Since Navinchandra Ramgoolam, the Prime Minister of Mauritius & his party have been in power, they have travelled the world persuading countries they visited, to invest in Mauritius. The Republic of Mauritius came about in 1968, the first President was his father Sir Seewoosegur Ramgoolam who found hard to gain Independance from England, succeeding March 2nd 1968, this is now 30 years in couple of weeks time. The main issue everyone has in their lives, is WHERE DID I COME FROM? Who are my parents, and who where their parents? Where did we originate from? Maurtius is a volcanic island & had no indigenous peoples until the Arab nation discovered it. They did not stay long, it was abandoned for a while, then came the Portuguese who found it a paradise but did nothing on the island, just took what they could (familiar....?), then the Dutch came and settled it. They found the slaves they needed (from the African continent, "the Creole people"), and thus began the sugar can harvest. Trees & bushes were cleared to plant sugar cane, 80% of the land was cleared over time, after all the "western" world loved sugar & this system was set up to ensure a good supply, make money for the landlords of the islands................... & the slaves cost next to nothing. The slave trade was about to end & what would happen to all the sugar plantations? The West Indies & other countries in tropical climes could no longer keep slaves, so they came up with a brilliant idea! How about getting cheap labour? So cheap that you will hardly have to pay much more than what the slaves cost........... indentured labour! Why of course, this was the answer to their tribulations. India gave up its it's poor & indebted to ship them off to Mauritius, the Dutch were overtaken by the French & they prospered well. The British did not like this, so they fought over the island & won, so for over a hundred years, the indentured labour from India, arrived at Port Louis, the capital via the "slave gate" better known as which has been made a UNESCO recognised site, followed by Le Morne, a small mountain where hundreds of slaves had commited suicide rather than fall into the hands of the soldiers, who were ironically coming to tell them they were to be freed. But knowing what happens to runaway slaves and their families, they decided to jump off the side of the mountain, to their deaths. A very sad & sorrowful story, but this site has been recognised by UNESCO also. Over fifty percent of the population is of Hindu origin (inc Tamils & other southern States of India). Ramgoolam & his cabinet are comprised of the majority of Hindu religion, with other faiths lately being accepted in this party, including Muslim, Chinese & Creole (Catholics). Of the 20 cabinet posts, the majority are Hindu members of Parliament, but this is not to say this is a Hindu "organisation"....... as such. The Mauritian people are seeking their ancestral home, many want to go back on visits to the areas of their ancestors, thousands have travelled to different parts of India to visit relatives over the years, but they see themselves as PIO & this is a good thing. Some Mauritians have taken the "western" route & travelled instead to different parts of Europe, mainly France & UK but many as far as Canada & USA also. Switzerland, Germany & Italy are also places of interest. My wife is Mauritian of Tamil descent & considers herself a PIO, which she is but the Indian Goverment does not consider her, or her paternal or maternal line PIO, legally. This is why we had such problems, since I am not a PIO I could not settle in Goa, nor could my wife. We both dearly love to be in Goa, my childhoold memories go back half a century and more, but that is as far as I can go, I cannot turn my dream into a reality, I left in 1961 so not allowed back to live................ such a shame!
But we made our beds, we purchased out land in Maurtius & will live there, with our children. I would like to do one thing for my wife, and my children before I leave this life, and that is to restore my beloved wife's PIO credentials & hope & pray that The PM of Republic of Mauritius succeeds in having this people of PIO recognised by the Indian Government, so that they can if they decide at a future date to live in Goa (or anywhere else in India), that they can have the legal right to do so, including owning their own house, which at this time they cannot legally do so. The population of Mauritis is only ONE PERCENT of India's & around a HALF of these are PIO, so this is not much to ask is it? Remember too, that of the half, its only a minority who will want to be recognised as so, the others preferring to live as French or British, German or Italian, or American or Canadian, not unlike the Goans now spread across the Globe, many not intending on coming back, some only visiting occasionally when finances or conscience will allow................. Good luck to ALL Mauritians who seek their ancestral homeland & if originally from India, be recognised as PIO, legally, good luck to you all. I wish I could trace my Portuguese ancestry in Goa, I have been trying but failed at every hurdle, may the Goans who have migrated & lost contact with their ancestral homeland be given the help of the Goan government to trace their families. John Monteiro ------------------------------------------------------------- Nicholas DSouza <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote : I see that the government of Mauritius is about to help persons of Indian origin there trace their roots in India. Seehttp://www.rediff.com/news/2008/feb/20bihari.htm.I wonder if the government of Goa could help Goans who have migrated elsewhere do likewise.I am sure people would appreciate such a gesture and also avail of this opportunity to draw up their family trees before the records in Goa get obliterated.Nicholas de Souza ----------------------------------------------------------------
