Mayotte, the size of the Isle of Wight (one seventh the size of Rhode Island), is 40 miles from the island of Anjouan, Comoros. The Comorian people consider the French presence in Mayotte as an illegal occupation.
Small boats, called kwassa-kwassa, in Anjouan, Comoros, preparing for the perilous night crossing to Mayotte.
Children play in Mutsamudu harbour, Anjouan, next to the rotting hulks of boats.
When the kwassa-kwassa are intercepted by the French Frontier Police, they’re confiscated and put under lock and key in a compound.
A poster in Mutsamudu, depicts the ‘law trampled on’ by the French police. In 1995, France put an end to free movement between Comoros and Mayotte and introduced a visa requirement for Comorians wishing to visit. As a result, the illegal boat crossings began, leading to an estimated 20000 deaths to date.
The detention centre in Mayotte, where immigrants are kept before being sent back to Comoros. (http://infosmayotte.skyrock.com/26.html) This is the old centre, as described in ‘Perfume Island’. A new one was opened in late 2015.
Respect for the environment is limited.
The seafront in Sada, Mayotte. In ‘Perfume Island’, Sada became Hounda, allowing for artistic licence in the descriptions. But the seafront is described as it was.
A heavy police presence is on hand at any popular event in case it degenerates into violence.
Riot police in Mayotte, 2015, when the conditions in the island led to a violent protest movement. (https://www.lemondejuif.info)
The white community live in barricaded houses in constant fear of attack.
Slum dwelling known as a banga. 50% of the island’s population are illegal immigrants, most living in bangas like this.