Two Mauritians currently stranded in Madagascar are going through a very eventful adventure. They are penniless and cannot return to Mauritius. Dinesh Seedhoo, 57, and Eric Mukool, 60, are currently in Majunga (about 378 km from Antananarivo) and have been going through an ordeal for over a year.
Their ‘Via Dolorosa’ began with the appearance of Covid 19 in the Big Island. With the economic crisis that followed, businesses closed.
He was a hotel manager, but Eric Mukool found himself without resources overnight. “The establishment closed down. I had to take the case to court. In the meantime, I was left penniless and now I also owe my former landlord several months’ rent.
Dhinesh Seebhoo was in Madagascar for a holiday and got stuck since the first lockdown. “I have been stuck in Madagascar for 16 months now. I can’t pay my rent and as a result I owe 10 months’ rent to my landlord who has alerted the authorities.” He had bought a ticket from Air Madagascar, but this airline has suspended its flights for several months now.
As a result, they tell how they have been homeless for several months, without money and the authorities have confiscated their passports because they have not paid their rent.
They point out that they could not pay for transport to take them to Tata for the repatriation flight on 16 June.
Eric Mukool also adds that he has contacted the Mauritian Embassy in Tana on several occasions, but he claims that he was told that the Embassy does not have the funds. And as he is from and lives in Vallijee, he has also written several letters to the three MPs of the constituency and even to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs. But no response so far.
The former hotel manager adds that he was able to find a job in another city, but was forced to decline the offer due to lack of money to pay for the journey.
In the meantime, to live, they say they have started to sell, little by little, their personal belongings while waiting for their appeals to be heard.
