African immigrants in Mauritius

Mauritius is called "the land of heaven". The whole country consists of the main island of Mauritius and other small islands, with a land area of 2,040 square kilometers and an island area of 1.865 square kilometers, which is equivalent to the area of a county in China, with a population of 1.26 million (2020).

Located in the southwest of the Indian Ocean, 2200 kilometers away from the African continent, Mauritius is one of the few rich countries in Africa, with a per capita GDP of11208 (2018), so it is also called "Switzerland in Africa".

The temperature in Mauritius is 25 degrees all year round, surrounded by coral reefs, overlooking the blue sea, and there are several clouds hanging in the blue sky, just like the ancients wrote "the sea and the sky are one color" in their poems; Soft sunlight shines on the earth, and the air here is delicious, just like in the virgin forest, breathing spotless fresh natural oxygen.

Kashima in Mauritius is the most famous. It has the most beautiful beaches in Mauritius. Tread barefoot on the soft beach. In addition to breathtaking beauty, this unique touch of sand gives people a feeling of ecstasy. Friends who like foot massage, even the best technician, can't reach this feeling 1%.

The uniqueness of the coastal shoal in Mauritius is that it has colorful coral reefs, which are more colorful under the sunlight. The sea water is clear and transparent, reflecting a pair of ink paintings of lakes and mountains.

Sometimes it gives people an illusion. Is this sea water? How can the sea be so clear and blue? Is it because someone specially installed a filtration system or injected drinking water?

It is estimated that there are not a few people who have such doubts, but this is God's preference, which has taken care of this sea area and created a paradise on earth.

Coconut trees are the most common on the island, which is nothing unique. Coconut trees seem to be a match made in heaven by the island. Coconut trees are tall and dense, but surprisingly, they are completely protected. Isn't this cut? The lush coconut trees don't feel like a bustling tourist city, but more like being in a virgin forest.

Buildings are also made from local materials. High-rise building without reinforced concrete. There are no modern buildings here, and they don't match. There are only primitive stone houses and small houses built by coconut trees.

When you come to Mauritius, of course, the most tourism projects are related to the sea, such as diving, sea fishing, surfing, sea gliding, sailing and speedboat. ......

As long as you like water sports, there will be no shortage here.

Mauritius also has a unique seven-color soil. In the seven-color soil scenic area, the land is wavy, because it is a landform formed by melting and cooling the magma ejected by the volcano.

Surprisingly, after the wonderful work of nature, the soil color here actually presents seven colors, which shine under the sunlight, like colored mud played when I was a child, and like a palette, which is rare in the world and eye-opening.

Geologists say that it is very strange that these different colors of soil will automatically separate after mixing in test tubes for a few days.

The whole of Mauritius is full of colors, and the soil, water and coral reefs seem to be painted by the magical painter nature.

Isn't it incredible that the currency it uses, one of the 25 yuan banknotes, is printed with the head of a China person? The man on the bill is Sir Zhu Meilin, an outstanding Chinese representative in Mauritius.

Mauritius was an uninhabited island before 1505. When Portuguese Mascarin boarded the island and found swarms of bats flying by, he named it "Bat Island".

Later, in 1598, the Dutch also arrived here and named the island "Mauritius" after Prince Morris. After that, Holland, France and Britain colonized.

This is an uninhabited island. Where do people come from?

It was through these colonists that slaves were transported from colonies elsewhere. Of course, the largest number of slaves were transported from Africa and America to engage in heavy sugar cultivation.

The sugar industry in Mauritius is the pillar industry of the local economy, and the famous local rum is made from by-products such as sugarcane juice or molasses.

The slaves were treated inhumanely here, and their hard work and precarious living environment made them want to survive. A large number of black slaves secretly fled, even if their lives were on the line, they should stay away from this exploitation.

Later, with the loss of black slaves, there was a serious shortage of plantation slaves, so slaves could only be sold from India, the southern coast of China and Southeast Asia.

After the British colonists occupied Mauritius, they found that slavery could not solve the fundamental problem of labor shortage, and many people still ran away. They recruited overseas Chinese workers and Indian workers from Southeast Asia by signing labor contracts, which is equivalent to the current way of working abroad.

1890, Zhu Meilin's father Zhu Weixun, 14 years old, immigrated to Mauritius from Meixian County, Guangdong Province. With the unique hard-working spirit of China people, he established himself in the local area and owned his own shop at the age of 30.

Zhu Meilin, born in 19 1 1, became the youngest chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Mauritius at the age of 3 1 through his own efforts.

Later, he founded China Daily to promote China culture. During World War II, he organized overseas Chinese to set up the China Self-Defense Force, and served as the president of the China Anti-Japanese Support Association, actively donating money and materials to China in return for being a child.

After Mauritius became independent, Zhu Meilin was appointed Minister of Local Affairs and Minister of Interior. He led Chinese to set up factories and shops, promoted local business prosperity, strived for the rights and status of Chinese in Congress, and established the Chinese Federation. His outstanding contribution has won the respect of the local government, people and people in China.

There is a street named after him in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. 1980 was knighted by British Elizabeth II.

1998 issued 25 yuan banknotes with his head on them, and 201/kloc-0 issued stamps to commemorate him. A memorial hall about Zhu Meilin was built locally to commemorate his great contribution to the development of Mauritius.

The total population of Mauritius is 1.26 million, with Chinese accounting for 3% and about 30,000 people. Among all Chinese, Hakkas account for about 90%, and the rest 10% comes from Shunde, Guangdong.

Although China people account for a small proportion of the local population, walking in the capital Port Louis is like walking in China City. China people can be seen everywhere, and there are countless shops, halls and various Chinese restaurants with China characteristics in Port Louis, just like walking on the streets of China.

Hakkas began to come to Mauritius on 1868. In this 154 year, most Hakkas have worked hard to create a new world of their own in a foreign country and take root and blossom in this strange land.

Most local Chinese are engaged in business activities, which can be seen everywhere in Mauritius. Not only that, they also maintain the cultural traditions of China, such as celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival and other traditional festivals.

In these traditional festivals, large-scale China song and dance entertainment performances will be held, and traditional Hakka diets will be tasted, such as plum vegetables, pork, stuffed tofu, brine chicken, pig blood and beef offal.

Due to the importance and cultural influence of Chinese in the local area, Mauritius has also designated the Spring Festival, a traditional festival in China, as a legal holiday.