The government has passed a reformed legislation regarding our historical heritage, which is designed to consolidate and strengthen all laws and regulations on the preservation and safe-guarding of our historical and cultural inhe-ritance. Apparently there has been an Elite Committee, composed of learned and competent personalities, who has made a throrough and detailed study of the subject, and submitted a most comprehensive Recommendations Report to the legislators. It has identified no less than 173 sites and structures that are to be decreed as national patrimonies, five of which are found in Rodrigues.

It is, indeed, very encouraging to see that at long last the elite têtes pensantes have succeeded in breaking through their blinkers, and seeing beyond the shores of the Island of Mauritius, to discover some Rodriguan sites/objects as part of our patrimoine national.

But, is our history limited to the Island of Mauritius and, lately, to that of Rodrigues Island? What about the other islands forming the whole Republic of Mauritus, islands where our forefathers had toiled and slaved and died? Diego Garcia, Les Chagos, Tromelin, Agalega and others? Is it not, more than probable that there too, our ancestors might have left us vestiges of their life, of their way of living that could be integral parts of our National Heritage?

Relics lying uncared

I cannot speak about the other islands but I certainly can say something about Agalega, having spent part of my life there. In the recent past, I did try through numerous letters, numerous requests, numerous pleadings and beggings to the Ministry of Arts & Culture, to the National Heritage Trust Fund, to the Diocèse of Port Louis (concerning the Chuch Buildings) and to the Outer Islands Development Corporation, to evoke some interests in what, to my layman eyes, appear to be important and valuable vestiges and relics lying uncared in Agalega.

Among them:

1. The Depot built by the great Island Administrator, Auguste Leduc in 1810;

2. Les Cachots des Esclaves, where rebellious slaves were imprisonned;

3. The Chapelle in South Island built in 1805, and the Chapelle in North Island built in 1810; both in lamentable decrepitude;

4. The Cimetière des Blancs ? burial place of many colons blancs and other historical figures among which a Malagasy Princess; and the Cimetière des Noirs, where hundreds of slaves, and, later, franchised ex-slaves were buried;

5. L?Abri des Esclaves, an underground cave-like structure that was used to shelter slaves during cyclones;

6. Le Puits aux Anglais;

7. Le Moulin à l?Huile ? a massive copra-crushing machine consisting of a big copper/steel crucible, which was made to tourner around a heavy metallic pestle. That ?rotating? was done by fouets-driven slaves pushing huge poles fitted into appropriate holes found in the crucible;

8. The marvellously ingenious Soap-Making Machine;

9. Les Carreaux de Séchage.

Do these ?remains? from the past constitute a part of our national history ? Do they merit to be qualified as ?heritage? and/or preserved as museum-pieces?

Since there has never been any response to my pleas from these authorities (who, undoubtedly, have expert-knowledge on their subjects, including an uncanny ability to judge and arbitrarily reject an ?object?, without even the most summary of examination), I am forced to conclude that my ?vestiges & relics? are just useless rubbles and junks only fit to decay into oblivion.

A delicious coconut called Gueule Rose

The more stupid of me then to hope that, maybe this time, the new Board might spare some of its precious time and condescend to give a little consideration to Agalega ? as it seemed to have done for Rodrigues.

En passant, maybe I would get better luck with Mauritius Wild Life Society and similar institutions, when I tell them that our distant Agalega has, (a) a longish flat blue-green coconut tree lizard that apparently is an unique species (at least so am I told); and (b) the very rare Black Ibis, an endangered species, victims of the uncontrolled proliferation of ferocious egg-predators like rats and wild cats.

Maybe also, some body of Botanists (do we have any, in Mauritius?) might be interested to know that Agalega?s soil is the proud producer of the delicious coconut Gueule Rose. I am informed that transplantation of the Gueule Rose and experimentations with its seeds in soil, other than that of Agalega, have sometimes been successful and the so transplanted trees did produce fruits... but, unexplainably, only plain Pemba, instead of Gueule Rose !

Jagdish Seebaruth