Rishideo Gooriah: from fire to law, the journey of a dreamer

After wearing the firefighter's uniform for 27 years, Rishideo Gooriah changed vocation and put on the toga. He gives up his career as a firefighter to fulfill his childhood dream.

Some dreams come true. But you have to believe in it very strongly, show patience, unfailing determination, and give yourself the means to get there. As he approaches his 48th birthday, Rishideo Gooriah is living his childhood dream. A firefighter for 27 years, he has just joined the bar.

“As a child, I couldn’t stand seeing injustice. Growing up in a village in the North, I saw that many people did not have access to justice or did not know how to go about it. I wanted their rights to be respected. This is what motivated me to become a lawyer in some way,” underlines the resident of Plaine-des-Papayes, who is married and the proud father of two children.

Rishideo Gooriah's journey is made up of various detours. Coming from a family of four children, he got nothing on a platter. “I lost my father when I was about seven years old. So I grew up with my mother who worked as a plowman. During his lifetime, my father was also a plowman. Life was very difficult at that time,” he confides.

After attending primary school in Plaine-des-Papayes, he continued his secondary studies at Cosmopolitan College, located approximately 200 meters from his home. In this establishment, he was able to participate in numerous debates and even become president of the Student Council.

After his secondary studies, Rishideo Gooriah cherished the dream of becoming a lawyer. But due to the family's financial situation, he has no choice but to look for work immediately.

“I remember applying as a steward at Air Mauritius after college in 1995. I passed the first two interviews. At the last one, one of the panel members asked me where I lived. When I said Plaine-des-Papayes, he looked at me and said: 'How are you going to manage the transport?' The company's facilities then stopped at Abercrombie. From the look in his eyes, I knew it was over for me,” he says. At the time, he didn't have a car.

Despite this setback, Rishideo Gooriah persevered, making a series of job applications, as a technician at the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), a police officer, a prison guard and a firefighter. “I started working as a firefighter on November 20, 1996. Having studied mathematics, chemistry and physics, this allowed me to understand how fire spreads, among other things,” relates the new lawyer. He is assigned to the Piton fire station.

During his career with the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service, he was also a part-time Registered Health & Safety Officer at the Ministry of Labour. In this capacity, he represented the Rogers group, Robert Le Maire, Beach Wear Textile and also numerous hotels, including the Attitude complexes, the Le Marina hotel, the Coin de Mire hotel and the Ravenala hotel. A task that he carried out for eight hours a week, in his free time as a firefighter.

“I sometimes represented companies during judicial investigation procedures. I saw how lawyers asked questions, it fascinated me and I wanted to become a lawyer even more,” he emphasizes.

But Rishideo Gooriah is aware that he had to give himself the means to achieve his ambitions and show patience. Between 2001 and 2023, he was promoted to officer in charge of the Piton fire station, then Senior Station Fire Officer. Subsequently, he was called upon to work at various fire stations including those of Mahébourg, Rivière-des-Anguilles and Flacq. “I was traveling by bus and it wasn’t easy. »

In 2017, he took out a loan to be able to complete his law studies and take the bar exams in England. “I had to leave my wife and children at that time, while ensuring that they were not going to lack anything financially. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have an uncle in England who gave me all his support. I was then living in student accommodation in Bristol,” recounts the lawyer.

In October 2019, Rishideo Gooriah was sworn in as a barrister at the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple, United Kingdom. An ambitious law student, he successfully completed his professional training at the Bar (Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)) at BPP University. He later earned a master's degree in law from the University of Wolverhampton.

Back in Mauritius, he completed his pupillage at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), with Messrs Siddartha Hawoldar and Said Baichoo, solicitors. Subsequently, Rishideo Gooriah is faced with the decision to become a lawyer immediately and, in doing so, lose his service time within the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service. Still having his loan to repay, he decides to wait a little longer before embracing his dream of becoming a lawyer.

It is finally at the beginning of January 2024 that he leaves the firefighter uniform for good after 27 years of good and loyal service. On January 26, 2024, he was sworn in as a lawyer in Mauritius. He is one of 43 new lawyers to join the profession.

And already, customers are calling on him. Some contacted him shortly after he left the Supreme Court that day. Rishideo Gooriah says he is proud today to live his childhood dream. And above all, to be able to help people, as he always wanted.