50 Years of Independence- A Tribute to the Island
With the island I have been calling home for the last 3 years celebrating independence today, I thought I should take a break from celebrating International Women's Day (turned month), to celebrate Mauritius. I wrote a poem which I titled "The Four Bands of '68", named after the Mauritian flag, the Four Bands, which was adopted in 1968 when the country gained it's independence. Fun fact, my own country, Swaziland, also gained its independence from the British in 1968, and both countries have rather tiny populations of about 1.2 million people each. We both also have strong sugar cane industries, though Mauritius is slowly moving away from sugar. So many similarities I did not expect when I came to the island!
Here's my poem, followed by a (not so brief) piece on the island, in case you were wondering. I hope you enjoy!
When I tell people I am in Mauritius for school, I get one of a few reactions:
Oh my gosh, can you even study with all those beaches?
Must be nice- like being on vacation the whole time!
Is that not a honeymoon destination?
Oh, where is that? I get this same reaction a lot when I say I am from Swaziland, lol.
And yes, the beaches of Mauritius are stunning (my favourite so far being the one in Flic en Flac because of how strong the waves are). Being able to walk towards the ocean, and listen to it lap onto the shores is soothing- a great backdrop to my moments of reflection. However, when you live here for more than just a holiday in paradise, the island starts to become more than the internet pictures. You start to see more and you are able to appreciate the island for more than just a temporary place of sunshine and suspended memories of vacations spent away from the mundane of ordinary life. You start to see the good and the bad- like how a student budget can only go so far on a holiday island targeted at tourists. You also get to learn more about it's people and it's social organisation and history.
And what an interesting history this island has. Even though there is evidence to say that the Arabs were the first to visit the island, they did not stay for long, nor did they create any substantial change. Because of this, it was the Dutch who are credited for being the first to land on this island which was believed to be uninhabited at the time, though I sometimes I feel I have heard that one before. Alas, since I have not seen a source that says otherwise, I'll believe the island actually had no local population. The Dutch named the island in honour of Prince Maurits van Nassau in the 17th century. Later the French would take over, before finally the English in March 1810. The Dutch, French and English developed the country off the backs of slave labour, mostly from Madagascar and a few other African countries before slavery was abolished in 1835. Some claim that while the slaves were given the option to stay on to work the sugar cane plantations, they chose to leave because they did not like to work too hard. Others say the slaves were actually pushed out of work to make way for the indentured labourers who were brought in from Asia to cover the labour deficit after the abolition of slavery. The effects of these narratives around Afro-Mauritians, or the Kreols, are still felt today, hidden between the cracks of the unspoken.
With this history of multiple exchanges of power, slavery and indentured labour, Mauritius gained a very diverse social canvas. It is wonderful walking through markets in Port Louis and seeing the different influences of the island existing next to each other. It is not just in the objects being sold in the market- where a beautiful Indian sari sits comfortably next to an African drum, it is also in the architecture and the celebration of festivals, and the peoples who walk around the streets. Though about 86% of the population speak Kreol on a regular basis, English, mostly used in school and official documents, and French, mostly used in media, are the official languages. Other languages such as Bhojpuri, Tamil, Mandarin, Hakka, among others, are also spoken on the island. To note, some of those languages have been distorted over time as this particular article points out. I found it interesting to learn the pushback introducing Kreol into the education system had. After a long fight by various activist, one of whom I had the pleasure of speaking with, Kreol was finally introduced, though mostly as optional, in 2012. This is despite many of the other languages being long available as a subject choice under the idea of preserving culture, with some tying the objection to Kreol in schools to underlying tensions of social class.
Moving on swiftly...
The island also has a diverse set of recognized religions. One thing I found interesting about Mauritius is how you can find a Hindu temple, and then not too far away a Catholic church. This was fascinating because I would not find this back in Swaziland. Each major religion on the island has an equal distribution of holidays in a effort to not only acknowledge, but celebrate the diversity of the island. As a student, this is one of my favourite things about the island- those extra holidays! Unfortunately my university does a good job of dishing out work so holidays end up being "work from home day." Sigh.
Lastly, I have to mention the economic progress the country has made for itself. If you check many "best places to do business in Africa" lists, you will find the island. Back in 2001, the idea of building a tech hub smart city was proposed by the government, birthing what we now have as Cibercity in Ebene. Many financial firms have moved their headquarters there, along with other innovative companies. You know you have entered the smart-city when you see the tall buildings with their sleek designs, the Mauritius Commercial Bank's headquarters being one of my favourite to marvel at. The city has been criticized for poor planning, whereby parking and pedestrian access is limited/ difficult, and the roads have been said to bare very little coherence. Still, has been a great step in pushing Mauritius forward economically. It has an interesting feel with many of the people walking around in business wear as they commute from various places to come in for work. I once was also among the commuters, traveling about 45 minutes to the office when I interned there in 2016. It was my first work experience at a major financial firm and I had the best team ever that made working on auditing a lot more exciting than it should have been.
To end this off, I would like to say to all Mauritians reading this, happy independence day to you. And to everyone else, I hope this showed you how Mauritius is more than just a holiday destination. On this island, I have experienced culture shock (which I may write about later, who knows? Stay tuned!) and I have made good memories. I am glad that I chose to come to this island, in my quest to visit and see more parts of this beautiful continent.