they are receiving primarily from the United States. So how will Egypt’s political climate change in the coming years? Only time will tell.

 

The weekly reflection has always been in French since I started my blog. The daily (almost) blogs were in English. It is true that being a Mauritian at heart and through my up bring I have been through, I would readily write in English but in matters of religion I have a preference for French as most of my religious instructions were in French as well as my weekly mass is in the same language . I opt to make a change this week since recently I have been writing quite a fair bit in French so that my English readers would have the opportunity of reading my spiritual reflection.

 

Patience and perseverance are the two words that I retained in today’s readings. Yesterday itself whilst preparing to go to mass at St Pierre, I was pressed to move quicker for fear of being late for mass when I was busy correcting my blog. I exploded almost unconsciously in a bout of anger for being pushed for time! Needless to say that when I heard the readings at mass, I was moved to see how fast, the Lord had an answer for me.

 “Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.” The Second letter to Timothy had two lessons for me today.

 First, my health condition seems to be improving only very very slowly. The progression is so imperceptible that I often feel discourage and would give up the efforts to do my daily toll of exercises. What is the use of such large efforts and pains to gain such a minute result? Shall I give up? And yet the Lord is calling for my patience and perseverance.

 Second, of late I feel that I have out bursts of anger more frequently that before. Such behavior, on hind sight reflection, causes discomfort and stress to my immediate environment. I have work to do on myself to redress the situation. I do have the tools of ‘Anger Management’ which I was endowed with, earlier in my NLP courses. As NIKE’ slogan goes JUST DO IT.

I pray the Lord to give me more patience and perseverance to face my daily challenges.  Lord of justice, purveyor of all that I need, I implore you to increase my faith and give more strength to overcome my shortcomings.  Lord! Hear my prayer!

Je suis heureux de lire que l’expertise mauricienne en matière de taille de diamant trouve place au soleil au Canada. Cette expertise trouve sa genèse dans la création de la première entreprise LSP (Lagesse Sussens Poncini) implantée à Floréal dans les années 70. La taille de diamants est ensuite reprise par Monsieur Denton avec MauriDen qui nous arrivait de l’Afrique du sud. Par aillieurs, le fils Sebatien Denton est un nomine pour l’entrepreneur de l’annee 2007. Je suis heureux d’avoir été un observateur curieux dès le départ de cette industrie à Maurice. En effet, par intérêt, et par ma fonction dans le domaine du transport aérien, je pensais à l’époque que la taille des diamants, et la fabrication des objets de valeur, convenait à l’île Maurice, où le bas coût de main-d’œuvre, couplé avec l’impact du coût de transport minimisé par le volume restreint transporté était idéale. L’occasion me fut presentée à cette époque d’évoquer avec les experts d’Air France Cargo sur le sujet pour ma thèse de fin d’étude à l’université et j’ai eu le plaisir de me rendre compte de la portée d’une telle activité en Israël. Plus tard, avec l’oncle Charlie, j’ai également suivi avec grand intérêt une aventure similaire dans la taille des pierres précieuses, importées de Tanzanie. MauriGem n’a pas malheureusement pas fait long feu pour manque d’approvisionnement régulier.
Comme les nombreux fils ou filles du sol qui pendant des années ont aidé à l’industrie sucrière en Afrique, aujourd’hui nos compatriotes aident à la transformation des pierres brutes en produits finis à l’étranger. Au Botswana, en Australie, au Congo et autres pays miniers, on pourrait bien trouver des débouchés pour nos artisans. Les pays producteurs voulant garder le plus- value dans le pays d’origine. Nos artisans d’une source d’apprentissage de Floréal se trouvent ainsi disséminer dans le monde : Inde, Thaïlande, Canada, Australie et Brésil.
Non, ce n’est pas une perte pour notre mère patrie Ile Maurice. J’ai vu et revu de nombreux mauriciens aidant financerement la partie de la famille restée au pays, et plus tard, au crépuscule de leur vie rentrent au bercail pour un climat plus clément et une retraite bien méritée.
C’est le cas de nos ‘infirmiers’ en Angleterre des années 60-70, nos artisans sucriers depuis plus de six décennies. Pourquoi pas nos immigrants de maintenant ?