Mauritius: Not without my brother

 

I was only five years old when my father went to prison on a murder charge. He was released seven years later. Meanwhile my mum had relationship with another man. Unfortunately it did not take long before he began beating her up and mistreating us. My eldest sister who could not bear beatings and insults any longer left home.

 

I was often alone at night when my mother and he would go out, returning often only after midnight. I used to tremble with fear and could not sleep until they came back. I was too young to understand what was happening but later found out that he was forcing my mother to sell her body and made her take drugs.

 

We were living in Pereybere at the time and once during one of these regular quarrels he took my mum to the beach and wanted to stab her to death with a knife. She struggled with him managed to escape. When she came home, we took a few of our things and went to my uncle’s house where we thought we would be safe.

 

The next day he came to my uncle’s house, threatening to kill my mother. Fortunately, my uncle frightened him off and we never saw him again. We rented half a garage in another region of Mauritius, Mahebourgh. The half garage served as our kitchen, bedroom, living room and dining room. We cooked, ate and slept in this small space without any toilet or bathroom facilities. This was home for quite a long time until my mother met another man and fell in love with him.

 

We moved with David although his family was against having us there. David’s mother hated my mother constantly insulted her in front of me. To make things worse, my eldest sister returned home pregnant and gave birth to a disabled baby who died a few days after birth. We were told that her boyfriend did not want the baby and forced her to take all sorts of drugs to abort it.

 

Although David’s mum kept raising her voice at us and mistreating my mum, we had enough to eat; we had a shelter and clothes to wear. This was the best part of my life as I was attending school which I really enjoyed.

 

David was a drug dealer and soon my mother fell back into this sordid world. Very often they were in another world and did not care what was happening in their surroundings and even less to me. Sometimes they did not even get up in the morning. The pantry became empty, the pot stopped boiling and we were on the verge of starvation.

 

A neighbour took pity on us and advised David and my mum to sell mangoes which was a lucrative business. The advice did help and although my mother was pregnant by that time. She would go all over the Mauritius to pick up her precious mangoes and travelled by bus from one place to the other selling them.

 

During week-ends she cooked, cleaned the house and went to the river to wash clothes. I enjoyed playing in the water watching her. I remember the day vividly when she told me to go home to get some soap. As soon as I set foot in the house the partner of David’s mother grabbed me, held me tight, put his hand on my mouth, lifted my skirt and wanted to rape me. I resisted and struggled with all my force until he had to let go. But he hurt my neck badly. I ran for my life and he followed me insulting me and said he would kill me if I told anybody about it. My mother saw the marks on my neck and insisted that I told her the truth.

 

She took me to the police station to give a statement and the case is still on. We took the few belongings that we had and went to stay in my grandfather’s house at Cite La Chaux. My mum continued to sell mangoes but on a few occasions she did not come back and I was left on my own again.

 

When the baby was born, I was in my first year of my secondary school. Although I enjoyed going to school my mother forced me to stop my studies as she wanted me to look after the baby while she sold mangoes. One day she left the house saying that she was going to the shop round the corner. This the last time I saw her. I was left on my own with a baby on my arms with no food, no milk, no napkins and no clothes.

 

After a few days of hunger and misery I walked to the centre of town with the baby in my arms asking for help. I was directed to “The Listening Centre” where I met a woman who gave mea supply of food, nappies and milk for the baby.

 

Some one who took pity on us and sent me to a woman who needed a domestic worker to work for her. I went there everyday with my baby brother in my arms and worked hard from morning to night. After two weeks I could no longer cope and left with the few pittance in my pocket.

 

How excited and great was my relief when one day I got a message from a person in the village who told me that my mother would be waiting for me at the bus station in Curepipe. With the baby in my arms we arrived very early in the morning and waited until nine o’ clock at night. There was no sign of my mother. A lady who noticed us came to me and asked who I was waiting for. I told her that the baby was my brother and related my story. She seemed to know my mother by the description I gave and said my mother used to hang around the vicinity waiting for clients. She took us to my mothers house in a taxi.

 

My mother got the shock of her life seeing me and for my part I could not believe my eyes: the scene was horrific to me, with all these sex workers and drug addicts all over the place. She gave me some money, asked me to leave and promised to return home. I told her how scared I was and how difficult it was to live on my own with the baby. I also told her that I was petrified as I saw a drop of blood in my panties. She gave me some more money and asked me to buy sanitary towels.

 

I left and went back home, but at least had enough money for food for a few days. When all the food and money was gone, I went back to the “Listening Centre” where the woman who had helped me before told me I was too young to stay in a house on my own with a baby. She gave me two choices. Separate from my brother who would be put in an orphanage and I would go back to school and be placed in a shelter or we both go to a centre. I accepted the latter option. The next day a van from the Child Development Unit of the Ministry of Women came for us and we were both placed in children’s centre.

 

It took some time before they could send me to school as I had no birth certificate. As I knew the exact date of my birth a new birth certificate was issued.

 

We stayed at the shelter of the Ministry of Women for two years I was sent to a technical school. After two years they decided to send me to CEDEM (Centre d’Education pour le Development des Enfants Mauriciens). We are happy here but unfortunately my brother has never been declared and it is proving difficult to get a birth certificate for him. I am now happy and doing well in my studies. I have just sat for an examination in embroidery and paintings and I am waiting for my results.

 

My dream is one day I will lead a happy married life contrary to that of my mother but never without my brother.

 

Loga Virahsawmy is President of the Mauritius Media Watch Organisation. This article is part of a special series of commentaries on the Sixteen Days of Activism Campaign produced through the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service that provides fresh views on everyday news.