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Tatiana de Rosnay: "My heart bleeds for Mauritians"

2020-08-08T16:45:21.786Z


The writer with Mauritian origins expresses her pain in the face of the oil spill, caused by the sinking of a transport ship.


The author of Her name was Sarah has remained very attached to Mauritius, where she spent most of her summers as a child and teenager. Tatiana de Rosnay agreed to tell the Parisian about her suffering after the sinking of the Wakashio on July 25, which resulted in an oil spill off the island. She recalls her memories of a little corner of paradise with preserved species which is today struck by a double disaster after the Covid-19 crisis.

LP: What are your links with Mauritius?

Tatiana de Rosnay: “My father is the scientist Joël de Rosnay, born in Mauritius. My family has been descending from the island since the Revolution and even though I was not born there, I have very strong ties to this place. I went there often before it became so touristy because my grandparents had a property in the north of the island in the 1980s. As a child and teenager, I spent many summers there. It is a place very dear to my heart. The cradle of my family. "

LP: How do you feel?

“When I was little, I was completely overwhelmed by the images of the Amoco Cadiz oil spill, of these birds stuck in fuel oil. Now this nightmare arrives in a heavenly place. If you type the name of the boat: wakashio, on the Internet you see these atrocious images of this long black flow which is now reaching the reefs and the bay. That makes me sick. I am heartbroken, as a Mauritian by my father. Especially since Mauritius is very hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis because there are no tourists and the hotels are empty.

I address all my solidarity to Mauritians, I think of them. My heart is bleeding for them. In addition, I find magnificent this incredible solidarity of the Mauritian people who manufacture species of blood sausages to prevent this black tablecloth from advancing. Everyone is there with the means at hand to try to save the island from disaster. If I had been there I would have taken my broom, my shovel and whatever to help me too.

Oil spill on Mauritius: "We make buoys with the hair and feathers of guinea fowl"

I ask myself questions too. What was this boat doing so close to the coast? Why did the government not react sooner? Because it has been two weeks since the ship was beached and the fuel was pouring into the sea. There is a delay in ignition. The officials have been quite inactive. They even claimed that the situation was under control. "

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What does the south of the island look like, affected by the oil spill?

“I'm more of a girl from the north of the island, where my grandparents belonged. But Mauritius is not big, you can go around it practically in a day and I have very fond memories of the south of the island. It is an absolutely beautiful place. In fact, Grande Baie and Trou d'eau frais, in the north, were the most concrete with the advent of tourism. The places in the south such as Blue Bay, Pointe d'Esny, where the bulk carrier ran aground, or the Île des Aigrettes, are unfortunately the most preserved. There are all kinds of species of fish, birds and many other endemic species that are still protected from tourism. I have memories of having been there by boat, of having seen this magnificent nature. Which makes me all the more sick when I see the images of this fuel spreading in a black trail in the middle of this turquoise blue. It is unbearable. This catastrophe is all the more raging and horrible, as it strikes a small paradise on earth. "

Oil spill on Mauritius: "We make buoys with the hair and feathers of guinea fowl"

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2020-08-08

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