Silence of the Chagos by Shenaz Patel

Author:Shenaz Patel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Shenaz Patel;Jeffrey Zuckerman;Mauritius;Chagos;geopolitics;indigenous peoples;family;immigrants;immigration;activism;French;Creole;island;military base;Chagossian;families;politics;Indian Ocean;sovereignty;Diego Garcia;United Nations;archipelago;refugees;international law;decolonization;exile;freedom;justice;deportation;Julian Assange;Wikileaks;Ananda Devi;government
Publisher: Restless Books
Published: 2019-09-19T12:43:44+00:00

The Nordvaer. Finally. A neighbor had come to tell her that it was maneuvering so it could dock. She wiped her hands on her dress as she thought to herself how strange this was. Usually the deputy let the men know the boat was coming. They would perch atop the trees, at the island’s edge, watching for the moment when a dot would appear on the horizon, off the end of the channel, and they would trumpet it as soon as they could see it coming.

“Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!”

Their shouts accompanied its slow progress around the strip of land. The bell announced its docking, and the men immediately broke up into groups to streamline its unloading.

That day it had caught them by surprise, surging out of nowhere into the jetty. They almost felt resentful. It had been such a long wait for this furtive arrival that deprived them of their ritual.

All the same, many of them had crowded together. The work of unloading clearly would be far more vital than usual with everything they had run low on in this time. Raymonde wanted to see the big bundles that would signal a return to normalcy.

The minutes felt excruciatingly long. Long. Heavy in the stifling heat of that unyielding morning.

The light movement aboard the boat bore no resemblance to the usual hustle and bustle. She thought she could see the captain standing on the deck, gazing at the island for a long while, looking at them steadily, without making the least gesture, without indicating any recognition of their presence. The Nordvaer was unmoving. Silent.

It was on land that the commotion began. A thin noise that grew until it became deafening. A shock wave that brought her to her knees as she looked at the Nordvaer and wondered if being so close to term was making her hallucinate.

“Hurry! Hurry! Bizin ale!”

What did they need to hurry for? The laundry could wait a bit, they had been expecting this boat for so long.

“Degaze! Bizin ale!”

They were telling her to go—but where? And where was this voice she’d never heard before coming from?

They had to go. There. Now. Right away. It was an order. No explanation. No discussion. No ifs, ands, or buts. They had to go.

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