The Ferney Project is being reconsidered (or, is it?). The Granary and the Military Hospital have been spared the fate of being turned into steel and aluminum monstrosities. The Citadel is destined to preserve its historical particularities.

I choose to believe that these decisions do not spring from some sort of childish spite to undo what had been done or stop what was to be done by the previous government, but are inspired by the awareness that our rare fauna and flora have to be preserved, that our historical monuments are irreplaceable national heritage. On the strength of this belief, I would like to bring the following to its notice, or rather, to that of the minister of Arts and Culture:

First, our rich fauna and flora are not limited to Ferney Valley or even to the island of Mauritius. Our many islands, integrated parts of our Republic, abound with plants and animals, some very rare, some unique, that need to be protected. For example, the unique black ibis, the rare flat lizard and the unique Gueule Rose coconut of Agalega.

Second, our historical heritage too is not limited to our mother island. Many historical relics linked are also found on our different islands and seas. I’ll again give Agalega as example as it is the place I know best: a) Le Depôt des esclaves built on the South Island by the great administrator Auguste Leduc in 1810; Les Cachots des esclaves, where rebellious slaves were imprisoned. Some of the walls still retain the iron-rings where they were chained; le Cimetière des Blancs – burial place of many white settlers and historical figures, among which a Malagasy Princess; le Cimetière des Noirs, where hundreds of slaves and franchised slaves were buried; l’Abri des esclaves, an underground cave-like structure that was used to shelter the slaves during cyclones; Le Puits aux Anglais; Le Moulin à l’huile - a massive copra-crushing machine consisting of a big copper/steel crucible, made to rotate around a heavy metallic pestle.

The “rotating” was made by fouet-driven slaves pushing huge poles fitted into appropriate holes found in the crucible; the Soap Making Machine – a real masterpiece of ingenuity; Les Carreaux de séchage; La Chapelle in South Island built in 1805, and La Chapelle of North Island built in 1810.

In my humble opinion, these are important relics of a part of the history of Mauritius. The tools and machines are precious museum pieces. They DEMAND protection and preservation. Instead... they are left to rot, to be eaten away by rust, to decay to dust.

My various appeals to the former minister of Arts and Culture, to the National Heritage Trust Fund, to the Diocese of Port Louis, to the Outer Islands Development Corporation for proper studies, possible classification and preservation have been all in vain. I do not hesitate to qualify this indifference as a crime to our History.

Maybe I will have better luck with our new Government and with our new minister of Arts and Culture - anyway, I fervently pray that it be so. Will it be too much to hope for the setting up of a body composed of historians and researchers to delve into the past of Agalega and our outer islands; and another made up of botanists, zoologists and ecologists to carry out proper studies of the plant and animal lives?

<B>Jagdish SEEBARUTH

[email protected]</B>