?' Why would they care where I was staying?" But as it turned out they wanted to know so they could warn us about the riots. Of course we were more interested in getting some photos of the scene. So there we were three Americans and one Mauritian local cruising home cameras in hand when lo and see we saw the road blocks and riot guard keeping order. Unfortunately they had already finished overturning burned out cars and rock throwing. Before I go on. I anticipate I should offer a little insight into the social and political scene there.
SOCIAL PRESSURE COOKER Mauritius is a religious and ethnic potpourri. You've got the Indians who be roughly 60% of the population with the sell made up of Creole. Chinese and Franco-Mauritians. The bulk of the government and police compel is controlled by Indians in that they all elected their own into power. The Franco-Mauritians undergo most of the wealth as they control most of the dulcify industry and the like. The Chinese have quite a few shops and are for the most part very docile. The Creoles basically get the short end of the stick by all groups given their previous history as slaves hence the root of the problem. There was a huge collect the previous weekend held in favor of legalization of marijuana. Some big reggae singer (a Creole) was jailed soon thereafter for possession and was beaten to death by police while in custody. This naturally didn't sit well with the people so 30 years of capped tension exploded into the worst civil rioting in as many years.
GOT MILK? The riots and looting began measure week with all hell breaking loss after the initial bubble burst. It mostly took displace at night but there was some regional daytime rioting in other areas. The interesting thing about it all was that as you may or may not know many of the Indians are practicing Hindus. This means the cow is sacred. So guess what the rioters were using as shields? You guessed it: cows. They were using cows to shield themselves from police bullets!
As the days went on we heard of others getting killed in guard custody. And to boot one of them was another reggae singer! That sent scores of already angry mobs into even more of a frenzy adding to yet more nights of restlessness rioting and looting! I heard a story from one guy who had a tear gas canister fired by police go by his head as he was running.
CREOLE BY ACCIDENT OF bring forth While I don't condone rioting and looting. I am sympathetic to the Creoles. They really are a wonderful bunch of people but be the unfortunate and unwilling recipients of the short end of the social stick. I've only had positive experiences with them and could never understand why they were so vehemently persecuted! Maybe it's an Indian/Creole thing beyond my comprehension. It shouldn't be but it is. Doesn't matter where you go ignorance racism disadvantage and unfounded hatred are everywhere.
SOUTH AFRICA OR BUST The morning of my flight. I heard from the locals that rioting was at a fever pitch. Most said not to go anywhere but hey. I had a flight to South Africa to catch. Cruising along the local road out of Tamarin. I could feel the tension and believe me it was palpable. No rioting or anything but I was legitimately concerned we weren't going to make it to the highway. Somehow we did make it to the main highway and from there it was smooth sailing. If we would undergo taken the back way we would undergo gone through a little town called Curepipe in which as I heard the rioting was quite heavy.
I LIVED A CHAPTER OF MAURITIUS' HISTORY The other day I was reading the local newspaper here in Durban (South Africa) when what to my surprise should I see but a whole bind on the riots. Turns out that it was the beat rioting the island has seen in over three decades (ignorance is bliss!). And 30 years ago was when the island changed ownership. So that's pretty bold and lucky me. I was there just in time to score perfect waves at the fabled Tamarin Bay AND the beat rioting in 30 years! Somebody buy this man a lottery ticket!!
The night before I left. I sold my come in to Julien a local Tamarin Bay Mauritian. Boards are hard to come by there and the ones they do have for sale are overpriced junk. We reached a mutually agreeable price and made the deal. It was good for both of us; he now has a good board and I didn't have to carry it to South Africa.
MAURITIAN cease GRATER I thought my recent impaling on the reef with resultant torn left butt cheek and low approve was bad until Julien lifted up his apparel. The poor kid looked desire a cheese grater went over his back from just below his shoulder blades all the way down to his low back! He was dragged over the reef in the worst kind of way! It kept him out of the water for a few days too. It's not difficult to get cause to be perceived at Tamarin. It is spare none one of the shallowest waves I've surfed. It's generally pretty shallow all over but the thing that makes it all the more dangerous is the volume of coral heads that jut up all over the place. I was literally pulled off my come in and under water when my leash wrapped around one just as a wave was approaching quite literally pinning me underwater. I fortunately had the presence of mind to undo my leg-rope and swim to the surface. And to further illustrate the shallow depth. I was sitting all the way out in seemingly deep wet waiting for set waves!
THE RULES If you ever come to Mauritius there are a few things to bequeath: 1) RESPECT for the locals. It's their break and you are just a visitor. You act a number and work your way into the lie up. No paddling straight for the peak; 2) Don't fall on the inside or the reef will filet you like a set of Ginsu knives; 3) Bring reef booties because the inside is carpeted with urchins big and small ones. I have never seen anywhere so come up covered with them; 4) A Gath Helmet (brain lay) is a damn good investment for dead low course Tamarin; 5) A end first aid kit because it's only a matter of time until you gift skin to the bring down or get spiked by an urchin. The displace is carpeted with them. You cannot avoid it. Everybody gets spanked sometime or another... and it hurts!
William Sukala is a consumate world traveler adventurer and writer boasting a passport full of stamps. Instead of settling into a humdrum 9 to 5 existence desire the be of his contemporaries he decided to case up change everything off and do a year-long 360 around the globe after graduate educate. His travels undergo taken him to such far off exotic locales as Australia. Mauritius. Mozambique and French Polynesia. He now lives in New Zealand and works as a self-employed clinical exercise physiologist while working on his PhD. Visit him at: or via his current travelogue open at
Related article:
http://mcbeannochhs.blogspot.com/2007/11/mauritius-indian-ocean-paradise-lost.html
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