This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @marc-allaria: LA LONGUE ROUTE DE MAESHA • White power

^{As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.}

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but Marc Allaria (@marc-allaria), a French guy.

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MAESHA'S LONG ROAD

CABO VERDE
SAL ISLAND
-WHITE POWER-

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Maesha, my sailing boat, has been on the island of Sal in the Cabo Verde Archipelago for many months.

From an environmental point of view, each island of Cape Verde has its own specificities and is different from neighboring islands. Some are sandy, others arid, and still others are green and great for hiking. The same is true from a social point of view, each island has grown differently from its neighbors.

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If we can summarize by affirming that the cultural soul of the archipelago belongs to São Vincente, that its granary is Santiago, its eco-tourism branch is shared between Santo Antão, São Nicolau or Fogo, that surfing sports are naturally found on Boa Vista, we can also say that mass tourism has developed on the island of Sal where there was still nothing built 25 years ago.

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Since then, all the craziest ideas have popped up here. Large hotels, built with mainly external financing, a tourism company with hotels, planes, buses, luxury 4x4s and catamarans, nightclubs on the sea, abundant swimming pools on an island where it rains only a few hours a year, construction of a desalination station to supply a hotel where many households do not yet have running water, etc. A series of heresies with a sole economic aim.

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Here, workers from other islands engage in basic tasks such as caretakers, housekeepers and other carnal services offered by pretty young women. The functions of leaders are mainly reserved for a Western population.

But today, the island of Sal is deserted. Fewer than 5 elderly victims with a history of bad health and who died after infection with Covid-19 have convinced the government to block access to the island to hundreds of thousands of tourists. Very curious when the country's health CV indicates crises such as Ebola, AIDS, or Dengue, with a much more impressive number of deaths. But the Western directive has ruled, and many countries have no choice but to submit to it. The island is therefore emptied of its tourists but also of its workers. No more economy turns, no more money comes in. A whole system built around the entertainment of people not living here is leading the country to ruin. Here, we begin to ask ourselves the question of living conditions for the years to come. How to live well, how to live in good health, how to live comfortably, next year, next month, all without an income? Seen from afar, seen from those who imposed this blockage for fear of being hit for the first time in decades by a health threat, life goes on in comfort without this question coming to their minds, the important thing being the good health of their immediate environment. "The elsewhere" being there only to enrich them when they need it. Colonialism is changing form, but it is certainly not done for a large number of countries.

An island built from scratch for tourist activities

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