Guy Bruno Mandarin : “A Monument for Fernand on Perhos Banos”

Guy Bruno Mandarin takes over the struggle from where Fernand left it after his demise on 13 October 2016. He is, since January 2017, the new chairman of the Chagossian Social Committee. Bruno is leading a group of seven Chagossians to the archipelago, on Monday 30 October, to pay homage to their ancestors in the context of All Saints and All Souls Day. Preparations are complete and the trip has been organized entirely at the cost of the British High Commission here. News on Sunday met Bruno Mandarin for more information.

This must be a very special trip abroad?
This trip has been arranged and negotiated by my late father Fernand Mandarin since 2014; I am very excited about the visit for various reasons: first my late father’s wish has turned into reality, and it is a trip down memory lane. I will be able to see, learn and acknowledge the tremendous hardships endured by my forefathers on the Coco Islands.

What has been decided?
The seven persons all belong to the Chagossian Social Committee. We are leaving on 30 October and we shall be back on 8 November 2017. The trip takes us to Dubai and the second leg to Bahrain by commercial flight and finally to Diego Garcia on a military plane.

As soon as we reach the native land of our ancestors, we shall start our visit of the islands, as the programme, already scheduled by Fernand Mandarin, includes paying homage to our forefathers by decorating their tombs with flowers, visit the places of worship, the ancient churches and graveyards and try to collect as many artefacts as possible in order to keep a deep rooted link of the native place to our identity, history and culture for the benefits of our children and generations of the Chagos community.

We shall take as many pictures as possible so as to compare of what used to be native Chagos to present day BIOT.

It should be noted that until further notice, Diego Garcia and the archipelago are under the British Indian Ocean Territory- BIOT, thus all visits need clearance from the British administration, that is, a visa is needed to go there.

It seems that your visit on the archipelago will be followed closely by the ghost of Fernand?
We are planning to visit all the five islets inhabited by the Chagossians- Ile Salomon, Ile Degue, Ile Delaissee, Perhos Banos and Diego Garcia.
We shall take lots of photographs, initially for those who have not been able to take the trip, secondly to create a dossier and third, with the artefacts collected, build a small museum to keep the history alive for future generations.

The creation of a live museum is also on the agenda for many Chagossians of the CSC- Chagossian Social Committee, that is the creation of a copra mill, as many youngsters today in our Republic do not know what is copra, its uses and how it helped in the economy of Mauritius more than fifty years ago.

You mention the ghost of Fernand. Well, let me tell you that we are planning to erect a monument on the island where he was born to commemorate his works and contribution to make of Diego Garcia and other islands of the Archipelago not a lost place but a living place in the hearts and minds of the people of the Republic.

The British administration must have asked for guarantees from your part?
The fact that most of the visitors are natives, therefore quite elderly, it was necessary to have them medically checked. Thus all of the visitors had to undergo medical exams at the City Clinic. Everything went well except for two persons who suffer from hypertension. I think that this was due to the excitement. All of them have been accepted.

It should be noted that until further notice, Diego Garcia and the archipelago are under the British Indian Ocean Territory- BIOT, thus all visits need clearance from the British administration, that is, a visa is needed to go there. As the visit is being arranged by the British High Commission and that all costs are met by the BHC, it is their responsibility to ensure that all administrative issues are conducted appropriately.

Have you drawn an itinerary?
As we plan to explore and gather information on the ruins of the six small islands, we will also visit the villages where the Chagossians used to live- Diego Garcia and East Point, the Administrative building, the Cemetery, all monuments and graveyards, Egmont Island, East Island, Peros Bhanos, Diamond Island and Coin Island, Coquillage and Grand Mapou Islands, Salomon Island and La Passe Island.

We shall take lots of photographs, initially for those who have not been able to take the trip, secondly to create a dossier and third, with the artefacts collected, build a small museum to keep the history alive for future generations.

Have you taken note of the recent progress made in negotiations between the government and the USA and UK?
What we learnt is more or less from the media. It seems that the negotiations have shifted from UK to the USA, particularly after the recent visit of the Prime Minister to the United Nations, where he made a vibrant speech demanding our complete decolonization. He thanked African countries that gave their support. He even met the President of the USA. The smiling picture taken with Donald Trump is probably an indication that things are moving in the right direction as far as the Chagos issue is concerned.

Furthermore, all of us, members of the Chagossian Social Committee, sent a letter of praise and gratitude for having mentioned in his speech the living conditions of the Chagossians and the need to alleviate our sufferings.

We should be reminded of the speech made at the House of Commons in March 2016 by the British former Parliamentary Under Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, James Dudridge, concerning two main decisions: the Chagossians will not be resettled  due to defense and security  reasons but instead, there is urgent need to support the livelihoods of Chagossians in the communities where they live currently;  we have agreed to fund a package of approximately 40 million pounds sterling over the next ten years to achieve this goal.

In a response to this plan, all of us at the Chagossian Social Committee wrote to the British High Commission in Mauritius showing engagement “with the British Government on the support package which was announced.”