My turn, reader friend, to take over from my friend Hector the crab. He’s not at his best and asked me to continue to give you news of our little corner of paradise. Let me introduce myself: Archibald the coral. Do you know our island? Have you been there before? Have you ever had the chance to admire our seabed? If you have and if you practice scuba diving, and especially if you are a nature lover, chances are that we have already met. If not, you may have already seen the pictures of our friend @gregrouxel.

Have you ever heard of Pointe D’Esny lagoon and Blue Bay? Definitely yes, if you’re passionate about marine life. I’ve been living with my family for years in this unspoiled place… well, we thought we were safe. Indeed, it is a place of such beauty so far from all human industry. Every day, I would see butterflyfish, those little marvels of marine life. I live close to a small family of Meyer’s butterflyfish, those fish with fine black stripes and beautiful bright yellow spots. Here, at the bottom of the water, everything is peaceful. Sometimes we even see clownfish and parrotfish passing by.

We corals form a marvellous carpet at the bottom of the sea, like no other. Where I live, there are more species of coral than your mind can imagine. Our waters are deep turquoise blue, perfect, clear, almost surreal. Our lagoon resembles those paintings by the great painters who came to visit us, with infinite shades of blues and greens. On our beaches, the sand is exceptionally fine and silky white. One discovers proudly upright coconut trees and here and there, it is the Mangrove that wins the game. In the middle of this paradise stands the Ile aux Aigrettes. This is where our feathered friends live in the greatest serenity.

So if you’ve been here before, or if you’ve seen pictures, you’ll be saddened to see the state we’re in today. You won’t recognize anything anymore. Blue lagoon, more traces in some places. Instead, black magma dominates or has overrun everything. It’s even reached the Mangrove and is starting to penetrate inland. Here we are, we marine beings on the verge of asphyxiation since that Japanese bulk carrier, the Wakashio, spilled thousands of litres of fuel on my marine animal friends.

The Mauritians, helped by young people passing through our island, are trying to clean up what is polluted and are trying to make booms. But this filthy magma seeps everywhere and destroys our lagoon for the next 20 years. We the corals, but also our friends the crabs, the turtles, and the fish of thousand fires, lived in perfect harmony with our friends the humans in this preserved zone.

So, as Hector says, we don’t like to complain, it’s not our style, but that’s enough ! It’s our lives, and therefore your future, that you’re jeopardizing! It’s time to wake up and do something about it. For today, Hector asked me to relay the call of @hugoclément and @gregrouxel to bring your financial support: https://gf.me/u/yn8hcw. But that’s not enough. In a second step, you will have to seriously think about what you wish for the world of tomorrow… everything for profit and so much the worse for disasters? Or less, better and with respect for everything and everyone?

Par Nathalie,

from photos by Grégoire Rouxel

Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)