Following the proclamation of L’Escalier as the first-ever International City of Peace in Mauritius on 23 June 2020 and on the sidelines of the United Nations International Day of Peace celebrations on 21 September 2020, Chelvin Ramsamy – who has been appointed as Peace Ambassador by the Cities of Peace organisation with United Nations ECOSOC accreditation in the US – convened a Symposium on the environmental, economic and social aspects of the Covid-19 global pandemic at Domaine Dalais, L’Escalier on Sunday 16 August 2020.
The event witnessed 75 youths of the village and beyond from all religions and background meeting at 07.30 am at the market place of L’Escalier where they set off to Domaine Dalais by walking around 3.5km through the nature. Once over there, breakfast was served to the participants who were also given time to refresh themselves.
The session began at 09.00 am sharp with Mr Ramsamy being the host, Dr Neerunjun Gopee – a writer at Mauritius Times – being the Chief Guest and Mr Seemadree Latchayya – Vice President of Mauritius Telugu Maha Sabha – being the Coordinator. They were also assisted by respected and experienced members of Chinmaya Mission who made all the way from the centre to the south of the island.
Chelvin Ramsamy opened the symposium by welcoming everyone followed by introductory remarks including the bio of Dr Gopee.
The event ensued with the intervention of the latter who was invited to speak on the positive and adverse impacts of Covid-19 from a medical perspective. He pointed out that at such a time, the world is looking up to our doctors, nurses, medical staff and scientific community with hope and gratitude. The world seeks both care and cure. This is the time to think even bigger and do even better, he added. Dr Gopee highlighted that while the lethal drive of Covid-19 is targeted primarily to older people and those with underlying conditions, the virus does also kill younger healthy people too, although in much lower numbers. Therefore, according to the respected and highly respected man, we must all join hands together to fight this invisible enemy.
Chelvin Ramsamy then requested the participants to come into three groups. Each of the groups designated a Group Leader, a Reporter and a Speaker who shall coordinate ideas, write down answers and present on the group respectively. The groups were then given one of the following topics and the associated sub-topics to work upon:
Economic:
- Can we recover with a new economic model?
- What should be our economic priorities and how do we contribute to it?
- Unemployment and inflation in the Covid-19 recession?
- How can the global economy recover from COVID-19 with a focus on trade?
Environment:
- Positive effects of Covid 19 on wildlife, travel and climate change?
- Environmental lessons learned from Covid-19, living in harmony with nature?
Social:
- Physical and social isolation, stress and uncertainty due to pandemic and restrictions
- Serenity, relationship and strengthening family ties during covid-19
After 30 minutes of discussion among the group members, Chelvin requested them to wrap up and in turn asked each Speaker to come forward for presentation. The ideas obtained were as follows:
Economy:
The team that was assigned the topic of economy highlighted that similar to all other countries, COVID-19 has put the economy of Mauritius under stress. Most businesses, both small and big, were closed down during the lockdown period. Therefore, the Government set up many schemes to subsidize small business and ensure all employees do get their salaries during the lockdown.
The participants pointed out that the Mauritian economy was already unstable even before the corona virus. But it will be worsened due to COVID-19. Some participants expressed the view that under certain circumstances, the government has been forced to make quick decisions and financial commitments in order to curb the spread of virus. Some of these decisions and commitments are long term, and might have to be implemented even beyond the COVID-19 event. However, due to financial constraints that the country is facing, it might be impossible to fulfil the commitments. Also these commitments might put the country in worse debt going forward.
Environment:
Related
The team debating the environmental aspects of Covid-19 pointed out that there is less movement of people since the lockdown. Most parts of the country have started to witness the cleanliness of the public areas as there is less to near zero littering during the lockdown period. Since many industries are closed, there is less air pollution. Also, according to the participants, the movement of transport is very limited, therefore emissions will be slightly reduced. The protected areas including marine and nature reserves, are under lockdown. Therefore, they argue that biodiversity is at peace.
People are getting used to pollute less since the COVID-19 pandemic has been announced. There is less movement of people since the lockdown. Most parts of the country are starting to witness the cleanliness of the public areas as there is less to near zero littering during the lockdown period. Since many industries are closed, there is less air pollution. Also the movement of transport is very limited, therefore emissions will be slightly reduced. The protected areas including nature reserves are under lockdown. Therefore, there are no safaris and the biodiversity is at peace.
Social:
The final team discussed extensively on the positive and negative aspects of Covid-19 on the social lives of people. As highlighted by the participants, it is anticipated that lot of people will lose jobs, including high number of retrenchments which will lead to poverty due to COVID-19. The country has a high number of homeless people that government has to care of during the lockdown. This might stretch the budget even further.
It is the first time in history that the country is locked down. So lot of events have been postponed or cancelled. COVID-19 has distracted all cultural plans. Political parties have put aside their differences and are working together to defeat the “invisible enemy” corona virus. Solidarity is practiced within the country.
After the presentations, the event witnessed Dr Gopee making some constructive comments and concluding remarks on the delivery of each group.
There was subsequently an Award Ceremony for the five winners from the L’Escalier Telugu Maha Sabha of a Whatsapp general knowledge competition conducted during the Covid-19 lockdown in Mauritius. The prizes were handed over by Mr Clarel Dalais himself, the owner of Domaine Dalais.
Mr Chelvin Ramsamy then requested everyone to join for a group photo before closing the symposium with a vote of thanks, followed by lunch which was sponsored by the Omnicane Foundation.
The event closed at 12.00 pm as the participants walked back from Domaine Dalais to L’Escalier market place.
Overall, the event turned out to be a complete success.
Data Source: Mauritius Times