THE JOURNEY OF AURORA - CHAGOS ISLANDS, Part 1 , by @marc-allaria (translated from French)

vcelier (74)in #story • 5 years ago (edited)

This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @marc-allaria: LE VOYAGE D'AURORA - STOP#11 - LES CHAGOS - Partie 1...!

^{As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.}

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but Marc Allaria (@marc-allaria), a French guy.

THE JOURNEY OF AURORA - CHAGOS ISLANDS
Part 1

There is still a Land uninhabited by man, a Land without connection to the modern world, a Land belonging only to navigators who at the price of a long and often bumpy road are the only ones who can come to contemplate it. This Land is an island. No, several islands, some grouped into atolls, others totally isolated perched on top of an emerging reef. These islands are unique, inviolate, sheltering a fauna that does not know Man and have underwater depths of an extraordinary purity. These islands bear a mythical name for people of the Sea and unknown to those of Earth. Islands located on the other side of the ocean, the Chagos Archipelago.

A STAINED SOCIAL HISTORY

And yet, if the postcard is beautiful, social history is one of the most unfair of the post-colonial era. We are in 1964, the islands of the Western Indian Ocean are under British administration. This set of islands includes Mauritius, Seychelles, the Chagos Archipelago, as well as a few scattered islands in this part of the ocean. The time of independence has come. Two states, that of Mauritius and Seychelles are now free from European occupation. But the great confrontation has just ended, and strategic positions now play a very important role. Somewhat forgotten between Mauritius and the Maldives, the Chagos are easily negotiated for a modest sum by the British who retain the administration. The Chagos remain British, and still are today. There, the exploitation of the copra is less and less lucrative and occupies only one or two thousands of workers being for the most part either Mauritians, or descendants of freed slaves that have become residents of the archipelago.

In 1967, only 3 years later, an agreement is signed between British and Americans. This agreement authorizes the pentagon to implant on the atoll of Diego Garcia, one of their largest world military bases outside US territory. Negotiated without consulting the local population, a clause of the contract stipulates that the whole archipelago must be uninhabited by civilians. From this date, then begins a series of "soft" evictions carried out by prohibiting the transport of the passengers in the direction back Mauritius-Chagos. Chagossian workers returning to Mauritius for family reasons or for health reasons find themselves unable to return to the archipelago. During the following years, the Chagos became slowly empty of its population, and will see its last inhabitants to set off for a final trip one way to Mauritius in 1971 aboard a ship sponsored by the army. Expulsion is this time authoritarian.

(to be continued)

* * * * *

#travel #photography #chagos-archipelago #diego-garcia

5 years ago in #story by vcelier (74)

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karlin (65) 5 years ago

Hola amigo. Se le extraña por aquí. Espero verle pronto publicando nuevamente. Saludos

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THE JOURNEY OF AURORA - CHAGOS ISLANDS, Part 1 , by @marc-allaria (translated from French)

This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @marc-allaria: LE VOYAGE D'AURORA - STOP#11 - LES CHAGOS - Partie 1...!

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but Marc Allaria (@marc-allaria), a French guy.

THE JOURNEY OF AURORA - CHAGOS ISLANDS Part 1

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THE JOURNEY OF AURORA - CHAGOS ISLANDS
Part 1