Historical context
In 1834, the British
Government selected the island of Mauritius to be the first site for what it
called a 'Great Experiment' in the use of ‘free’ labour to replace slaves.
Between 1834 and
1920, almost half a million indentured labourers arrived from India to work in
the sugar plantations of Mauritius.
The success of this
'Great Experiment' in Mauritius led to its adoption by other colonial powers
resulting in a world-wide migration.
The Aapravasi Ghat, where
these economic immigrants set foot in Mauritius, stands as a major historic
testimony of indenture. It represents not only the development of the modern
system of contractual labour, but also the memories, traditions and values that
these men, women and children carried with them when they left their countries
of origin to work in foreign lands.
The Aapravasi Ghat in
Port Louis (Mauritius) is now a protected UNESCO World Heritage site.
A past still relevant?
More than 41,000 foreign
workers currently live in Mauritius. The vast majority are from India and
Bangladesh.
They arrive on the basis
of a fixed-term contract, under highly regulated conditions, hoping to improve
their lot. Some live in very difficult conditions, far from the promises made
by recruiters before leaving their country of origin.
Does history repeat itself?
A difficult question to ask in the Mauritian political context...
HOPE
Are the foreign workers, currently coming en masse to Mauritius on a fixed
term basis, indentured worker of a new kind?
Are their motivations, their lives, their hopes, their dreams different
from those of the first indentured workers from the Indian subcontinent?
In the background, a dormitory of immigrant workers employed in a factory
in the center of the island. Hope for a better life pushed them to come and
work in Mauritius.
The superimposed slogan is deliberately reminiscent of a famous election
poster, thus placing the subject in a political and social context.