[Blog] Friendship beyond cyclones

Le quai à Port Louis – so sunny in the day and so charming with the hotels’ lights and the guirlands in the evening – is a symbol of city life that warmly welcomes guests from all over the world. It is also a symbol of life that my compatriots – Soviet sailors from the cruiser “Dmitry Pozharsky” and expedition vessel “Sevan” – helped to restore on the island just 50 years ago. It was the first but critical test of our friendship. 

“Cette amitié a commence” just after the declaration of the independence of the Republic of Mauritius. On the 12th of March 1968, Moscow saluted the birth of a new independent state – Mauritius. Just in 5 days, on the 17th of March 1968, diplomatic relations were established between l’Union Soviétique et le Maurice. In 1972, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam visited Moscow, and in 1974, when the cruiser “Leningrad” visited Port Louis, “le Premier minister a inscrit très sincèrement” the names of the Soviet sailors in the book of the Honorable guests: “They brought us the friendship of the whole Soviet people, and we have been so delighted with that.”

This is why when, on the 6th of February 1975, le cyclone “Gervaise” stroke its blow against the island – depriving multiple neighborhoods of electricity, destroying the hospitals, killing hundreds of Mauritians, and leaving thousands in despair – we rushed to the rescue. The Soviet government sent a telegram to Port Louis – our deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased and injured. And right after giving orders to the ships' captains in the North of the Indian Ocean – you must urgently save Mauritius. Captains understood that there might not be enough fuel to reach the island and that the refuelers could not arrive on time, but they decided to take this risk. There was no time for hesitation – so they sailed at maximum speed. Mauritius needed their help urgently. 

And they did that – on the 15th of February, our ships came to Port Louis. The sailors have been working 24/7 – restoring power lines, “réparant les hôpitaux”, and donating blood for emergency operations. They gave away everything they could – medications, water, and food products from their réapprovisionnement maritime.
 
Mauritians have been grateful for all that. They applauded the people from un pays du Nord who were helping them. They knew very well that it was a hand of friendship reached despite storms and distance. Mauritians worked hand-in-hand with our guys. There were translators who had studied in Russia, construction workers, and doctors. Our sailors knew neither English nor créole, but they understood each other without words. 
Yes, we felt it was our mutual sorrow and rescue operation. For the first time in the Cold War, Soviet, American, and French units rescued the island together. 

Now, it has become a symbol that nobody thinks about big politics when an enormous tragedy arrives. Just after the rescue operation had ended, the big powers started thinking that one needed to struggle for influence in the Indian Ocean. 

Why is it so important to remember that? Probably because now Mauritius is aiming at reforms de “grande ampleur”. People do not change, and their motives do not change as well. Soviet sailors still remember this rescue operation – crossing the Indian Ocean to help. 

We cannot act otherwise. Russians stand for each other, and we have always considered independent Mauritius our friend. Blood donated by our sailors made us brothers whom we are always ready to help. 

A 1975 declaration by Sir S. Ramgoolam made at the end of the rescue operation: “Soviet sailors brought us the friendship of the whole Soviet people. We thank them for their assistance and hard work,” it is about friendship tested in actual conditions – not talking but doing. 
“C’est pourquoi” the waterfront in Port Louis, with its lights and ships in the water, symbolises this never-ending friendship today.

We filmed a documentary on that – we gathered the memories of the sailors and the locals, found in the archives unique photos and shooting – how we did that. We called this documentary “Friendship Beyond Cyclones”, and it will be our gift to Mauritius and its people for the 50th anniversary of the rescue operation. It was a trial during the great misfortune that we surmounted together.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Mauritius 
Her Excellency Mrs. Irada Zeynalova