Rodrigues

« Freedom is not a gift received from a state, or a leader, but a possession to be won everyday by the

effort of each and the union of all. » Albert Camus

As it was under the French, as it was under the English, so it is now: one long chain of domination, of

government without consent. After tens of thousands of troubled days and sorry nights since pressed

from Africa to this island of black pain, at long last, Rodriguans have an independence movement.

Generations in the making, Muvman Independantis Rodriguais (M.I.R), was officially launched on 6

April 2010 without much fanfare. As a first sign of protest, its two candidates for the May election

refused to nominate under general population, instead filing as Rodriguans. Thus, when this failed to

conform to the electoral commission’s conventions, their nominations were rejected. Somehow, I suspect

M.I.R will field many more candidates in the years ahead.

Colonialists let the independence genie out of the bottle when men and women were herded on board

slave ships for a one-way trip to this part of the world. So, it was crushingly obvious that this day had to

come. Our people can no longer stay in mute despair at the end of a colonially attached leash to

Mauritius. Were we really expected to go on bequeathing our children a legacy of servitude forever!

Leave the nest, we must. But sadly, here, our representatives have barely twiddled the dials of the status

quo. Let’s never forget how our people got here. They came not as tourists but as slaves ripped from

their kinfolk in Africa, teeth counted, and brought here in chains, never to see their homeland again.

MIR’s home-grown political philosophy is simple: give us back our country. Most of our neighbours

who once lived under a foreign yoke are now free – except us. I mean, we have undergone a threehundred

year apprenticeship to be free and, still, some want us to wait for the right moment, while others

with wildly optimistic views of human nature want us to wait for a perfect unity which may never come.

No, we can’t afford to wait. We are a dying people, every dark hour we wait, our culture crumbles a little

and our history fades a little more. Our young imitate others to validate their self-worth and, at the end

of the day, our poor still face the grim problem of existence. Wait, critics say. Do we wait until more

Mauritians are fast-tracked onto our lands? Do we wait until our identity is completely distilled? Do we

wait until our people have integrated into an indistinguishable minority of good house-slaves in a

Rodrigues-cum-little Mauritius? Do we wait until a self-determination referendum becomes

unwinnable? Or do we wait until we become tenants in our own country? No. We’ve waited long

enough. Independence is the debate Rodrigues has to have – now.

Soon, you’ll get to choose a new regional government, which we’ll call a government for now, we have

no choice. But don’t just choose it, be a part of it. Get involved. After all, government is us the people.

We choose people among us to represent us. Choose wisely, choose those you can trust. M.I.R needs

your energy, your ideas, your efforts, to get this country moving. M.I.R will not promise you what you

want to hear. Rodrigues is a poor country and we cannot promise to make you rich; we cannot even

promise to make your life better. We can only guarantee that you will be free, free to elect those who

make the laws under which you are governed, and your children can one day aspire to the highest seats

in the temple of an independent Rodrigues.

Colonialism was evil. Citing colonial arrangements as just cause for one people to govern another

Rodrigues: Independence Is Our Destiny (Print Ready) 4/24/10 3:29 PM

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without consent is equally evil. Remember this, self-determination is not a favour or a privilege – it is a

human right. And the right of the people of Rodrigues to the ownership of Rodrigues cannot be usurped

by annexation. It cannot be extinguished. God knows, our people paid a heavy price for it. Slowly at

first, and now in growing numbers, our brothers and sisters are turning away from the stale politics of

bickering and division to fulfill their own destiny. Independence is our destiny. It has struck a chord with

the silent majority and the question is no longer if, but when.

Alain Leveque