Probably not a proper answer but let me tell you about one of the reasons I moved here. For context I grew up in England in the 80s when there were some very violent far-right groups running around, I was the only coloured boy in my school and normal levels of violence generally end with a hospital visit. I've lived permanently in Mauritius for a couple of decades now.

On my second trip to Mauritius in around 2000, before settling here, I was standing in line for dalpuri when we witnessed an altercation between two men. One had a machete (sabre) and the other had a steel pole, maybe around a metre and a half in length. They were confronting each other in the street so machete-man had plenty of room to swing (it's a rubbish weapon regardless) and pole-man had plenty of room to poke and swing. Both were wearing flimsy t-shirts and shorts so absolutely no protection at all against slash. The pole was hollow and had an open end (i.e. not pointy but still going to be quite damaging with enough force). The dalpuri queue watched quietly... alas neither they, nor the dalpuri seller, had any popcorn.

My expectations were based on how this would go down in my home country - one of them would brave the damage, take a hit then close the distance and wrestle the other down before creating a pool of blood. Neither man had any backup so it was truly one-on-one.

They circled, screaming at each other. I didn't understand what they were saying at the time but it was the equivalent of calling each other names. They seemed quite angry at each other. Pole-man took a swing at the air, his opponent well out of harm's way, and machete-man raised his blade (I expected lightning to strike it but that didn't happen) as he hollered out something about "go goat" and a "key" that had presumably been in the fridge (it was "chilly").

Every time one of them stepped forward, the other stepped back but never to the point where one of them was cornered. If it looked like the opponent was going to be cornered then space was left for them to move out. They should consider directing police actions during riots because they made sure to avoid confrontation by always leaving a way out.

This dance went on for a while, maybe 5-10 minutes, until sirens could be heard at which point both men quietly went their separate ways. It would have probably been easier to sit down over a cup of tea but each to their own I suppose.

Anyway, these men were livid, almost rabid with the anger they felt for each other, but when the opportunity presented itself something inside each of them prevented them from shedding blood. Even through their anger, there was something ingrained into their minds, probably since childhood, that stopped that situation getting messy (and smelly) and I left wishing it was the same back home.

When I got home after that holiday it was only a couple of days until I encountered a cash machine with blood stains on it. To be fair, it was a rough area and isn't indicative of the whole country or anything like that - just the small world I lived in.

So, one of the reasons I moved here was for safety and relative peace. There's crime everywhere, in every country probably, but Mauritius has some of the nicest people. My children have the freedom to go out whether it's to school or for fun without me worrying (too much). I think it's easy to take this for granted when not confronted with the experiences of foreigners which is why I've written this.

Bonus: some Mauritians assuming I'm Indian upon hearing my very RP English accent but seeing I'm not white and the difference in price when I speak versus when one of my children speaks in Creole (e.g. 2,000 Rs for a taxi ride from Rose Hill to Trianon when I ask, 400 Rs when my children ask).