Nicholas Rainer
23 April 2008
document
Port Louis — A week ago, the stele commemorating the arrival of the Dutch in Mauritius was defaced. Over the weekend, the monument to the first French settlers has suffered the same fate. All for a fistful of rupees. The picture on the left shows the original plaque commemorating the arrival of the French in Mauritius while the one on the right shows how it has been ripped off the monument.
Oops, they've done it again! Not content with having stolen the metal disc on which was engraved the austere effigy of Maurice van Nassau from the Ferney Stèle, vandals have taken it upon themselves to do the same to the plaque on the monument commemorating the arrival of the French in Mauritius.
Whether both acts were committed by the same vandals is uncertain. What is less so is that this hankering for scrap iron is taking a very heavy toll on the country's cultural heritage. What can we expect next? The spiriting away of whole busts and monuments? Unless something is done to stem this rising tide of cultural crime, that's the sort of scenario we could be in for.
The plaque, an initiative of the Historical Society, was erected in 1965. Its disappearance was discovered by historian Breejandranath Burrun over the weekend. The following words were engraved on it:
"September 20 1715 Guillaume Dufresne D'Arsel Commanding the French Vessel The Hunter Moored in this Harbour And Took Possession of this Island Which He Named Ile de France 1715 - 1810"
In a letter denouncing the theft, historian Philippe La Hausse de Lalouvière writes: "A few days ago, we notified the press about the pillage of the monument commemorating the arrival of the Dutch on the island. It seems to be the turn of the French this time and yet nothing is being done to protect the markers of our shared history. The plaque commemorating the arrival of the first French settlers in the Salines has disappeared from the monument. Worse yet, one can see that the anchor that is part of the monument has been moved into a position which makes it easy to steal. At Rs100 per kilo of copper, the plaque is worth Rs 50 and the anchor, which weighs some 350 kg, will fetch Rs 2 700 in a foundry."
Upon being informed of the theft, the minister of Arts and Culture, Mahendra Gowressoo, said that a representative of the National Heritage Trust would immediately be sent to Les Salines in order to take stock of the situation. "What can we do about these thefts? Should we have each monument guarded by a watchman? The problem is that the people who commit these acts don't know how little these plaques will fetch in monetary terms. They do not care about the historical value of the monuments." He opines that the market for copper exports is at the heart of the problem and the practice of selling such metals abroad should be stopped.
The abstract of the National Heritage Fund Act of 2003, which protects historical monuments, reads like a culture vulture's dream. "An act that safeguards, manages and promotes the national heritage of Mauritius and the preserving of sites as a source for scientific and cultural investigation and to instill a sense of belonging and civic pride to national heritage."
Unfortunately, the gap separating the lofty intentions of the country's legislation and the far grittier reality is, more often than not, immense.
And though the National Heritage Fund Act declares that those found guilty of defacing or destroying historical monuments are liable to up to one year in jail and a Rs 50,000 fine, the law doesn't seem to be acting as much of a deterrent of late.
Instead of stopping copper exports, it would perhaps be judicious to step up efforts so that "the sense of belonging and civic pride" becomes part of the Mauritian way of life instead of just another sentence in the statute books.
In the meantime though, it would be prudent to have the country's monuments kept under surveillance. If not, a whole range of famous historical figures could soon be on their way to warm new homes. Foundries.
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