So Thursday was a public holiday to celebrate the anniversary of the abolition of slavery. It had considerable importance back then but nowadays it’s just another excuse for a picnic on the beach. People hardly swarm to the official functions, which could take place regardless of whether people are working.

The slavery of colonial times had strong racist overtones but the story is far from black and white – it couldn’t have happened without the connivance of Africans and Arab traders. Incidentally, presumably you’re still in charge of Arabia, where’s there’s much to love. You must have been impressed by the recent Saudi delegation, although it’s a pity there’s no sparkling new marina to welcome them. If all local leaders could express themselves with the elegance and intelligence of their Foreign Minister, perhaps we’d hear fewer ill-considered remarks. That – and geopolitics - is presumably why you didn’t discuss human rights with them. Morality may provide food for thought but it doesn’t help the economy, that sacred cow beloved of more than one community.

Classical Athens had plenty of fine philosophers but geopolitics played a role long before the term was invented. And they had slaves, not always badly treated. If freed, more frequent than in more modern times, the slave’s owner became his patron although the freedman still had obligations to his former master, including campaigning on his behalf if he ran for election. There may be a parallel here even if your exact current status is unclear. Perhaps you’re now a freedman, continuing to run errands and otherwise remaining by your master’s side, just as in the Golden Years. Some freedmen became their master’s confidant and friend although we’d best draw a veil over the full intimacy of the relations some enjoyed.

Anyway, instead of a public holiday, there may be better ways to mark the anniversary. The country could speak out against modern-day forms of slavery, although that might be geo-complicated as they are most prevalent in India and China. You could speak out against ISIS, which operates the most barbaric of slave systems, although you’ve been strangely silent about religious extremism. You could also be active in pointing out the dangers of modern forms of slavery – from consumerism and mobile phones to brown sugar, which seems to have taken over from white sugar, perhaps as part of the democratisation of the economy.

There’s even a simple reform which could be implemented tomorrow. If there’s a dispute, today’s indentured slave labourers and other foreign workers can be immediately kicked out of the country. Even if the IoD and Air Mauritius, those models of good governance, try to exploit such colonial-style brutality, it’s time for that option to be removed.

But there’s another possibility. The Social Integration ministry could seek assistance to draw up a list of every rickety hovel in the country. Government could pledge to help their occupants have a more solid home within five years – regardless of their slave or other origins. There would have to be conditions but we needn’t elaborate on them now. The NEF could then negotiate with businesses to fund and supervise the building work using their 2% CSR funds – in return for abolishing the NCRS Foundation. They and their employees might be really enthusiastic about a potentially historic project and it would be a fitting and caring way to mark the independent country’s 50th anniversary. The nation could be united in pride – and even Sylvio Michel and Eliezer Francois might approve.

Yours sincerely,
Epi PHRON