Just a quick follow-up post to my “A glimpse of the evolution of Health & Safety Legislation in Mauritius” posted on 27 August, to tell you that the Occupational Safety & Health Act 2005 (OSHA 2005) has been proclaimed on 1 September, nearly two years after its enactment.

The Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Minister announced it at a press conference held this morning at Port Louis. He stressed upon the urgent need to review the previous law in order to make it current with on-going developments.

The new law aims at reinforcing the duties and responsibilities of all stakeholders and enhancing their commitment to safety and health at work.

Alfa King Memories

About two weeks ago I mentioned a case of infanticide. Latest information reveals that the 17-year-old mother was taken in custody immediately after her discharge from hospital and brought to court. She denied charges against her and she’s been released on bail.

This time it’s the case of a 58-year-old labourer physically assaulting his daughter-in-law. The 24-year-old mother of two sustained 18 stab wounds. She died of cerebral lacerations and fracture of the skull shortly after her admission to the hospital. The killer has been arrested on a provisional charge of murder. In a statement to the police he said having acted on provocation. Neighbours say the two were at daggers drawn.

But that’s not the end of the series of family related crimes. Quite a number of cases of patricide, fratricide and incest have been reported recently. I don’t know whether it has to do with the social situation of people. But the stress of the rising cost of living is definitely putting some pressure on the households.

Alfa King Memories

Horrible! It’s the least that can be said when you discover a newly-born, innocent, less-than-a-day-old child, draped in a piece of cloth and inert in a school bag. And on further probe you end up with a lifeless being, hardly born enough. Deeply lacerated and perforated at various places, the baby’s corpse bore a serious head wound and several cuts around the neck.

Yes, that was the horrible scene police found when they reached a small house in the suburbs of Port Louis, after a phone call at 7.00 pm on Sunday.

The baby’s mother, a 17-year-old student, was there too. She had apparently had a clandestine delivery, far from the specialized health care facilities, during the day. She had kept her pregnancy secret and nobody, not even her close relatives, ever knew about her health condition.

Postmortem examination revealed the baby-girl died from “multiple stab wounds of the chest”. Some 30 spots of severe injury, with serious throat cuts, were found. As of now there are no solid clues as to the real circumstances of the crime. Police inquiry is on and will definitely target the baby’s mother as soon as she’s released from hospital where she’s been admitted just after the police raid.

Has life existed on Mars? Could there be life? Those are the main concerns of the NASA people who’ve just launched a mission to reach Mars in May 2008. Scientific operations on the Martian surface will last about three months. Investigators believe there is water ice some centimeters below the surface. They’ll probe into whether there are signs of the ice melting. This could provide clues as to the history of the water ice and whether it could support microbial life.

Peter Smith who is a professor at the University of Arizona and the mission’s principal investigator said they’d try to find out whether the ice has melted. “Liquid water in contact with soil may provide us with a habitable environment.”

The Phoenix solar powered spacecraft was launched today, a day later, due to adverse weather conditions. It is equipped with various instruments to enable probing into a wide profile of the Martian environment. There’s a robotic arm to dig trenches, position tools and deliver samples to other instruments. Soil samples will be examined using microscopy, electrochemistry and conductivity analyzer. A camera is on board for taking images of the soil. A thermal and evolved-gas analyser will assess the chemical properties and look for organic compounds of samples. And of course the daily weather and seasonal changes will be tracked by a meteorological station with the use of temperature and pressure sensors.

Man’s quest for exploration has always been insatiable. At one time it was the Moon; now Mars. After the two earlier failed attempts towards Mars, let’s keep fingers crossed.

Significant hydrothermal sites have been discovered in the territorial waters of Mauritius, which extend to 200 nautical miles. Minerals like zinc, copper and even gold may be present. But we are only at the research stage.

That’s what Prof. Kensaku Tamaki said at the Fourth National Ocean Science Forum held under the aegis of the Mauritian Oceanography Institute (MOI) on 11 and 12 July at the Octave Wiehe Auditorium of the University of Mauritius.

Prof K Tamaki of the University of Tokyo led a research team during November to January last in collaboration with the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Mauritian government and the MOI. The team comprising scientists from Japan, Mauritius, France, US, China and Indonesia found considerable amount of manganese, which indicates the existence of hydrothermal sources.

That reminds me of another research in our waters in the 70’s when an oil slick was discovered around Mauritius. Drilling works were initiated and lasted several months before they were abandoned due to sinking evidences.

Let’s hope this time we have positive outcomes. The ocean hasn’t revealed all the secrets yet.

ORMDL3. Does that mean anything to you? Perhaps only a set of letters and a figure. That’s all. Idem for me too. Not for scientists though. It seems to be the culprit. It’s a gene found in a more significant amount in the blood cells of children with asthma than in those without. This higher level of ORMDL3 could increase the risk of having asthma by about 70%.

That’s what a group of researchers from Imperial College London, along with others from UK, France, Germany, USA and Austria, have concluded after a study carried out on more than 2000 children.

Childhood asthma is a common chronic disease. 10% of children in the UK are currently affected. It’s a tough time indeed, for the children as it is for the parents. Therapies have hitherto been limited to attenuating the episodes of asthma, without significant progress into its cure.

Deep probe has yet to be effected into the exact causes of asthma. It is not well understood how ORMLD3 exacerbates the risk of asthmatic conditions in children. But the combination of genetic and environmental factors provides a definite clue.

The researchers compared the genetic makeup of childhood asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients. They probed into the mutational behavior of the nucleotides, the building blocks of genes making up the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid – a self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms carrying the genetic information). Mutations were observed and the researchers unveiled those specific to childhood asthma.

The new findings will, it is hoped, pave the way for the development of new therapies. For further information see links below:

More about the gene linked with childhood asthma.

What is asthma?

How can I treat my asthma?

The world was awakened with the good news of the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnston this morning. “Alan Johnston freed” reads the latest entry in the BBC Blog Network, The Editors.

Captured on 12 March in Gaza by the Army of Islam group, Mr. Alan Johnston, 45, was released early this morning. He was handed over to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza City. He is now in the British Consulate in Jerusalem waiting to fly back to UK.

“I literally dreamt many times of being free and always woke up back in that room,” Mr. Johnston said shortly after his release.

The reporter describes his captivity as a frightening experience as he was uncertain how it’d end. He said he had fallen ill from the food but was not tortured during the captivity period. It was hard for him to believe he’d be freed as he said he was “in the hands of people who were dangerous and unpredictable”.

Thanking his colleagues and all who supported him throughout his captivity, he cheered at the overwhelming international campaign for his release. “The thing you don’t want is to be left behind, buried alive, and have the world go on around you,” he said.

Several hundreds of thousands of people around the world had petitioned and rallied for his release.

“It’s been 114 days of a living nightmare,” said his overjoyed father Graham soon after his son’s release.

Answering to questions in the UK Parliament new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “The whole country will welcome the news that Alan Johnston, a fearless journalist whose voice was silenced for too long, is now free.”

Hats off Mr. Johnston for your perseverance and bravery during 16 weeks’ tough times. As we say in French: “Tout est bien qui finit bien”. (All is good that ends well).

Media killings continue and know no barriers. Some time back I mentioned the case of media people being subject to violent treatment in Romania and Russia. There’s also the case of missing journalist in Gaza. Not later than yesterday I raised concern about killings in Afghanistan of female journalists fighting for women’s rights.

This time it’s in Iraq, where more than 180 journalists and media assistants have been killed since the beginning of the war in March 2003. In the only month of May 12 journalists have been killed there.

But what is more appalling is the case of another female journalist who was showered with bullets by gunmen in front of her house near Mosul on Thursday June 7. Mother of three girls, aged 45, Sahar al-Haidari has been working for an independent Iraqi news agency in Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad.

Although women journalists, reporters and presenters constitute a minority in such countries, they are on the increase. And it seems male dominated families exert extreme pressure on them with the result that intimidation and threats of violence are also growing.

The brutal treatment and killing of respected and brave journalists as those in the conflict zones are issues of concern not only to the media organizations and their members, but also, and mostly, to the families and close relatives of the victims.

Shocking. It’s the least that we can say of cold-blooded murders of women whose only sin was to dare their own way to raise their voice in an endeavour to bring news to the people at large and contribute to the recognition of women’s status.

On the very day I was writing about “women empowerment” in India, one female reporter and presenter for Shamshad TV, Ms Shokila Sanga Amaaj was murdered in Afghanistan. One of the arrested alleged killers had, in the past, repeatedly threatened her for her determination to become an educated and professional figure.

But that’s not all. Five days later, in the same country, on 6 June another female journalist, Zakia Zaki, head of a radio station “Sada-e-Sulh” (Peace Radio), was shot dead by three armed men who broke in her home. She was sleeping with her two-year-old son and a baby less than six months’ old.

Threats against women journalists have become a major concern for media people and the International Federation of Journalists. The case of another woman journalist, Ms Shaima Raazi who worked for an independent TV channel (again in Afghanistan) murdered two years ago has remained unresolved.

These are cases that have surfaced out in one country. How many of them have remained unidentified and untracked? Which brings me back to my previous posts on the issue of the dangerous nature of the work a journalist. The posts under reference are:
“Journalism – a dangerous occupation”
“Hats off!”
“Reporters and Journalists, beware”

How ironical: empowering women on one side, and I’m tempted to say, “women bashing” on the other.

Unusual story of Peter, 92 who manages to divorce his wife Madali. Yet Peter and Madali had a love marriage some 30 years ago. He was 53, she 33 when they exchanged wedding rings. Moment of intense love and passion for each other, which they lived for a short period only. A year later things started getting sour when Madali insisted to proceed to Australia. Peter accompanied her but had to come back soon to look after his business while Madali stayed longer.

Since then they’ve been living separately as Peter couldn’t leave his home and his old mother for a foreign land. He nevertheless maintained relationship because he didn’t want to break his family. They had two children, who went with their mother. In the meantime Madali effected brief visits here, but hardly lived with Peter. When she returned last year, they had a big quarrel which triggered a divorce petition, filed by Peter. And on 14 May this year the court ordered in his favour.

Divorce is not an issue only among the young. At 92 Peter says he’s relieved from the heavy burden of an isolated conjugal life. His wife has been away from him all the time.

Poor Peter, what else could he do?

At its weekly meeting today, the Cabinet approved the recommendations made by the NPC. The Finance Minister stated it’ll cost more than Rs 3.5 billions to implement the recommendations. He’s is particularly concerned about the payment capacity of small enterprises who are facing fierce competitions and evolving challenges. Although he believes that some sectors can pay more than the recommended amount, he’s been all the time in favour of a compensation based on productivity and capacity to pay rather than on the only inflationary rate index.

If you remember my posts “Union Leaders demonstrate as NPC holds its first meeting” and “Trade Union Outcry”, I mentioned about the controversy around the setting up and functioning of the National Pay Council (NPC).

The NPC held its ultimate meeting yesterday and gave its final recommendations to the government with regard to the quantum of salary compensation that should be paid this year to workers for loss of purchasing power. It has proposed an 8.7% compensation or an amount varying from Rs 260 for those with a basic salary of Rs 3000 monthly to Rs 400 for those earning Rs 8000 and more. The NPC President says it’s a fair deal resulting from a consensus from all parties concerned at a 2-hour meeting held at Victoria House yesterday afternoon. It’s worth noting that a compensation of 10.5% based on the rate of inflation was due according to the trade unions while the employers’ representatives had proposed 5.5%.

Several hundreds of people joined the major trade unions along with the opposition political parties at a mass rallye this afternoon. They brought along kitchen utensils to demonstrate they are at a loss running their households due to excessive price rises on basic commodities and to express their concern on the inadequate compensation proposed.

The Minister of Industrial Relations and Employment and other members of the government boasted it was an unprecedented amount ever granted. Last year’s was a meagre amount of Rs 135 granted across the board.

The recommendations will be considered at the Cabinet meeting of tomorrow. We’ll then know the official stand of the government on the issue. It’s most unlikely that the proposals will be amended.

It’s become commonplace today to assault journalists in the performance of their duty. Unfortunately many pay their lives in bringing to us news fresh and live from the spot of the happening; right from the battle field. No less than 50 journalists have died since the beginning of this year. A record-breaking toll of 155 deaths was reported last year.

Attacks on journalists are taking a new shape. Hostility knows no limits; it is perpetuating from so-called respected and respectable people. Journalists continue to be the targeted, abused and offended not only by soldiers in the field, by criminals or gangsters, or by extremists; but also and even more by ruthless politicians, by arrogant members of government. These people don’t want their stories to be told or filmed as they are. The treatment is even more condemnable when it relates to a woman journalist; and when the “aggressor” is a head of State.

The latest case on record reveals one journalist Andrea Pana being treated as a “stinky Gypsy” by Romanian President Traian Basescu. The President snatched her mobile phone as she was trying to ask him while filming him about a ballot relating to his impeachment on Saturday last.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is outraged. It has condemned such behaviour which it considers intolerable. It is said that the President is used to attacking reporters and calling them by offensive names, using sexist and racist language as was the case with Andrea Pana. Considering this incident as not an isolated one, IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said: “….His disgusting behaviour endangers the safety of anyone who is unlucky enough to get close to him…”

The hostile attitude of such caliber has raised my concern over “Journalism as a dangerous occupation”. Such threats are not new; not the first; not even the last, I’m tempted to believe. Reporters and journalists have always been and will ever be exposed… to the whims and caprices of those in power. The more so when the media dare to state the truths about their (wrong) doings; those truths that otherwise would have remained concealed to the extent of fooling the mob.

Journalists and reporters in conflict zones are considered as civilians as per a 1977 protocol of the Geneva Conventions that make it a war crime to target civilians. Unless there is a strong political will, even the best international law may be fraught with difficulties in rendering justice to media victims.

Horrible, what happened at Virgina Tech. Can you imagine one moment a ‘normal’ person entering a hall and shooting at every human at sight? And that in cold-bloodedness, it’d seem. No, it can’t be a normal person. But the sad thing about it is perhaps we’d never know why he did this. He shot himself dead too, typical of mass killers.

That reminds me of one such incident last year here in Mauritius. One guy killed his three brothers in a row, and a neighbor who tried to rescue them. Then he walked up and down the main road before finally triggering the bullet beneath his chin, which burst his head. Passersby stood stunned. We came to know later that his younger brother whom he killed at second sight had had an argument with the killer’s child and his wife. The killer and all the persons killed were fasting at that moment.

The psychology of mass murder is still to be explored. Lots of books have been written, and lots of research done into the brain system that controls emotions and behavior. No clue found yet as to what really triggers such behavior. Studies tend to suggest that mass killers appear externally normal, but internally disturbed, angry, depressed, humiliated. They may also be experiencing romantic failure or sexual apprehensions. They enter into a phase of no-return in the fit of rage and when they realize what they’ve done they don’t know how to get out of it; they don’t want to be caught. The next step is suicidal.

You may wish to read further on this here

If you want to know whether you require a visa prior to entry in a country of the European Union, you may refer to the Council regulation CE No 1932/2006 of 13 July 2006. If you did previously, now you may not, probably; and that as from 31 December 2006.

In our case, this regulation amends previous regulation CE No 539/2001 which imposed visa requirements to Mauritian nationals. We are now on the list of visa exempted countries. Good news or a hoax? Nobody was aware until yesterday when the information appeared in a weekly. Embassies do not deny they knew; but prior arrangement has to be made between the government and the EU before it becomes effective, they say.

In the meantime people will continue to be subjected to stringent conditions before they can obtain a visa if they want to visit a relative or proceed on mission or holiday. You have to apply several days in advance; and it’s no “cut and paste” exercise. You have to watch for the days and times of opening of the embassy, get up early so as secure the first positions in the never-ending queue, in the cold or in the heat; you shouldn’t miss any documents, photos, invitation letters, leave letters, lodging certificate, proof of funds or you’ll have to call again at the next opening. And, mind you, they are not open every day, two days a week on half-day basis most of the time. Granted or not, you don’t get a reply on the same day, well very rarely if at all. No explanations for a refusal, or a refund of the accompanying fees, either. Will these worries end soon?

Surprising as it may seem, there’s no reaction yet from the government. A former Mauritian Ambassador, now retired, said on radio broadcast this afternoon he can’t understand how this information has remained unrevealed for so long; worse, why the authorities haven’t initiated any action yet.