One has to marvel at the Mauritian government’s ability to pull off such a rather heartless plan. But it did. And many Mauritians and residents who have not flown in yet are now stuck between a rock and a hard – very hard – place. They can either fork out exorbitant prices for two weeks in managed isolation in carefully selected hotels or kiss goodbye to their own country. There is nothing in-between.

One has to perhaps remember that if we managed to ride the Covid-19 wave, it is largely because we closed our borders to everyone, including our own citizens. It is a tragedy we can’t even thank them for as they had nothing to do with the decision. We don’t know what happened to these Mauritians while we were locked up in the comfort of our homes and when we came out and started leading normal lives again. Many embassies and high commissions closed their doors to them and stopped answering their calls and they had to manage in whatever way they could.

From the bits and pieces of information we were getting, some were stuck on a ship in no-man’s land; others were down to their last penny and were sleeping rough on the streets of foreign cities; some had to rely on charity to survive. Their hardship was exacerbated by many personal human tragedies: the inability to attend a funeral of a close relative; children left to fend for themselves after the death of one of their parents; sick people staying without help; some students being stuck on empty campuses for months; husbands separated from their wives… Those who survived these tribulations managed to do so by holding on to the hope of being able to re-unite with their families one day – something which seems rather difficult now. One would almost think that we really do not want our compatriots to come home!

“Self-isolation with daily visits, random checks and GPS tags should be allowed and managed properly and harsh penalties meted out to those who violate quarantine rules.”

How else can one explain the sums they are required to fork out to be able to return to their own country? Notice how quickly the recreation centres initially used for quarantine closed their doors, leaving Mauritians and Mauritian residents with no choice but to quarantine in the selected hotels. The price ranges from Rs35,000 for Bissoon Mungroo’s Manisha hotel – a hotel that made the headlines for organising birthday parties for the prime minister’s father and for supplying medical equipment during the lockdown – to Rs420,000 for Maradiva!

Who can say this is not oppression and extortion of our citizens when they are exceptionally vulnerable and at a time they find themselves in immense financial precariousness?

Radio and Facebook feeds have immediately been flooded with heartbreaking stories about the personal toll of this policy on people’s lives.

It is an undeniable fact that a well-managed quarantine for all – or almost all – new arrivals has kept the nasty disease at bay. There is no magic. It is a high price we have had to pay and we had no choice but to pay. No one is trying to undo this. However, a compassionate and humane government would re-consider this abusive scheme and explore other alternatives with the same strict sanitary rules. Recreation centres should be re-opened and other affordable hotels should be included on the list to give people more choice. And, yes, self-isolation with daily visits, random checks and GPS tags should also be allowed and managed properly and harsh penalties meted out to those who violate quarantine rules.

We are in this for the long haul. We cannot keep our compatriots who are still stranded separated from their families by asking them to pay for the privilege of returning to their homeland. It is callous and inhumane. And I wonder if it’s not a violation of fundamental human rights too!

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