Make ecocide law and send the powerful to jail
The only way to stop the few from destroying our planet is to make them accountable to the many
Hello and welcome to this issue of our newsletter. Every week, Ariel and Khalil, writers based in Mauritius, investigate the impact the oil spill is having on the country and its people, politics and nature.
I.
Destroying the environment is not an international crime. Damaging and demolishing nature is not an international crime. Ecocide is not an international crime.
But fighting for the environment is, very often, a crime, as many volunteers in Mauritius found out. This is the inverted world we live in today – where the actions of the powerful destroy people’s worlds, annihilate their cultures, bring about climate migration, cause mass murder but still go unpunished, while the actions of those who defend our planet and its people are criminalised.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
In this issue
Revealed: extent of inaction of Mauritian authorities prior to the oil spill
State still not helping those affected by the oil spill
Vulnerable reptiles saved
Markus Spiske/unsplash
Hundreds of activists in Berlin from climate campaign group Extinction Rebellion (XR) took to the streets on Wednesday and staged blockades around the German parliament to demand ecocide be considered an offence punishable by law. They believe that if the law is passed in Germany, it could become law on an international scale.
I believe they are right. I also believe that only when ecocide becomes international law will the powerful actually be forced to change course. Because only when they become personally liable for the death and destruction that they cause, only when they face jail time, only when the rest of us have a chance to make them accountable, only then will “first do no harm” be on their agendas.
II.
XR asked me to write a speech about the Mauritius oil spill to raise awareness of this ecocide in Germany. I’m pasting the speech below.
If it resonates with you, please reuse it, rewrite it, adapt it, and share it with others. Because it increasingly feels like people in Mauritius who have lost everything to the ecocide will be supported neither by the state nor by the polluters. It may well be that their only shot at justice comes on the back of international pressure. The more people outside Mauritius know of their plight, the greater the chance that they will get justice.
It’s the least they deserve.
Comrades, I am writing this from Mauritius where two months ago to the day, an ecocide happened. One thousand tonnes of toxic oil spilled from a massive ship into one of our most pristine lagoons.
Comrades, this is what we, in Mauritius, saw. We saw the oil turn our beautiful, clear and blue sea black. We saw the oil invade our heavenly shores with the stuff of nightmares. We saw the oil attack pristine habitats home to countless marine life and vulnerable, endemic birds and reptiles … We saw fifty dolphins die on our beaches. We saw a community of fishers stripped of their livelihoods, of their way of life, of their identity.
Comrades, the powerful are destroying my homeland. For what? The powerful are causing so much pain, so much suffering. For what? The powerful are killing nature, killing people, killing our planet. For what?
For profit. For power. It is reprehensible. It is vile. They are vile. They need to pay. And they will pay. Comrades, they will pay, the corporate CEOs. They will pay, the crony politicians. They will pay, the powerful.
You know why? Because there are people like you here today who will make them pay. People like you who rise to protect nature, who rise to protect their fellow humans, who rise to protect the planet.
Comrades, they will pay because you will succeed. You will succeed in demanding your government make ecocide a law. You will succeed because you are part of something that is greater than one person, greater than one demonstration. You will succeed because millions of people around the world stand with you.
Many of us here in Mauritius are with you. Since the ecocide, Mauritians have risen to form the biggest mass movement in a generation. The movement grew from the largest assembly of volunteers we’ve ever seen as people from all over Mauritius rushed to help prevent the oil spreading and rushed to clean the shores. And the movement is demanding not just that the powerful do no harm, but for systemic change in our politics, in our society.
Comrades, many of us here in Mauritius stand with you. We stand with you every time you speak for nature. We stand with you every time you speak for fellow humans. We stand with you every time you speak for our planet.
We stand with you to make the powerful liable and force them to do no harm. We stand with you to get ecocide into law.
Comrades, demand ecocide be made a law. Demand the powerful pay, demand nature no longer be harmed, demand our fellow humans no longer be harmed, demand our planet no longer be harmed. Demand ecocide be made a law.
In solidarity, from Mauritius.
The latest
⚫ Inaction of Mauritian authorities revealed in court
The voyage data recorder (black box) of the MV Wakashio did not record any radio communications from the Mauritian Coast Guard on the evening the ship ran aground. Which begs the question: What the f– were the Mauritian authorities doing?
As a reminder: the ship entered Mauritian waters on July 23 on a clear trajectory towards Mauritius; Mauritian authorities did not dispatch any coast guard vessel to intervene; the ship crashed in coral reefs on July 25.
More: Mauritian police have put forward several hypotheses for the ship’s failure to contact the coast guard. One of them, and I kid you not, is that the radio was turned off. Read the update from the BBC here.
⚫ People impacted by the oil spill yet to receive state help
Two months since the oil spill and financial help that the government has promised (sums less than the minimum wage by the way) is still MIA. As I’ve previously reported, many people in regions affected by the ecocide are on their knees. They’re not asking for handouts. This is what someone from one of the affected regions told me a few weeks ago: “We're not asking for charity. We want to work … Give us a loan so we can have security. Once we're able to work again, we can pay back everything.”
It’s hard not to conclude that the state could not care less about them.
More: Some people are now threatening to go on hunger strikes. This is what it’s come to. More on Top FM (in French).
⚫ Repeat after me: conservationists are heroes
The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) captured and moved endangered, endemic geckos and skinks from islets that were surrounded by oil to Jersey Zoo to effectively save those species. Only a few hundred individuals from those species remain and the hope is that “safety net” populations can be established in Jersey.
More: You can donate, volunteer or share your expertise with MWF by visiting their website.
If there’s anything specific you want us to cover, do reach out either by replying to this email or by leaving a comment. And hit that heart button so the algorithm suggests the newsletter to more people. Thank you. – Khalil.
That ecocide is not an international crime is simply scandalous. What have all the activists achieved if they haven't even addressed this?