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Bangladesh diaries: tales of a trainee tiger conservationist
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Okapi
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Introducing the Tiger Team
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The big picture of tiger conservation
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Visiting my Chagossian heritage – Yannick Mandarin
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Egypt Expedition – Meet the team
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The new Principles and Criteria are approved, but challenges remain
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The RSPO endorses the ZSL High Conservation Value Monitoring System
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Andrea: I think the statement "hunters with metal ammuniti...
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Visiting my Chagossian heritage – Yannick Mandarin
Posted on March 13, 2013
Birds in the northern islands of the Chagos archipelago, and (inset) Yannick Mandarin and Gary Fletcher (c) Yannick Mandarin.
My time on Chagos is just amazing, emotional and fun.
My grandparents lived, married and raised kids on these islands. Now I can put a picture to all the stories I heard from my grandfather, Henri Mandarin, as I was growing up.
So far, I’ve visited 35 islands with Peter Carr who’s doing an amazing job out here, protecting all the birds on these islands. Peter and I have spent lots of time together going from island to island to monitor and survey all the bird species. It’s great opportunity for me to learn from him and at the same time, bring my share of the knowledge that I gained during the Chagossian Environment Programme provided by ZSL.
I’ve met a guy called Gary Fletcher, who has a special project on an underwater camera system, which I’ve taken a big interest in. I’ve helped him to assemble his materials together and we’ve become really good friends. I’m sure we will stay friends even after the expedition is finished.
The weather is fantastic, the crew amazing and the scientists really committed to their work.
This will be an unforgettable memory and story for me. I never thought that one day, I would visit my grandparents’ homeland.
Yannick Mandarin
8 March 2013
Banne moment ki mo fine passer lor chagos vraimen extraordinaire et boucoup emotion. Mofine resi visite mo l’heritage mo grand fami kine ti reste lor chagos, fine marier lor chagos et ki fine gagne zenfant lor chagos. Tout les temp mo gran papa Henri Mandarin fine raconter couma ti ete la bas et zordi mo capave met ene foto ar tou sa bane zistoire mone tender depi mo l’enfance, mo fine resi trouve li ar mo 2 lizier.
Mo fine visite 35 ziles ek peter carr kip e fer ene travail formidable par protégé tout bane specimen zoizo ki reste lor bane ziles chagos. Moi ek peter nou fine passé bouboup les temp ensame lor bane ziles pou nou ale guet bane zoizo. C’est ene opportiniter pou moi aprane des li et ousi partage mo savoir ki mone aprane dans sac ours ki London zoo fine offert moi la.
Mone fine zoine ene garcon ki apel Gary Fletcher ki ena ene project special, mo fine aide li arrange ene camera ki filmer enbas delo et sa ine vraimen interess moi et line fine montrer moi ek explik moi couma sa marser, ene kik chose vraimen formidable. nou fine renter bon camarade a traver sa et mo penser meme expedition fini nou pou reste touzou bon camarade kand nou retourne l’angleterre.
Les temp vraimen zolie, lekipage bien gentil et bane scientist zot vraimen prend zot travail a Coeur. Zamais mo pou bliyer sa moment mone ine passer lor chagos la, tout les temp sa pou reste ene souvenir dans mo memoire. Zamais mo ti croire ki ene zour mo pou resi visite la terre mo grand famille .
Yannick Mandarin
8 March 2013
Leave a comment below.
1 claudia // Mar 13, 2013 at 7:55 pm
what u wrote is very touching yannick, cant wait to hear more about your experience when u back to the uk
2 claudia // Mar 15, 2013 at 1:46 pm
big up to the team and the wonderful job they have been doing to preserve our natural chagossian heritage.
3 Xavier // Mar 19, 2013 at 1:39 pm
Yannick, i am so happy you have enjoyed your time there and put in practise what we learn together in London. Cant wait for more photos and blog from you! A bientot
4 Anne Sheppard // Apr 24, 2013 at 11:04 pm
Yannick, you were a great asset to the team, it was our pleasure to have you with us. Your participation in the work to conserve and protect Chagos for all people is something to be proud of.
5 pascalina // Apr 25, 2013 at 6:01 pm
It is completely incredible reversal of values that starts with a marine park and forgets the people who were there in the first place. When setting up the new marine reserve, UK could have done it in a way that made resettlement of the islands feasible. It chose not to. One thing the marine reserve have without any doubt accomplished is keeping on to hinder the rights of the people of the Chagos. It is clear that animals are well treated than the chagossians but sounds ironic when these same people threatened to gassed the chagossians’ dogs during the deportation process. one more ironic aspect of the MPA is that the Chagossians are not allowed to return back to avoid disturbing the marine eco system but other people are fishing in its territorial sea and are allowed to pay great sum of money to see the flora of the Archipelagos. It is more a business marine park than a marine protected area and more of a pretext than a good cause. No need of the wikileaks revelation to see the “supercherie” but saying that the revelation is not valid here while it has been used elsewhere is no doubt a way to prevent the truth from prevailing. Is it the nuclearisation of the chagos archipelagos that they called protecting nature??? I totally disagree that foreigners come to my country and say that they will protect our Eco system while we the people of this country should firstly bare this responsibility.