On Forgetting the Past - Comment to Sandra McLeman

Sandra McLeman:

If you do not forgive or forget the past then what do you do with it? Sweep it under the carpet and pretend it never happened? Is that what you are asking us to do?

In Seychelles like in most countries the past informs the present and will define our future to a large extent. The allied forces knew that when they evicted all Germanic people from Czechoslovakia, Poland and hitherto Eastern Parts of Germany and relocated them to Germany. Many of these Germanic peoples were living in these lands for several hundred years. But the allies knew that their continued presence on "occupied" land could be an excuse for future mischief in those areas. The same occurred throughout the Micronesian islands where the American occupying forces evicted residents of Japanese ancestry back to Japan. Many of whom had married local wives and were third of fourth generation residents who had never seen Japan. The American and British can redress past crimes against humanity and we cannot or should not? Why?

In our case, Rene exiled about 30% of our people. Yes some of them would have gone anyway. But a vast majority was content to stay in their homeland and work to build the country as Seychelles Pour Seychellois - we had just obtained Independence from British colonial rule, our tourism picture looked bright and our fishing industry looked bright, and we had agreed to work together to better our homeland. So most of us wanted to stay. My family included.

Most of these exiles were replaced by Fabrike who supported and continue to prop up the failed PP Collaborator regime.

Only now are we fully analyzing the full nature and extent of the corrosive impact that the Fabrike have had on our liberty and in supporting a system of corruption and the fleecing of our motherland. Take for instance your friend Jeyasingh - a Fabrike. He refuses to say categorically he was not involved in money laundering activities when he worked with Nouvobank - despite numerous opportunities to do so. Many of the top managers at Nouvobanq are Fabrike. This bank is reputed to be the conduit for the alleged extensive money laundering activities occurring in our motherland, not in the past, but now. These connections to PP Collaborator crimes against the Seselwa Rasin people and their Fabrike can be found at all levels of our society. They are given Fabrike passports in many cases exactly because of the role they play in propping up the PP and for their participation in their corruption. Are we supposed to ignore this, accept it, tolerate it? Which one? Would you in your country? If not, why ask us to do it in ours?

The past Ms. McLeman, is not so far in the past - it is with us now. If we ignore it, we forfeit our liberty, we forfeit our motherland. So we cannot ignore the past - we must be educated by it

Leonard Francis