My name is Hector, I’m a little crab. I live close to an island that I used to consider a little piece of paradise, until today.

For some time now, it seemed to me that the situation had become quite different. The men, whom I had seen going to sea before, had been locked up in their homes for several months. I heard that they were very afraid of a little virus called Corana or Covid. Recently, the men have been coming out again, but they are often masked and look a bit strange. Many humans even seem to be afraid of the situation. Others seem to be unaware of anything.

Daily life was beginning to resume with a semblance of life and we, the small marine animals, were finally happy to find our friends the humans again. I’m talking about those who still know how to marvel at nature. I am talking about those who have the intelligence of nature, those who take care to preserve the right balance between them and us, those who are sensitive to biodiversity, those who are moved, touched by the immensity of our sea, by its intense blue shades, by the very fragile life of my fellow sailors.

I’ve met a new human friend these past few weeks. His name is Gregory and he’s fallen in love with our little island. Through his eyes and his photos, I would like to help you discover the nameless beauty of our little island. He arrived here on the first day of that time that humans call confinement. He held out, although he knew no one then, no doubt thanks to the beauty of our landscapes, of our marine space of a thousand blues, of our unparalleled sunsets.

He also held on to the precious moments spent marvelling at the animals that he particularly appreciates. So, here the noise ran among small and big animals and we are happy to greet him in the morning and in the evening, when we meet him on the way to and from his work.

He is very attentive to us and tries to share his emotions and discoveries with his friends and family back in France. But for the last few days, we have been completely mired in a kind of magma that is all black and very stinking. It’s really horrible. We are speechless in the face of this desolation.

Many of my sea animal friends are already dead and I don’t even know if I would have the strength to tell you this horrible story to the end, because already my strength is waning and I can hardly breathe. That is why I invite you to become aware of what is happening here, which is so little talked about in your homes, through the eyes of our new friend Gregory. His photos contrast with the heavenly ones he has sent you since his arrival with us on March 17.

We, the small marine animals, we look at the humans, at least those who have remained a little in the soul, trying to avoid the worst. Chains of solidarity are set up to collect straw, hair, dry plants… everything is good to make some kind of very long sausages. They call them « floating dams ». Then, with boats or by entering the polluted water, they put them in the water around the stranded boat to try to stop this deadly oil wave. We are moved by this great surge of solidarity… and sorry to see the pollution still gaining ground. It seems, a whale friend of ours told us, that a fireboat is on its way to come and pump the oil remaining in the stranded boat… from Greece, and it will take 15 days to arrive! Wasn’t there one closer? The whale then told us that no, and that Mauritius has the means to deal with the sinking of a 15-ton boat, whereas this one is 3800! The whale was furious, because boats are already a danger for her and her calf – especially those with harpoons – but on top of that humans are sinking them everywhere…

However, my hope remains alive when I look at these chains of solidarity, and my thoughts turn to nature, of which men seem to have forgotten that they are also part. I hope that one day soon everyone will feel a little more concerned about our common future. So, although I am speechless today, I leave you to reflect on our common fate, meditating on these photos, which so well translate the passage from dream to nightmare. Our lagoon was a paradise on earth. It is in the process of being transformed into hell, since a bulk carrier came aground there 15 days ago, leaving us completely helpless in the face of disastrous pollution. Together with my friends turtles, fish, birds, corals, we appeal to your responsibility for the future of our planet.

Par Nathalie

from the photos of Grégoire, whom I embrace very much despite the 10,000 km that separate us*

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