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Gerard Peka

(Photo)

Gerard Peka

Gerard Peka lives in a small village in the north of the UK. He is now retired after a 40 year career in the NHS. He is dual trained and holds the RMN and RGN qualifications. He is fiercely patriotic like most members of the Mauritian diaspora and keeps in touch with everything happening on the island through the media and the internet. He goes back to the island for a few weeks each year and his passion is photography and a lot of his photographs of his beloved island are shared on social media. Gerard’s views on life in Mauritius:

I came to the UK in 1974 with a heavy heart as I was leaving my parents and my siblings for a new life!. It was a very daunting move which I regretted at first as I was homesick and missed my life on the island. I however settled quickly and buckled down to my studies and after four years or so got promoted to a charge nurse post which I held until I retired at the age of 55 years. During my years in the UK, I always kept in touch with the latest developments in Mauritius. I am not affiliated to any political party on the island and over the years, the progress made by successive governments to improve the economy and living standards on the island has been astounding. I noticed at each of my frequent visits to the island that the quality of life was improving and the introduction of free education was a milestone and benefited all the children who had the ambition to get academic qualifications. Old people got free transport and the welfare state was also a great achievement for such a small third world country. The infrastructure was improving rapidly too with all the new roads which were helping access to various parts of the island and which was also ensuring the success of the tourist industry. Living standards too were improving by leaps and bounds and most people were getting used to the luxuries of life and the average household got colour television, fridge freezers, electric or gas cooker; and over the last decade, a lot of people became independently mobile by getting their own car; and all those things are signs of an improving economy.

All is not however rosy as there are some enduring problems like corruption and communalism which were and still are rife on the island. The gap between the rich and poor has widened considerably and a section of the community has been left behind and is struggling to survive. I am not sure how and why this happened but there must be something wrong that nowadays the foreign working force amounts to approximately 25,000 when there are so many people unemployed in Mauritius. The authorities must urgently address this problem and help all the people who are left on the margins of our society. Real meritocracy in the job market must also prevail as in the past, talented and well educated applicants were often overlooked while others were considered because of their connections and their ethnic background. We should move away from the scourge of communalism as we are all citizens of the republic of Mauritius. We all live on a small island and we are Mauritians first, despite the origins of our ancestors. Once we have overcome all these problems, then our island will really become like a little paradise where all the population will feel valued and benefit from a prosperous way of life. Long live Mauritius.

 

Gerard Peka

28 February 2015