Leader of the Groupe Refugiés Chagos

?Fred Payet showed a real interest in my education!?

Many teachers made an impression on me during my school days. Therefore, it is quite hard for me to talk about one without mentioning the others. When I was at London College in Port-Louis, I felt different from the other students. In those days, it was not easy for a child like me who came from Chagos and a deprived area such as Cassis to go and get integrated in a secondary school like London College.

When I started realizing how different I was from the others, I began to feel lonely. Fortunately enough, some teachers such as Alix Valeran, Shakuntala Payneeandy, Assodah Payneeandy and Salonee Dussoye always supported me in those difficult times. They were always coming to me to tell me not to mind the children who were teasing me and who were making me feel different from them. They helped me to improve my capabilities a lot. Their help was reflected by my results. Today I feel proud of having been a student of London College thanks to those teachers and thanks to the rector himself, Harold Chan Lam, who was always up to the level of his job. In fact, today I am using a lot of what I got from him in my fight for the Chagossians.

But the one teacher who really marked my life was certainly Fred Payet. He was my teacher in my last year of Primary school at Renganaden Seenevassen. He showed a real interest in my education. He used to give private tuition which cost Rs15 in those days. Then, one day he suggested that I should start taking tuition with him. My mother told him that she could not afford to pay. He told her he would reduce the price by half. That was only the first step in a relationship that was going to be helpful and enriching for me. Fred used to call me ?YéYé?.

Fred was a very good football player. He used to play in a team called ?Red Sparks?. As a matter of fact, he was one of the people who encouraged me to play football. There is one moment I will never forget. This was on the day of the results of the last year of Primary school. On that day he called me, and told me that I had failed. Obviously I was depressed and I had tears in my eyes. Minutes later, he held my hand and told me that actually I had passed. Moreover he announced to me that I was the only one who had managed to get 4 As in that school.

Afterwards, I managed to keep in touch with him, especially because we were living in the same area. He always kept an eye on me even when I was in college. We even used to play football together. Some years after, when I was in form 5, he passed away. I was terribly upset.

Fred Payet was more than a friend to me. He was like a father. My real father was paralyzed. So I grew up under Fred Payet?s guidance. He gave me the pedagogical support I needed. I will never forget what he did for me??