June 30, 2006

INDEPENDENCE DAY

What does it mean today?

It was celebratory in that the pomp and ceremony that unfolded at the newly built stadium in Victoria, resplendent in bright lights for the first time, attracted a capacity crowd of 4000 people. They freely came from all over the country. There was no SPTC then and certainly no political party provided free transport to its supporters. But peace and tranquility prevailed across the country.

The people who came to watch the pageant were from all walks of life. Others who stayed at home listened to the running commentary on the radio for there was no television then. But they had a pretty good picture of what was happening. Most homes had a radio.

As midnight approached, the floodlights were switched off, and on a came spot light which lit up a flagpole floating the Union Jack. Around the base of the flagpole stood two members of the Seychelles Police Force smartly dressed in their new police uniform as well as a member of the British Royal Marine regiment, also resplendent in his ceremonial garb.

Next to them stood the Governor, a New Zealander, dressed in the traditional ceremonial attire and the plumed hat. At his side was the first president of the new Republic of Seychelles, 39-year-old James Mancham be-suited in jacket and tie.

At the stroke of midnight, silenced descended over the ceremony and the capacity crowd. Then a drummer from the British Royal Marines band started the drum roll reserved for occasions like this, while his fellow Marine started to pull down the British flag. As it started its journey down from the top of the flagpole, the Seychellois police officer started to raise the new Seychelles flag.

As the two flags met each other half way up the pole the first fireworks streaked into the sky above the stadium and exploded. At the same time the crowd burst into applause. That was the solemn moment when the Republic of Seychelles was born.

There were many tears that night too - tears of joy and fear. The joy and hope lasted barely eleven months to be overtaken by fear and despair. The fear lasted 15 years amid thousands of shattered dreams, but the despair continues, except for the year 1993 when it appeared that it would go away for good. But that was an illusion.

Since 1976, as a nation we have not properly celebrated our independence day. At least not in the true spirit of national unity that characterised the solemn occasion 29 years ago. Nothing signified that spirit better than the lady who named her newborn son James and Albert. He was the first to be born under the new Republic of Seychelles. No one compelled her to do the nation this honour. Yet she responded to the occasion in the proper spirit just as thousands of Seychellois did in their own way 30 years ago this week.

A majority of our population today is either born after Independence Day or is too young to have experienced the solemnity of the occasion. In the first ten years after our independence however, nearly 10,000 citizens ran away to live in other countries as the fear and despair intensified.

What does Independence Day really signify today?  After the turn out for the SNP/DP rally on Freedom Square last Saturday, to mark our 30th independence anniversary -hope has returned that, as of next year, all the people of Seychelles will be able to celebrate independence in the same spirit of pride, hope and harmony as the first generation of Seychellois did 30 years ago.

Ironically it is the new generation of Seychellois that is displaying the most confidence in a new dawn for Seychelles - three decades and a whole generation later.