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The romanticism of the diaspora
After thirty years of forced exile, Mourid Barghouti, renowned Palestinian poet, was allowed back to his country. The account of his homecoming, published in English as “I saw Ramallah”, is one of these books full of lyricism, a touching tale that cannot leave the reader unmoved. In one passage, he describes the feeling of seeing an Israeli soldier at the border, when he first crosses into the West Bank from Jordan. “This soldier with the yarmulke [cloth skullcap] is not vague. At least his gun is very shiny. His gun is my personal history. It is the history of my estrangement. His gun took from us the land of the poem and left us with the poem of the land. In his hand he holds the earth, and in our hands we hold a mirage.”
Though, by no stretch of the imagination can any comparison be drawn between Palestine and Mauritius, some of Barghouti’s words echo a certain truth for the Mauritian diaspora preparing their symposium. The country that they will come to find is only the “poem of the land”, irreversibly changed from what they left. Even more pertinently, diasporas nourish a vision of their country that is typically constructed from dreams. Far from the daily tribulations of the population, they retain an optimistic outlook for their ‘motherland’, sometimes bordering on naivety. Much of it is a “mirage.”
The illusion of a sovereign nation</B>
The idea of a Mauritius, as a sovereign nation resonates with Barghouti’s “poem of the land.” The sovereignty of Mauritius is itself something of an illusion. Firstly, part of the Republic is still in British hands, actually on loan to the United States, namely Diego Garcia. The chances of the islands ever returning under Mauritian territorial sovereignty seems to be receding as we prefer to further entrench the subaltern/master relationship with the West. While the previous government generated some noise, but nothing else, over the question of British occupation, the present one chooses to stay quiet, pretending the Chagos question never existed. Without the brave battle of the indigenous populations of the archipelago, the issue would have vanished off the radar, revived occasionally by the few irredentists left in the country.
Secondly, the idea of sovereignty for the country itself is as misleading as the electoral campaigning of the Social Alliance in the last election. As the present budget clearly demonstrates, it is not a clear break with the past. It continues in the spirit of the previous MSM/MMM government, where the IMF recommendations become the economic law of the land. Under the tutelage of international financial institutions, the sovereignty and independence of the country is compromised, despite empty gestures every 12th March. In fact, Mauritius and the rest of the Third World (India and China being exceptions) are held in what amounts to a feudal system. We are enslaved to the whims of the yearly participants of the World Economic Forum, or the masters of the universe, as the Financial Times called them. The irony is that the countries of the diaspora are the ones largely responsible for this system of tyranny.
In fact, the coming conference could not have come at a more appropriate time, as debate rages over the government’s decision to reverse education reforms. The symposium is another manifestation of this obsession with elitism, which has gripped Mauritius for years, and which continues to divide the country. Gathered under the same banner will be, to a large extent, some of the most successful (economically and socially) Mauritians abroad and those from the local elite. This is basically the same types of people that the government is desperate to attract back to the country. (With the present ruling class whingeing about the sugar reforms, the government plans to import a new one.) However, the experience of many Mauritians abroad is very different. Many work in the grey economy, live in poverty, experience racism, alienation from their host society, all symptoms of low-paid migrant workers. They are likely to part of what Marx called the “reserve army of labour”, now being imported into Europe to fill the low-paid jobs. And their narrative is equally part of any diaspora discussions.
Furthermore, one of the organisers’ aims “to celebrate, nurture and pass on the Mauritian experience of philanthropy (i.e. giving talents, time, and goods)” is rather misleading. The “Mauritian experience of philanthropy” is nothing but an illusion. While it does happen within the confines of religious institutions, it remains mainly there. It is very easy to give any issue a whiff of sectarianism and the “Mauritian experience” collapses into exclusives such as Hindu, Muslim, Christian experiences etc.
“Imagined community”</B>
Mauritius as an entity is an “imagined community” as Benedict Anderson calls the nation state. However, it is one where the thread of imagination is thinning by the day, because of the failure to pay enough attention to the mother tongue and the diversity of Mauritian culture. It surely amounts to more than the organisers’ paradigm of “humour, the sega song and dance, the Creole language and some folk beliefs.” However, the state’s failure to invest in its people’s identity and the active pursuit of sectarian politics, have largely resulted in fraught relationships in Mauritius.
“Pa Bliye Nou Rasinn; Lest We Forget Our Roots; Afin Que Nos Racines ne se Perdent” seems interesting on paper. But it can be useful only if the Diaspora view the motherland with a critical mind. Let us hope it does not turn into a tea-party that will involve social networking and descends into an orgy of self-congratulation. If it is to succeed, it will have to consider the whole of Mauritius, one where every member of the Republic is equal. The diaspora will have to take a hard look at their country and analyse it with a critical mind. We can leave the romanticism to a later date.
<B>Diren VALAYDEN</B> Outlook Correspondent in Dublin</I>
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