[Blog] Red with Shame: The Honor of Guy Rozemont Disgraced Posthumously

By Patrick Belcourt

Honestly, I had to hold myself back. It took me a few days to step back and not react impulsively, to let my anger subside and try, as best as I could, to understand what could have gone through Navin Ramgoolam's mind. But even with a clear head, the conclusion remains damning: it is an absolute disgrace.

We are talking about Guy Rozemont, this giant, this orator who dedicated his health and life so that Mauritian workers could finally hold their heads high. And now, his very own successor, the one who claims to carry his legacy, has the audacity to drag him through the mud by calling him a "drunkard" in front of the whole nation. This is a gross insult to our collective memory.

How can one be surrounded by highly paid communicators, by "spin doctors" who are supposed to weigh every syllable, and allow such an absurdity to slip out? It is pure arrogance. Instead of honoring the memory of a man who sacrificed everything, we are reminded of the old stigmas from the colonial era - the very ones that the enemies of workers used to crush him - to make dubious comparisons.

This is revolting hypocrisy: one wraps themselves in the colors of the Labour Party while trampling on the honor of its most illustrious founder. The younger generation should know Rozemont for his courage and dedication, not through the disdain of a leader who seems to have lost all sense of values and gratitude. I am deeply disgusted by this total lack of respect for those who built Mauritius.