Wakashio spill 4 months on: Mauritius drenched in oil, health and debt issues
December 17,2020
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International Viewpoint
Four months since the Wakashio oil spill, the communities around the South East of Mauritius have been suffering with oil-related health issues, debt and the constant seeping of oil from the coastline that has permeated deep into the sand and silt. [1]
Local NGOs who were responsible for the hand stitched community booms to protect Mauritius from the oil spill have accused the under-fire Mauritian Government of creating a ‘mirage’ for the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi. The Japanese Foreign Minister is being welcomed to the country this weekend with a sailing regatta and musical festival around the Wakashio shipwreck, part of which still lies on Mauritius’ reefs. [2]
NGOs are angry at how the community-led efforts that first responded to the oil spill were hijacked by large Japanese corporate interests which appear to be supporting an unpopular Government to cover up the true extent of the oil and salvage damage, and have excluded the local community from taking any ownership in carefully restoring the coral lagoon upon which their livelihoods depend. [3] In videos and photographs taken this week and released today, they reveal the extent of the oil still present along Mauritius’ coast four months on from the August 6 oil spill.
The NGOs’ message is clear to the visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs: “We will never forget, we will never forgive, and we demand full restoration and reparations for the physical and psychological damage caused to our island.”
In a press conference earlier today during the visit of Minister Motegi, these groups called for a full apology from the Japanese Government and demanded that Japan conducts a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the oil spill, how the response was handled by Japanese organizations, and commit that there will be full community oversight with the clean up response going forward.
Video footage taken yesterday reveals the extent to which the oil remains in Mauritius’ waters and coastline. The 3 minute video was taken by local community group Center for Alternative Research and Studies (CARES) and their production company, Rising Ocean. CARES is a Mauritius-based research organization that publishes environmental, social and economic issues around the Indian Ocean. The President of CARES is Ashok Subron, a well known advocate for ecological and social equity issues in Mauritius. [4] He is also the spokesperson for one of the local community groups who led the community oil protection boom efforts, Rezistans ek Alternativ.
Local NGOs are not just angry against the Mauritian Government - who they accuse of withholding information about the oil spill - but also the fact that Japan’s large ship insurance companies can afford to finance hundreds of international consultants to fly into the country, and yet even the most basic support cannot be given to the local population.
These community groups have been demanding a basic health assessment center, food assistance and a moratorium on debt repayments for those who are suffering the loss of all economic activity in the region.
They are also angry at what they call the ‘fact-free’ clean up operation by ‘pseudo-Japanese NGOs’ masquerading as international organizations.
Rezistans ek Alternativ is one of the most prominent social organizations in Mauritius who was at the forefront of the community-led boom efforts.
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