<B>A strong identity</B>

He has that rolling accent of gentle waves that sings of his Seychellois roots. An authentic Creole through culture and approach, he has much to share. Despite his apparent light heartedness, the former director of Seychelles Meteorological Services, is a man of substance and dignity.

The first Seychellois to get a BSc. in Meteorology and a postgraduate in Physical oceanography and Tropical meteorology, worked for the Seychelles Met Services for 25 years. Luc Chang-Ko was its director from 1991 to 1999 and occupied distinctive posts, from the post of permanent representative with the World Meteorological Organization to that of co-chairman of the National Climate Change Committee. He now lives in Mauritius. His contract in Seychelles was not renewed after he stood as candidate to the National assembly for an opposition party. ?Future activities will depend a lot on the outcome of the Seychelles presidential election sometimes this year?, he adds with confidence.

During his rich career, Luc Chang-Ko has authored multiple publications, among which a contribution to the Kyoto summit on climatic change should be mentioned, along with a paper for the SADC countries on resilience to tropical cyclones at the second international conference on Early warning, sponsored by the UN international strategy for disaster reduction. As such, he can speak with authority of environmental issues like the tsunami threat.

?The December 26 wave was not the first time the region was affected by a tsunami. In 1983, an earthquake in Diego Garcia could have caused a giant wave to hit Seychelles. The local authorities were warned early enough by the Americans, who at that time ran a base in our country. And fortunately there was no damage.? He just opens our eyes to the risk of tidal waves and surges, not named tsunamis, but which can be equally disastrous to islands. ?They can be caused by cyclones or storms.?

From this Seychellois cousin, it is interesting to hear how attitudes to environmental issues vary from society to society. He deplores that, contrarily to the Seychellois, ?in Mauritius, it seems a concern only for the elite, not something inculcated to the grass-roots people. In Seychelles, there is no real need for laws for people to respect nature and their environment. It is just part of the culture.?

When he recalls his youth, his eyes seem to witness again the vivid experience of shark fishing by moonlight, of the baby tortoises he looked after before dawn. Yet it would be difficult to see another foreigner more in phase with the Mauritian way of life: ?In fact I have strong ties. Mauritius is the land of my father, who left for Hong Kong when he was three months old, the land of my spouse and one of my children was born here. It is a land of opportunity for the younger generation.?

Luc feels Mauritian, knowing each corner of Rose-Hill, where he has settled. During his outings, he sometimes longs for some Creole traditions that have disappeared, like that of eating

?boudin?. But he has met locals and has been appreciated as a volunteer teacher, providing free Maths tuition at secondary level in Beau-Bassin. He also contributes as a member of the Mauritius National Climate Committee, to the Technology Needs Assessment, for Mitigation of Impact of Climate Change Project, funded by the UNDP ? GEF in 2004.

He has deep feelings even for his adopted country: ?I have great affinities with Mauritian people, especially those of Chinese origin. And here, even if you don?t have that strong Creole identity as in Seychelles, there has been a revival and it has become intense. And all these different ancestral cultures are an asset.? Luc would like to trace the birth certificate of his father, after his grand-father, who was of Chinese origin, fled with his grand-mother to Hong-Kong in the late 1930s. Anyone can contact him concerning this matter through l?express.