Diego Garcia (1) to (10) ; 20 January, 2024

20 January, 2024

Diego Garcia (1) to (10)

This is about the unlawful excision of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius by the English before Mauritian independence (which was on 12 March, 1968). During a constitutional conference in London around 1965 about Mauritian independence, the English told the Mauritian delegation in the SIDELINES  : “You can go home with or without independence.” There are official English historical records about this. The dismemberment of Mauritian territory was the price to be paid for independence, in violation of United Nations resolutions of around 1960 on the matter. Around 1960, India discovered that the English wanted to dismember Mauritian territory by removing the Chagos Archipelago, and alerted the United Nations accordingly. The UN responded by passing a resolution forbidding colonial powers from dismembering colonies before giving them independence.

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DIEGO GARCIA (1)

 

The chilly winds had been howling all night long,

All night long had they hammer’d out some song,

Some weird symphony, most strange and chilling :

Round the huts had the gusts been raging.

 

In their motherland where daily they roam,

As yon surging sea doth froth and foam,

In their beds the little children shudder,

Clinging to their huts that the storms batter.

 

This is their own sea, their Mother Sea,

That will listen again to their simple plea,

Their poor prayer for some meagre meal :

Yes, MotherSea will answer their appeal.

 

Lo ! Yon smashing dawn ! Yon extravagant sunrise !

The lean fisherman hath risen early to surmise

His watery domain that murmurs serenely,

As the village stirs itself up rather dreamily.

 

In this wild world of waves and wonder,

MotherSea gives us everyday our dinner;

We have here all that possibly we need :

Ourselves and our children easily we feed.

 

Lo ! Lo ! A huge, strange ship looms ahead :

Some instinct tells us we should really dread

This mysterious, suspicious craft circling us,

This hostile intruder bent 'pon watching us.

 

Their crops the coconut trees have yield'd,

And the gathering family feel quite content'd,

As they dig happily into their grill'd fish :

Mother Nature hath again heed’d their wish.

 

*  *  *

   

DIEGO GARCIA (2)

 

Red alert ! Look ! Some invasion is under way !

Tell all the children instantly to stop play :

Watch out ! Yonder, strange people disembark,

And already at us have they start'd to bark.

 

Foreign boots resound 'pon our land,

Foreign feet trample 'pon our sand;

What on earth is happening to our island ?

None of all this really can we understand.

 

Lo ! They are counting our people, our cattle :

By the looks ‘pon their faces, they want battle ;

In yon dark sky, some vague, fearsome omen :

What will happen to our our unique heaven ?

 

Why ever from here are they uprooting us all ?

Who will now look after our coconuts, dear ?

This must be the end of civilisation, we fear :

Ah ! To a cruel exile are we going to fall !

 

Leave us alone ! Give us back our farms !

Oh God ! How roughly they crush our arms !

How they manhandle us ! What brutal force !

And, look ! Their own ranks they reinforce.

 

The fish shoals ne’er have we savag’d :

The sand banks ne’er have we rampag’d :

Only a little basketful of fish daily do we take :

Don't make any fuss about this, for God's sake !

 

Please ! Leave us alone ! Give us a chance !

Don't tear us away from our land, our romance.

We've harm'd nobody; to no-one are we a threat :

Look ! With tears our poor children's faces be wet.

 

*  *  *  

  DIEGO GARCIA (3)

 

SHUT UP, for God's sake ! From here, begone !

Stop your wails, 'cause your fate is seal'd;

Move it ! From here, you must all be gone :

To us haven't you already vainly appeal'd ?

 

Fish shoals ! Bloody cattle ! Coconut farms !

Get ye gone ! Or, face our bombs and deadly arms ;

We'll be darn'd if here coconuts now can flourish :

We'll soon rid the place of all this damn rubbish.

 

Herd them folks onto yon ship ! Ne’er mind their cattle,

For, this place will become soon a field of battle.

But, their laments somehow must we throttle,

For, in this very land are we determin’d to settle.

 

In this damn ocean, we do need a secure foothold,

For, hereabouts the enemy can wreak havoc untold;

We badly need a base for our stores and supplies :

A permanent place forever rid of prying eyes.

 

We need a base for our sea power :

For our air power a base be need’d :

For our missiles, silos be requir’d :

For our nuke spitters, we need shelter.

 

As a great world power, we need this place :

For our global power, we requisition this location :

For our submarine power, we grab this position :

We be a deadly superpower : look at our face !

 

Just you sign here, folks, on the dott'd line,

Ne’er mind the small print : all will be fine;

We'll look after your welfare and resettlement,

But, for now, do spare us your stupid lament ....

 

*  *  *

 DIEGO GARCIA (4)

 

Give us back our cattle, our farms, our plantations !

There you go, again ! What about our communications ?

Give us back our goats, our boats, our nets, our pets !

‘Pon this valuable land its sights our nation sets !

 

Don’t displace us ! Don't you uproot us from here !

And our communications base ? If not  here, where ?

Do it, then ! Honest, there's enough room for everybody.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO ! 'Tis too dangerous ! Are you crazy ?

 

Where's the danger ? Who's attacking you, for God's sake ?

Hell ! Go away ! Of yon island’s riches, go and partake !

We have nowhere to go to; we'll ne’er adapt over there !

Go away ! Move it ! You WILL have to fish elsewhere !

 

Look ! Listen ! See how our poor cattle are crying !

Phew !  Bloody cattle ! There's a war in the making !

We promise you : to live quietly we will do our best.

Move it ! Move it ! What about the defence of the West ?

 

Please ! Please ! We beg of you. Here's a mother octopus !

Mother-er-wailers ! Are you bent 'pon maddening us ?

Here ! Take our catch of fish, but don’t murder our cattle.

Move it ! Can't you feel the terrible, gathering battle ?

 

You're kidding. There's no battle. Everyone's fishing quietly.

But, what about our defence ? We need a damn regular treaty.

You don't need a treaty for them fish, nor for them coconuts.

Move it ! For, soon we'll raze down all of your goddamn huts.

 

But, this is our own island, our heartland, our motherland.

Not any more. The defence of the West demands this very land.

Who WANTS to go? You haven't ask'd us our opinion, dammit !

Your opinion does not count. You’ve had it, mates, you’ve had it !

 

 *  *  *

  DIEGO GARCIA (5)

 

We need this excellent place for its valuable position :

This place is most ideal in our strategic calculation;

Being in the middle of the ocean, this great location

For us should facilitate every single intervention.

 

With the base that we will build here pretty soon,

Easily can our ships slip in and out of the lagoon;

Our submarines can nip in quietly for any repair,

While our planes will masterly patrol the air.

 

Elsewhere, these facilities can cause recriminations,

Yet, we need such a base for our communications;

One by one the goddamn lands finally are all falling,

As the silly natives go and do some "awakening."

 

But, since of this place we have taken possession,

We have turn'd the whole region into our bastion;

Ready our carriers, cruisers, destroyers and ships :

Peace, stability, prosperity we’ll ram down their throats.

 

 The biggest hitch, the biggest trouble,

Verily be people :  they are such a hassle ;

But, we've got rid of them, --- good riddance !

And we've done it all in the name of defence.

 

In this outstanding place of strategic location,

A goddamn derision be yon vegetable plantation;

Bulldoze all these eyesores into bloody oblivion,

For, we are men of uncanny, far-reaching vision.

 

Coconut farms we'll raze out and replace by aerial farms;

After the land, we'll reclaim the sea, up to the sandbanks;

And, our buildings will be bursting with computer banks;

At home, in applause we'll make them all raise their arms.

 

*  *  *

 

DIEGO GARCIA (6)

 

Some be yearning after their coconut plantation :

Some be discussing about risks of radiation;

Some dream in sadness about yon rolling wave :

Some be experimenting with their microwave.

 

Computer banks hum out some strange symphony

The forlorn birds cry their hearts out in agony;

The fish have all gather'd yonder in thanksgiving :

The poor folks plead, beg for any type of lodging.

 

Please ! Please ! Give us back our poor country !

Can't you see we be living here in utter misery ?

Yes, take us back to our land and our huts,

For, in this strange place, we will sure go nuts.

 

Hey, what are you complaining about, er, people ?....

Everything was done and sign'd in utmost legality :

We remov'd you all to a place of greater security :

So, don't you accuse us of causing you any trouble.

 

No more of our responsibility be your resettlement :

Go and look elsewhere to solve your predicament;

Forget the coconuts and the cattle, forget the fish :

All of this from your, er, minds, must you banish….

 

Indeed, if you are all living in peace today,

If you've been able to survive to this day,

'Tis all thanks to our great, smashing vision,

That sav'd you from some barbaric domination.

 

No longer of any concern to us be your welfare :

So, to accuse us of anything don't you ever dare.

And, although for you lot we might feel some pity,

Your situation CAN NE’ER BE FOR US A PRIORITY !!

 

*  *  *

 DIEGO GARCIA (7)

 

How can we describe this excellent place !

In this goddamn region of many a weird race,

Where surely hell will break loose afore long,

We now have a place where lawfully we belong.

 

From this great location, from this strategic place,

We can monitor everything on this ocean surface;

We can control anything that moves in the air,

Any nowhere undersea can be the enemy's lair.

 

Secure in our fortress, manning our terrific equipment,

Easily can we snoop in on every chat, every comment,

Anything that moves or be spoken in the whole region :

Hey, how about this, mate, for some smashing vision !

 

We can sink all that sneaks in from the south-west,

We can NUKE all that noses from the north-west,

We can blast away all that barges in from the southeast,

We can neutralise all that nudges in from the northeast ….

 

Really be this place worth its full weight in gold :

And, we've got it all for peanuts, for next to nothing ;

'Pon the enemy now have we got a good stranglehold :

The whole goddamn ocean cannot be a place of hiding.

 

Hey, aren't we clever now ! Aren't we rather smart !

Onto this base our deadliest firespitters will we cart :

We can see perfectly through the all smokescreens :

And easily can we blast the enemy to the smithereens.

 

Just imagine if the enemy had grabb'd this place !

Good job we've beaten him to it in the damn race ;

We will have the edge in all future hostilities :

We have got everyone by the short and curlies !

 

 

*  *  *

 

 DIEGO GARCIA (8)

 

Honestly, this whole affair is getting out of hand :

How come we’ve almost lost control over all this ?

Haven't we handl'd before many a worse crisis ?

Finally should we silence yon loud-mouth'd band.

 

Much adverse publicity hath been generat'd :

By the masses far too much is being speculat'd;

Yet, this case should never be talk'd about :

What ever happen'd to our whacking clout ?

 

Every now and then re-surfaces some silly chat,

Some embarrassing accusation about this and that;

For God's sake, have our skills so flatly flounder'd ?

Must our great glory by the monkeys be so batter'd ?

 

This IS it ! That stupid lot finally  must we sort out :

With a terrific plan this case are we going to handle :

No more half-bak'd measures, no more silly messing about :

Of our centuries-old experience let's use a good sample.

 

We need to establish some solid communication,

Some mechanism that will keep them well chain'd;

From all this nonsense would they have refrain'd

If only we had harness'd our conquering vision !

 

Let's tie them down with something meaningful :

Let's bait them about the Archipelago dependency :

Of marine and fishery protection our chat shalt be full :

And our warships should be of some great diplomacy.

 

HERE WE ARE ! Listen, folks, for the full benefit of humanity :

The Greater North and Central Indian Ocean Co-prosperity

Sphere for Marine, Ecological and Fishery Protection !

(Sunshine, if this doesn't work, nothing will, in bloody damnation !)

 

*  *  *

 

DIEGO GARCIA (9)

 

Good morning ! Isn't it lovely -- gorgeous -- this morning !

Actually, about sovereignty we've come here to discuss.

Certainly ! As always, we're all ears, we’re fully listening…..

Let this be clear : we'll accept no bloody fuss !

 

This is the sole forum in which to talk, this Sphere….

The islanders have suffer'd enough, surely you'll agree.

This Sphere will take care of everything : do come over here !

The islanders finally want their islands back, you see.

 

We assure you, we're taking the best care of the fish.

To return home is the islanders' most fervent wish.

Poachers don't stand a single chance with us around.

Morally, technically, historically, our claim is sound.

 

The fat fish are in excellent shape, really excellent .....

You can talk, you can run, but nowhere can you hide !

This Sphere is the most ideal place for any comment.

On every single wave back to you daily we'll ride !

 

In good time the whole place will be teeming with fish.

Give the islands back ! Enough of this stupid rubbish !

We're indeed preserving the whole place for posterity.

What you did amounts to crimes against humanity !

 

We promise NOT to sell the islands to others.

To a cruel exile you subject’d the poor islanders.

Our full and final settlements to you we send.

Your "full and final settlements,” don’t they ever end ?

 

You will get the islands back, as we are firmly promising.

'Tis long overdue. Give them back NOW, do you hear ?

For the defence of the West, 'tis not possible, we fear.

More than myriad thorns in your side be sticking

 *****

 DIEGO GARCIA (10)

 

The years, the decades have roll'd by, monotonously :

A boring time have we had here, surviving piteously;

At home they are taking it easy, the mother-skivers :

And they've forgotten us lot here, in these backwaters.

 

Dammit, these facilities are costing us a fortune,

Yet, from most attacks we've become immune;

About time we pull'd out of this goddamn place :

We're now light years ahead in the human race.

 

But, we can't surrender these dangerous facilities intact :

The enemy could turn them against us, and that's a fact.

Dangerous ? Ah, to ye have they become a danger  ?

Ho ho ho ! Are ye no longer safe in any bunker ?

 

Anyway, we'll blast away all these lethal facilities,

So they shouldn't be a threat to us in any hostilities;

Listen, we don’t give a damn about taxpayers' money :

Leave them intact : there'll be no taxpayers left, honey.

 

Runway denial. At any cost must we find effective ways

To deny to any potential enemy the use of these runways;

Berthing denial, mooring denial, quay denial, port denial :

We should return this place to the epoch of the sundial.

 

Sorry, a laser-guid'd explosive device hath, er, gone astray :

There's been some equipment malfunction, we regret to say….

The fat fish, grown lethargic through all that protection,

Purely by accident have been blown into sheer oblivion.

 

Here ! Take back your goddamn land, mother-wailers !

Take it back ! See, we've even made it longer, for starters !

But, 'tis all bash'd up, hash'd up, smash'd up, squash'd up :

Ah, how will we earn our life here, how will we get some sup !

 SOMAN RAGAVAN

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