The state has abandoned the people of Mahébourg
But Mauritian citizens haven't
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.
The oil spill is an ecocide. It has done an unspoken amount of damage to delicate ecosystems and has completely changed the lives of the tens of thousands of people in the south east of Mauritius.
I was in Mahébourg, in the south east, on Saturday. I spoke to a small boat operator who could no longer afford to pay his internet connection bill. I spoke to a tourist shop owner who hasn’t opened her shop in six months, since the Covid lockdown began. I spoke to a taxi driver who has barely driven in months. While we were talking, I was in constant awe of their resilience.
But I can’t help but wonder how much longer this community can withstand such trauma. It’s been a month since the oil spill and things haven’t improved. Tourists are still not coming because our borders are still closed. Fishers are still out of work because the oil spill has poisoned fish in these waters. Authorities are still mostly absent in Mahébourg because the state has abandoned the very people it is meant to support.
Things need to change. This is why I will be marching on the streets of Mahébourg this Saturday in what will likely be the region’s largest ever public demonstration. To demand that the government either does what citizens expect of it or to “lev pake ale” (“get the f— out”).
In solidarity ✊🏼
In this issue
Mauritian government’s dealings as opaque as ever
Greenpeace puts pressure
Mauritius is a police state part 38424
L’assemblée Mahébourg-Sud Est. Grassroots politics is back in Mauritius.
The latest
⚫ Mauritius and Japan are apparently in secret talks
… over a financial support package amounting to … wait for it … $34 million. You read that right. Considering that the maximum liability cap for an incident of this scale is $65 million under the Bunkers Convention, one wonders what exactly accounts for the nearly 50% discount.
The money will apparently be used to acquire a hundred fishing ships, support and train fishers impacted by the oil spill, as well as upgrade research labs. (In French.)
More: Journalist Zeenat Hansrod with Radio France Internationale says that the $34 million may not actually be the oil spill compensation money but rather soft loans and grants.
⚫ Greenpeace is calling on the Mauritian government to start being competent
i) Independent, transparent investigations related to the oil spill; ii) hold the polluters responsible; iii) review Mauritius’ transport shipping lanes; iv) explain why it decided to dump the bow of the stranded ship; v) learn from earlier oil spills elsewhere.
That these even have to be highlighted tells you all you need to know about the current government.
More: You can sign Greenpeace’s petition to protect Mauritius and take action now.
⚫ A second oil spill?
In Mauritius-is-a-police-state news, people who alerted the public to what they described as a strong smell of fuel along some parts of the northern coastline over the weekend, were summoned by the police. The inhabitants of St François inferred that the smell emanated from a potential oil spill following the sinking, last week, of a tugboat that was on its way to Port Louis from the Wakashio crash site. Authorities have denied that the 25 tonnes of oil the tugboat was carrying have spilled.
While the police is busy intimidating people, a reminder that the oil from the tugboat has not been pumped out yet. Also, and more importantly, three people died in the incident and one is still missing.
More: These two paragraphs above are a summary of this one-paragraph long story (in French) 😅
If you’re in Mahébourg on Saturday and want to meet, let me know by replying to this email! – Khalil.