I don’t know if Shakeel Mohamed is expecting congratulations for what he clearly thinks was a heroic act on Tuesday but the truth is – he was pathetic. Where does the arrogance come from I wonder? Where does one get the wherewithal to stay blind in the face of human despair, to refuse to listen to fellow human beings and to resort to what only bullies resort to; threats and victimization?

468 Bangladeshi workers refused to work on Tuesday because instead of the Rs 8 500 they said they were promised as salary, they were paid only Rs 4 000. Please reflect on the pittance those people are fighting for. Those workers have left their families and their homes with one thing in mind – to work and to save money. The money saved is sent back home because others presumably depend on it. They are recruited by recruiting agents that are famed for their meanness and dishonesty and they are promised many things.

Then they come here, where the law of the land is supposed to apply to them; yet their basic rights as human beings are violated everyday. They live and sleep in filthy lodgings where ticks multiply, they are treated little better than animals and only one thing is expected of them; that they produce, produce and produce. So that their employers can make a profit.

Yet through it all, the ministry of Labour has the duty to protect those people who – let’s not forget – produce wealth for our country. We import those workers because Mauritians are refusing to lose anymore of their humanity in those sweatshops. Yet we exploit them. And if they so much as have the nerve to protest against what they believe is an unfair attitude towards them, what do we do? We threaten to deport them. Because they’re machines aren’t they? They’re not supposed to talk, they’re not supposed to think, they’re not supposed to feel and least of all, they’re not supposed to ask for anything.

“If they don’t resume work, they will be deported”, threatened Shakeel Mohamed in a tone strangely reminiscent of the long-ago Sirdar. So, the bosses at Real Garments at La Tour Koenig do what bosses do best; they divided and they ruled. They managed to weaken the unity of the workers and by nighttime, 323 workers had decided to give up their claims.

And then 14 workers were made an example of and were deported. Because they are considered to be the leaders of the movement. Considered by whom? On what basis? Because they speak louder? Because their Creole is better and they communicate more easily their ill-treatment to others? Who cares, after all? They’re only Bangladeshis aren’t they? “If I have to deport all 468 of them, I’ll do it. They can’t hold a country in hostage”, Shakeel Mohamed has been quoted as saying.

He calls this, “holding a country in hostage”?! Shouldn’t somebody explain to Mohamed what his role as Labour minister should be?

What do they call themselves again? A Labour government?