11 December 2015

Dear Mr. Dawkins,

I trust you are well.

May I forward the few words you will read below that were inspired by the courageous and ongoing educational campaign you and the late but brave Christopher Hitchens ( and others) have been waging against theism and the catastrophic damage it keeps inflicting on the human mind and human dignity without sparing children, its first victims.

Mauritius is one of the many countries where it is risky to be an atheist. Its population's "spiritual" life is orchestrated by an unholy alliance of Jesus's heavenly father, Allah and an impressive number of Hindu gods and goddesses. Predictably, politicians and priests occupy the front seats of this messy bandwagon.

Born in 1951, I deserted the Catholic Church when I was 14 and, by the time I was 21, I agreed with much what Marx and Erich Fromm had explained . I first read the Selfish Gene in the late 1980's and all your other books since. I feel fortunate that my 4 children are all adult atheists.

It struck me this afternoon that I should inform you and your fellow travelers of my appreciation of the tremendous work being done by you and your Foundation. So I penned down what is written below and posted it on FACEBOOK/YOUTUBE. Then I googled your name to get the address of your Foundation and immediately became a member.

                                With Time

The beginning began
With the Big Bang
And Time began.

Later, much later,
Came the fish.

Then the land mammal
Evolved from the fish
To become Apes
That became Men
Who made kings and queens
And even gods and goddesses.

With time,
So many of them
Have vanished into mortality.

But a few are still around,
Their immortality surviving,
Not on Reason,
But on Faith
That feeds on
The Fear of Death.

With Time
There will be no Sun
No Men, no Gods,
Not even Death,
For there will be no Life.

With Time
There will be no End
Just our Absence
As it was in the Beginning.

You will fully understand why I do not wish you a merry Xmas but you have my best regards.

JC Bibi
Mauritius.