'Even if I don't see it, I can smell it.' How people are coping three months after the oil spill
'My heart will break in two. I will stay indoors.'
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 don’t think I can come to the shore again to see this. My heart will break in two. I will stay indoors. But even if I don’t see it, I can smell it. There is no escaping from it.
I first spoke to Doris a day after the oil spill began. I saw her in the distance standing on the beach staring at the wreck. She didn’t notice me approaching, and recoiled slightly when I said hello and introduced myself. She gave me a sad but gentle smile when I explained that I was interviewing people from the region to understand how they felt about the oil spill. She hesitated when I asked her if she would be willing to answer a few questions. Maybe she doesn’t trust reporters, I remember thinking then. Or maybe, I realised later, she was still startled because a stranger had interrupted her while she was grieving the loss of her home.
Doris is 63 and lives with her daughter, Marie, in the south-east of Mauritius. She moved here with her family when she was a child and has stayed ever since. She allowed me to interview her for a few minutes that day. The quote above is from her and originally appeared in a piece I co-wrote for the Guardian.
I met Doris again two months later. This time she did not recoil when I said hello – she recognised me. But she gave me that same sad yet gentle smile.
In this issue
Wrecked vessel will finally be removed from the sea
Oil cleanup will finally be completed
I wish I could say living wage compensation will finally be paid but …
Doris told me that everything has changed since the ecocide. “There is no one in the water. It’s not safe. We don’t see [the pollutants] but they must still be there. Don’t know how long it will go on like this.” She sighs. “Enfin …” [“Oh well …”]
Doris told me that her community is on its knees. “People were angry when [the oil spill] happened. Now, they don’t have time to be angry. There is no food, my neighbours don’t have food. They are trying to scrape by … trying to survive. It is hard when people don’t have jobs any more.”
Doris told me that drugs are a problem. “When hope is lost, drugs come in. It used to be a few people ‘pike’ [‘injecting themselves’]. Now, dealers don’t hide. ‘La drog pe fane.’ [‘Drugs are flowing.’] It’s moving into the home, it’s creating more problems for families.” Other inhabitants in the south-east have also told me that drugs are a problem in their communities.
Doris told me that politicians don’t care about people like her. “They are in Port Louis [the capital city of Mauritius], they don’t know what’s happening here. Some people help, but government people … no. They aren’t interested in ‘ti dimunn’ [‘the working class’]. They only look out for themselves.”
Doris told me that she is lucky. “I get my pension, my daughter is working. I must say we are okay. We try to help others. We pray for everyone because it is God whom we need now.”
Doris told me the smell is gone. “It doesn’t smell any more. It’s gone.” Marie then interjected and joked that her mum still sometimes asks her whether she’s smelling oil. She said Doris still imagines that smell.
The latest
⚫ We can still see the shipwreck
It’s been three months since the MV Wakashio crashed into coral reefs and the vessel’s stern is still there, at the site of the crash, clearly visible from the shore a few hundred metres away. It’s been a constant reminder of the devastation and trauma it has caused, and increasingly of the authorities’ torpor. Now, finally a salvage company has been appointed to remove it.
The stern was meant to be removed and dismantled before the start of the cyclonic season in October. A call for tender was sent out more that two months ago. Five companies, including ones from China, Japan and the US, bid for the contract. What took them so long to appoint a salvor? Perhaps the authorities were trying to do a better job than they did when disposing of the vessel’s front part? (It was towed away and scuttled off the east coast of Mauritius in bizarre circumstances. Ariel had a summary in last week’s newsletter.)
Marine experts are warning that the longer it takes to remove the stern, the more corals are damaged. And if a cyclone ventures in these parts, one can only imagine how much more damage the stern will cause to nature.
More: More about this story, including some details about bidding companies in l’express (in French).
⚫ And we can still see some of the spilled oil too
Thick oil from the sea has been removed but oil on some shores, especially those home to mangroves, has not. Cleaning is still ongoing. Japan's Nagashiki Shipping, owner of the MV Wakashio, has just today provided an update saying that all oil will be removed by January.
This is another example of how information about the ecocide, its impact, cleanup and everything else, is being released by … well, not the Mauritian government. Our government has kept things opaque, barely providing any updates. It has also been ignoring requests for comments from journalists, including those working for international outlets.
More: The write-up from Reuters.
⚫ Volunteers are keeping up their extraordinary work
With the living wage compensation to inhabitants of villages impacted by the ecocide still MIA nearly three months since it was announced by the Mauritian government, it is once again civil society that has risen to the task. A group of volunteers has mobilised to secure and provide food for 150 families.
People from impacted villages are reeling. Their small businesses have collapsed, and some have become homeless. The prime minister, as far as I can tell, has yet to even visit Mahébourg, one of the largest of the impacted villages, since the ecocide.
More: More about this group of volunteers (in French).
And, finally …
I wrote about Doris based on the feedback you sent us through our subscriber survey. At least one of you said they wanted to hear more about the people who have been impacted by the spill. If you have ideas about what we should cover in this newsletter, do get in touch by replying to this email. And as always, thank you for allowing us into your inbox. Consider clicking on the heart icon so the algorithm suggests this newsletter to more people. Thanks again. – Khalil.