Mauritius extends good wishes to Shanghai and Wuhan

Hans Seesaghur, chief representative of the Mauritius Economic Development Board in China, has made a video to extend his best wishes to China, where he lived for more than 13 years.

“My dearest Chinese friends, I know it’s a difficult time for you. But I believe you will overcome the hardship and win the battle against the novel coronavirus soon,” he said.

The 35-year-old Mauritian has been trying to buy face masks in his home country to support China’s anti-virus fight when he heard about the shortage in China but found they were sold out everywhere.

“Mauritius mainly relies on imports from China for surgical masks,” he said. “But I’m contacting my friends all over the world to make purchases if possible.”

Seesaghur went to Wuhan to visit his sister who was a medical student at Wuhan University in 2003 when China had just overcome SARS.

“I took a flight to Hong Kong first and then a bus to Shenzhen, where I took another flight to Wuhan,” he said. “I saw some people wearing masks along the way but I didn’t now why at first. When I arrived in Wuhan, my sister told me it was because of SARS.”

He became curious about China during that visit and applied for Wuhan University too. He was admitted the next year to learn Chinese language for a year and later acquired a bachelor’s degree in international business and trade, a master’s degree in international relations and a doctoral degree in public administration.

“I lived in Wuhan for 13 years,” he said. "Wuhan has become my second hometown, and I feel an affinity when hearing the Wuhan dialect.”

After the outbreak of coronavirus, Seesaghur called Mauritians and his teachers and Chinese friends in Wuhan and found them all safe and sound.

“There were about 250 Mauritians in China, including 16 in Wuhan,” he said. “Twelve were evacuated to France with help from the Mauritius government and four are still in Wuhan. Based on recent CGTN news, one of them, a medical student, volunteered to help the fight against the virus at a hospital in Wuhan.”

Seesaghur went back to Mauritius after graduation from his doctoral program and was posted to Shanghai in July last year to prepare for the opening of the Shanghai Office of Mauritius Economic Development Board to boost investment and trade from China. He rented an office before leaving in December and had originally planned to fly back to Shanghai on February 4 to begin work, but all flights to Shanghai have been canceled.

“I hope I can go to Shanghai soon because I have been looking forward to promoting relationship between Mauritius and China,” he said.

Seesaghur said he had once been treated in a hospital in Wuhan after accidentally falling from his balcony on the fourth floor of a building, and got to know many doctors and nurses there. He also suffered from pneumonia and pulmonary embolism during his stay in Shanghai last year and was treated at Huadong Hospital.

He said he was grateful to all the medical staff who have helped him.

“I know they are very busy with treating patients now and I wish them all the best,” he said.

Ti Gong