The Seychelles a tiny country made up of not more them 86,000 population with a incredible economic zone spanning 1.2 million square kilometers is facing an unprecedented assault on its people, it's heritage , culture via Cultural Terrorism.
What Is Cultural Terrorism
Cultural Terrorism is a phenomena that takes place when foreigners that live in a country do not respect the culture, national heritage and history of a people. The intent is generally focused on the cultural terrorist attempting to impose his or her presence in a country and subjugate a people, reducing them to second or in rare instances third class citizens in their own country.
The other side of this coin of Cultural Terrorist is that they super impose themselves, their culture and their heritage over the host country culture, heritage, and worse, it's people.
Respect For History
We must salute Minister St. Ange effort to show recognition of those Seychellois pioneers in Tourism. These forgotten women and men, were true Seychellois who were very resourceful and very hard working. They came and emerged from a very closed and isolated Seychelles.
Before the international airport, access to Seychelles was limited to the occasional ship steamer from Kenya- Mombasa ( Jomo Kenyatta led the road to Independence with his call: " Kenya Is For Kenyans"- thousands of Seychellois working in Kenya, high tailed it back to Seychelles in 1961 including my family) and Colombo- Ceylon, now Sri Lanka ( home of the sangha- lese people).
With The Airport Our Country- Life Became Complex
The early pioneers of Tourism were a aloof group, visionaries, who one day hope to share the beauty of Seychelles with the World. Did they envision that Tourism in Seychelles would go beyond a few Colonels of the British Empire? Did they envision 16 flights day carrying near One Thousand visitors to Seychelles per day? Surely, they did not envision direct flights from Beijing, Peking back in those days.
The airport changed the demand spectrum for the Seychelles. With the airport, Seychelles became a place of interest to the rich and famous, common travelers, and yes, many opportunists who will want to carve out their piece of paradise right here and impose their persona on our country and even our people. They will use Cultural Terrorism to imprint their presence in our national DNA .
Vijay Arrives By Flight
Vijay Patel translated into American English, I believe it means "John Potato" arrived in Seychelles under work permit as a Civil Engineer task with building the Mahe Beach Hotel. Under the one party state, John Potato made a transition from staff worker of a company to independent contractor.
In 1990, he secured a nice position on Providence Industrial estate, reserved for Seychellois who need land to expand their businesses. Keeping close ties to the powers that be, Vijay won numerous contracts including Unity Stadium at the time worth SCR 80 million. In no time, Vijay was being awarded contracts to build everything and any thing. In Praslin, he built Raffles hotels and few secondary roads. Today he enjoys a large plot on Eve Island with virtually no money paid, in spite of now being a Billionaire, and in spite of being able to buy his own land.
Vijay Name On National Monuments
In no time after the Raffles Hotel was completed, Vijay who told me once he is does not consider himself to be a Seychellois ( in spite of being naturalized under one party state) embarked on the placement of his name on the signs of each and everyone of our National Heritage Cultural Site signs. His name has been embossed in concrete at the bottom of the sign, as if the cultural heritage sites of Praslin, an island deeply sensitive, to people trying to walk over our history and our people.
Vijay did not pay for these signs. Raffles paid for them as a settlement for destruction to the environment in the area, where the hotel is built. Vijay was only ask to build the signs. Between managers at Raffles, Vijay snaked his name to the signs in an overt attack of cultural terrorism upon our national heritage.
While some say this is not a big deal, I say it is. Our National heritage is what identifies us all as one people with a common past. Our national heritage is our only gift of Seychelles we hand over to our children. It is what makes us unique.
Government of Seychelles and all Seychellois must draw a line on Cultural terrorism.
As we sensitize people about preserving our culture, perhaps someone responsible in government can call Mr. Patel - Mr. Potato in English, ask him to remove the signs, remove his name on them, then place the signs back where they belong.
Your name belongs on your trucks not on our national heritage monuments, which you had nothing to do with, your entire life.
In case you did not know, in our culture, money is not relevant to your standing in society, since we all slept with the same women and vice versa, men.
Mr. Potato has had it wrong all along. Placing your name even on 50 ton trucks will not garner you any more respect then when you first placed your name on that little Ford, you bought from Hunt Deltel.
Sesel Pou Seselwa!
May God Bless All Freedom loving Seychellois!