Feast of the Assumption - Annual La Digue feast lures large crowd

Feast of the Assumption - Annual La Digue feast lures large crowd

17-August-2015

Once again, hundreds of Roman Catholics and other visitors from all over Mahé and Praslin braved the rough seas to join the Diguois in celebrating the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15.

Those who were fortunate enough not having to work on Friday, started making the trip in the morning with the main crowd arriving after 6pm and during the morning and afternoon of Saturday.

The celebrations started on Friday with a flotilla (parade of boats) at 4pm, which later made its way on land from La Passe to Saint Mary’s Church.

As is the tradition, the August 15 religious procession, the highlight of the celebrations, started at the grotto and headed down to the Church for mass, celebrated by the Roman Catholic Bishop Denis Wiehe and the parish priest and attended by many believers and visitors.

After the religious celebrations, mostly everyone headed down to La Passe and Anse Kalis where different activities were taking place to entertain the public. The big crowd had the choice to buy a variety of food and drinks, clothes, toys and souvenirs or take part in traditional games such as hoopla or lucky dips.

On the weekend’s agenda were also various shows by artists from all over the islands. They included Mercenary, Elijah, Jakim, Regi and Joseph Sinon, to name a few.

The activities for this year’s event were organised by the island’s celebrations committee in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Seychelles Tourism Board.

Also present for the event was the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, accompanied by his principal secretaries for culture and tourism Benjamine Rose and Anne Lafortune respectively.

Speaking on SBC’s airwaves live from La Digue, Minister St Ange said Seychelles was proud of its culture and that the La Digue celebrations demonstrated that our religious beliefs were part and parcel of the island's culture.

Minister St Ange congratulated the Seychellois people for having great respect for their culture which he said was getting stronger day by day.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=246462

Les Chrétiens célèbrent la fête de la Pentecôte

16-May-2016

Monseigneur Denis Wiehe a présidé la messe de la fête de la Pentecôte hier dans la paroisse Saint Esprit sur l’Ile PersévéranceLes Chrétiens ont célébré hier la fête de la Pentecôte dans la paroisse Saint Esprit sur l’Ile Persévérance pour les Catholiques et à la Cathédrale St Paul pour les Anglicans.
Célébrée le septième dimanche après Pâques, cette fête commémore la descente de l'Esprit Saint sur les Apôtres. Quelle coïncidence ! La fête de la Pentecôte 2016 a été célébrée le même jour que la Journée internationale des familles (le 15 mai).
A noter que la date de la Pentecôte est variable puisque les 50 jours sont décomptés à partir de Pâques qui est elle-même une fête mobile (c'est-à-dire dont la date varie d'une année à l'autre).
En ce jour de Pentecôte, l'Église célèbre la fête du Saint-Esprit. Les Actes des Apôtres racontent comment les disciples, encore tout émus de la mort de Jésus et de ses diverses apparitions, étaient réunis ensemble dans un lieu appelé Cénacle. Après avoir entendu un bruit étonnant, ils virent apparaître des langues de feu qui se posèrent sur chacun d'eux. Emplis de l'Esprit saint, comprenant les mystères de Dieu, ils se mettent à parler dans toutes les langues, et se sentent soudain investis d'une nouvelle mission, celle de répandre la Bonne Nouvelle de la résurrection de Jésus.
Depuis toujours la Pentecôte est une occasion spécifique pour les chrétiens de commémorer l'Esprit Saint, troisième personne de la Sainte Trinité. Depuis Vatican II qui a remis à l'honneur le culte rendu à cette personne divine, cette fête donne parfois lieu à des célébrations particulièrement festives.
Ce sont les révérends Daniel Kallee et Danny Elizabeth qui ont présidé le service à la Cathédrale St Paul, tandis que Monseigneur Denis Wiehe, le chef de l’Eglise Catholique aux Seychelles, avait rassemblé tous les prêtres dans la paroisse Saint Esprit sur l’Ile Persévérance pour célébrer la messe hier matin.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=249439

Preparations well underway for next big feast in Seychelles

27-July-2016

Preparations for the next big feast in Seychelles – which is the Feast of the Assumption on the island of La Digue on August 15 – are going well.
The organising committee met the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, principal secretary for culture Benjamine Rose, chief executive of the National Arts Council (Nac) Jimmy Savy and representatives of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) on Wednesday to discuss details of the event and to finalise the programme.
The meeting, held at the La Digue community centre, was chaired by Minister St Ange.
Activities will start on August 12 and will end on August 15 with a sega competition at night. The official opening ceremony will be held in front of the community centre on August 13 at 7pm.
Artists who hail from La Digue will perform alongside two international stars who will be in Seychelles for the feast. They are Kevin Little and Eric Donaldson.
Kevin Little, famous for his songs ‘Turn me on’ and ‘Drive me crazy’ will be performing at the opening ceremony alongside the Diguois artists.
Eric Donaldson, a reggae singer-songwriter from Jamaica, will also be flying to Seychelles to perform. He will be performing live at Anse Calice on August 14 as from 9pm. Eric Donaldson is on his second visit to Seychelles, his first being in 2010 where he performed three shows. Donaldson will sing his well-known tracks such as ‘Traffic Jam’, ‘Land of my Birth’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Cherry Oh Baby’ and ‘Freedom Street’.
Minister St Ange said having the stars on La Digue will truly mark the island and the feast.
Other activities for the four days will include a Bal Kreol which will be a paying event, night fairs, traditional games, moutya séance, beach party, yacht race and other sports competitions such as decathlon and relay.
This year it will be the Diguois themselves who are being invited to be in the forefront of the fair to promote their local cuisine, the island’s agricultural products and artisanal works.
The traditional mass and procession will once again be on the programme for August 15, the day of the Feast of the Assumption. The committee at the St Mary’s church is also organising a few activities to mark the occasion as from August 13.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250354

La Fête de l’Assomption à La Digue : - Gâchée par un naufrage

16-August-2016

Le Père Mathiot, qui n’avait mis les pieds à La Digue depuis 36 ans, a rappelé que la Fête de l’Assomption qui marque la montée au ciel de la Vierge Marie est celle de l’espérance

L’île de La Digue a célébré hier sa Fête de l’Assomption, autrement dite la Fête du 15 août. Les célébrations ont cette année été malheureusement gâchée par un naufrage qui a fait trois morts et qui endeuille tout le pays.
L’accident a eu lieu samedi au coucher du soleil quand un petit bateau transportant six personnes entre La Digue et Praslin a chaviré aux larges de l’Ile Ronde. D’après les informations obtenues, c’est un des naufragés qui a pu nager jusqu’à un bateau qui l’a ensuite transporté à La Digue, qui a donné l’alerte vers 21 heures.
Présent sur son île natale de La Digue, le ministre de la Culture et du Tourisme Alain St Ange a tout de suite déclenché les premières opérations de secours.
Le ministre St Ange avait un peu plus tôt procédé à l’ouverture de la Fête qui depuis quelques années maintenant est placée sous l’égide du Conseil du Tourisme, la STB.
Après que l’administratrice du district de La Digue Barbera Barallon avait souhaité bienvenue aux nombreux voyageurs venus de Praslin et Mahé, M. St Ange a dans un court discours demandé aux Diguois de garder leur sens d’accueil, charme et hospitalité qui contribuent beaucoup à l’industrie touristique.
La soirée a ensuite continué avec un concert qui a principalement vu la participation d’artistes originaires de la troisième île des Seychelles par la population. Les groupes Masezarin, Leko Bwa Ver et Zodyak se sont ainsi succédés sur scène, ainsi que les chanteurs Thomas Knowles, Des, Mervin Camille, Alkerta, Liska e Shira Jean, Hank Didon e Leo.
Dans un autre concert tenu samedi soir à Anse Calice, l’artiste local Philip Toussaint a remplacé le chanteur reggae jamaïcain Eric Donaldson, dont le show tant attendu a été annulé au dernier moment.
L’activité principale de la Fête de l’Assomption fut néanmoins la messe solennelle célébrée hier à la fois à la grotte d’Anse Réunion et dans l’église de Ste Marie. Après une belle célébration à la grotte, les nombreux pèlerins ont regagné l’église en procession pour la bénédiction finale.
Présidant les cérémonies religieuses, le Père Mathiot qui fête cette année ses 50 ans de prêtrise et qui n’avait mis les pieds à La Digue depuis 36 ans, a voulu rappeler que la Fête de l’Assomption qui marque la montée au ciel de la Vierge Marie « toute entière dans son âme et dans son corps », est celle de l’espérance. Il a rajouté que c’est donc un événement qui concerne tout le monde.
« Pour Dieu, la mort n’est qu’un sommeil. La Fête de l’Assomption nous concerne tous car c’est la fête de l’espérance. C’est un message qui vient nous faire comprendre que notre vie ne finit pas dans un trou au cimetière. La mort n’a pas le dernier mot. C’est la vie qui a le dernier mot. Comme nous dit St Paul, le dernier ennemie qui sera vainque c’est la mort. Donc comme Marie, nous entrerons un jour avec notre corps et âme dans le Royaume de Dieu », a-t-il dit dans son sermon.
Le message qu’il a voulu apporter à son tour est que « ce que Dieu a fait pour Marie, il le fera pour nous tous ».
« Comme on dit dans ‘Je crois en Dieu’, on attend la résurrection des morts et la vie du monde à venir. Donc, à la fin de notre vie, nous entrerons au ciel avec notre corps et notre âme. Notre demeure est dans la maison de Dieu et non au cimetière », a rajouté le Père Mathiot, qui à rappeler sert aussi de vicaire général de l’Eglise Catholique.
D’autres activités marquant la Fête de La Digue et qui avaient débuté depuis vendredi se sont déroulées autour d’une kermesse populaire le long de la plage de La Passe.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250632

Faith capsizes and three people die

16-August-2016
President Michel meets families of departed

President James Michel yesterday morning visited the families of two of the three people who perished at sea after the fishing boat – a 16-foot fibre glass vessel called Faith – they were in capsized and sank between Praslin and La Digue.
The president was accompanied by the Minister for Social Affairs, Community Development and Sports Vincent Meriton for yesterday’s visit at Corgat Estate.
He spoke to the children of both Helena César and Cynthia César who died in the incident along with 65-year-old Bernard Camille.
Three other people – Aubrey Jacqueline, six-year-old Rio Chang Tave and the boat’s skipper Teddy Stravens – survived. While Stravens swam to an anchored yacht looking for help, Jacqueline and Chang-Tave were rescued late yesterday morning after hanging on to a life raft for the whole night.
In a press statement issued by State House on Sunday, President Michel said he shares the suffering and sadness of the victims’ families.
“It’s a huge tragedy and the whole Seychellois nation is living the tragedy,” said President Michel.
Accompanied by her brothers Dean and David Marie, Sabrina Marie, the daughter of Helena, said their mother had left Mahé on Thursday for Praslin to visit Cynthia, her niece. Helena, 49, was accompanied by her boyfriend Aubrey Jacqueline and Sabrina’s six-year-old son Rio Chang Tave.
Three of Cynthia’s five children were also present at the meeting yesterday. The 45-year-old’s children are Rudy Renaud (born Hoareau), Nacharie Hoareau, Shamios Hoareau, Jerryanka Volcy and Kellish Volcy.
The incident reported at around 7pm on Saturday occurred in an area known as Ros Kannal, around halfway between Praslin and La Digue. The two islands lie some 15 minutes apart when travelling by fast ferry.
According to a joint press statement by the Marine Accident Investigation Board and the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA) the first call for help came from the skipper of the vessel. The statement writes that he was recovered from the sea after swimming to an anchored yacht off La Digue.
SMSA director general Captain Joachim Valmont told the Seychelles News Agency (SNA) that the skipper explained to the authorities that “a woman had fallen from the boat and that after going back to rescue her the boat capsized and sank as everyone was seated on one side”.
The search and rescue operation lasted throughout Saturday night and ended Sunday afternoon. The Seychelles Coast Guard, the Seychelles Air Force, the Seychelles Police, the Seychelles Ports Authority, the HMAS Perth of the Australian Navy, Zil Air and private boat owners from Praslin and La Digue helped in the search.
The three survivors are receiving medical treatment. As for Jacqueline and young Rio they were flown to Mahé and are receiving further care at the Seychelles Hospital.
The capsized vessel has already been salvaged from the sea.
The police, Marine Accident Investigation Board and the SMSA have initiated an investigation into this incident.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250633

Three die in boat accident between La Digue and Praslin

16-August-2016

Three persons – two women and a man – have lost their lives following a boat accident which happened on Saturday evening off Round Island, about half way between La Digue and Praslin.
Named ‘Faith’, the converted Mini Mahé with a 15 horse power engine and added cabin had left La Digue about half an hour before and was on its way to Praslin with six persons on board. They had spent the day at the island’s feast.
According to information gathered by our reporter on La Digue and later confirmed by police spokesman Jean Toussaint, the boat capsized in the Ros Kannal area after a lady – Cynthia César – had fallen over board and the other occupants all moved on one side to try and retrieve her.
After the accident, which occurred at about 7pm, the boat’s skipper and owner, Teddy Stravens, managed to swim to the ‘Mary Anne’, a yacht which was then moored off La Digue. The crew took him back to the accident area and after they could find neither sign of his boat nor of any passengers, they brought him back to the island.
The alert had then been given and an intensive nearly 15-hour coordinated search followed. It was conducted by the Seychelles Coast Guard, Air Force, Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA) and Marine Police with the help of local aviation company Zil Air, Australian navy vessel HMS Perth and various vessels from Praslin and La Digue. These included the smallest vessel of the ‘Cat Coco’ which is based on La Digue and Praslin’s ‘Cat Rose’.
After the night search proved unsuccessful, rescue operations resumed early Sunday morning. By mid day, two persons – Aubrey Jacqueline and six-year-old Rio Chang Tave – were pulled alive from the relatively rough seas. Three other persons were unfortunately found dead. They have been identified as Cynthia and Helena César, and Bernard Camille aged 65 years old.
Michel Godley, normally a sailor on one of the tankers of Seychelles Petroleum Company (Seypec) who helped in the rescue operations on board the ‘Lady Caroline’ skippered by Louis d’Offay, was spending the weekend on La Digue. He recounts how Aubrey Jacqueline and Rio Chang Tave were saved.
“We had wanted to go out and help since Saturday evening. But we could not pull together a sufficient crew. With Mr d’Offay’s daughter Caroline and Mr David Socrates we thus left Praslin in the early morning of Sunday. After Mr d’Offay had calculated our course based on the wind and current direction, we were confident of falling on something. At one point, to the east of Aride Island and north of Curieuse, we saw the helicopter which was ahead of us circling overhead and with another boat skippered by Lionel Waye-Hive, we rushed to its position. This is when we saw only the small boat’s tip above water and not far from there, we saw a man floating with a young boy on his stomach. They were rescued by the Coast Guard vessel while I jumped into the water and tied Faith to Lionel’s boat. We then pulled it to La Digue.”
Only when they reached the shore that they sadly discovered the other elderly man’s body stuck in the cabin. It proved to be that of Bernard Camille.
The Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange has wished to thank all those from La Digue and Praslin, including Robert Lesperance, who voluntarily helped in the search and rescue operations.
“This is proof of the Praslinois and Diguois’ solidarity,” he commented.
The President of the Republic James Michel has also sent a message of sympathy to the families of the tragedy’s victims. He also personally paid a visit to the families yesterday (see story below).
The photo on front page, taken by Romano Laurence, show the vessel Faith after it had been pulled ashore.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250631

Authorities shed light on tragic boat accident

17-August-2016

The Seychelles Maritime Safety Authority has urged all fishermen and seafarers to be more responsible when at sea and notify the authorities each time they leave port.
They should also ensure that they have at least basic safety equipment before setting out to sea.
The director of the SMSA, Captain Joachim Valmont, made this statement yesterday during a press conference at the SMSA conference room.
The press conference was to give more details on the rescue mission that took place on Saturday night and Sunday morning after a boat accident claimed the lives of three persons – two women and a man – off Round Island, about half way between La Digue and Praslin.
Captain Valmont expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the three victims – Cynthia and Helena César, and Bernard Camille – on behalf of all the authorities involved, before going on to give details about the SMSA’s involvement in the rescue mission which ended up saving the lives of Aubrey Jacqueline and six-year-old Rio Chang-Tave.
According to information gathered by our reporter on La Digue and later confirmed by police spokesman Jean Toussaint, the boat capsized in the Ros Kannal area after a lady – Cynthia César – had fallen overboard and the other occupants all moved on one side to try and retrieve her.
After the accident, which occurred at about 7pm, the boat’s skipper and owner, Teddy Stravens, managed to swim to the Mary Anne, a yacht which was then moored off La Digue. The crew took him back to the accident area and after they could find neither sign of his boat nor of any passengers, they brought him back to the island.
“Upon hearing of the incident, I immediately contacted the Seychelles Coast Guard to ensure that they have received the information about the incident and to find out what their response was,” said Captain Valmont, who explained that the coast guard immediately took control of the operation while the SMSA took charge from the command centre to help coordinate the rescue operation.
He went on to explain how they sought help from the HMAS Perth that was in port at the time and the vessel provided one of the helicopters to help with the operation.
Also present at the press conference was the chairman of the Maritime Accident Investigation Board (MAIB), Captain Robert Morgan, Police Commissioner Reginald Elizabeth and the Seychelles Coast Guard’s on-scene Commander during the operation, Captain Hans Radegonde.
Captain Morgan noted that the role of the MAIB is to investigate and establish the facts and causes of the accident so that they can eventually make recommendations to the SMSA to ensure such incidents do not happen again.
“We began our investigation on Saturday night and we have interviewed a number of people in our attempts to get the information we need and we are still doing this as the investigation is ongoing,” said Captain Morgan.
He added that he was not at liberty to reveal any findings so far until the investigation is complete.
Captain Radegonde on his part was on the scene of the accident and he explained that the rough seas and poor visibility made it very hard to locate the victims at night and that the wind and current played a big part in moving the boat from where the accident was reported to have happened and this made the search even more difficult.
“We continued our search early the next morning, with the assistance of two helicopters and a plane and it was then that we found the two survivors,” said Captain Radegonde, before adding: “The older man was in okay condition, but that of the little boy was much more critical and after administering first aid, we handed both of them over to the Baie Ste Anne hospital for further treatment.
With regard to the third victim, Bernard Camille, he was only found when the both was ashore as at the time of the search and rescue operation, two civilian boats took the wreckage and tugged it back to La Digue.
“We did not have any contact with the wreckage while at sea and if we did, we had divers on board who would have been instructed to search the wreckage before it was taken ashore,” added Captain Radegonde.
Police Commissioner Elizabeth on his part revealed that the skipper of the boat has appeared before the court and has been released on certain conditions while the investigation into the accident continues.
Many people have been asking about the role of the Marine Police in this incident and here the Police Commissioner explained that the Marine Police normally patrol coastal areas and not the open sea.

“We knew that there would be a lot of water activities during this time and our officers were stationed on Praslin as their boats were not equipped to patrol the rough seas between the two islands,” the commissioner said.
In view of this incident, questions have been asked about maritime safety and here Captain Valmont explained that it is the responsibility of every fisherman or skipper to notify the port of their destination, number of passengers, their return date, etc… but often these things are not done.
He also explained that while bigger vessels are registered with the SMSA, they all have certain regulations they have to follow, which includes communication and safety equipment, but with regard to small fishing boats, they are registered with the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) and there, no regulation is in place to ensure basic safety equipment are on board each boat.
“Perhaps this is something that should be recommended for the future, to ensure safety when at sea and it is up to the boat owners also to be more responsible when going out to sea,” Capt. Valmont added.
Another recommendation made by Captain Valmont was the need to have properly trained skippers to ensure safety of their passengers.
Finally, Captain Valmont expressed his gratitude to everyone who was involved in the rescue operation including the private boats, but has urged them that in the future, whenever such incidents occur, to relinquish control of the operation to the coast guard as soon as they arrive on the scene, so that they can coordinate the operation and ensure things are being done properly, to avoid any issues of miscommunication or other incidents during such missions.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250642

La Digue to get new hospital by 2018

19-August-2016

Plans are underway for a new hospital to be built on La Digue island with preliminary works starting off as of 2018.
Health Minister Mitcy Larue made this announcement while on a working visit with a high level health delegation to the Logan Hospital over the weekend.
The visit coincided with the official opening of the new mortuary on the island.
Accompanied by her principal secretary Dr Bernard Valentin and Health Care Agency Board chairman Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne and other senior community health nursing and health policy officials, the delegation met staff of the Logan Hospital to look at issues affecting the health treatment and medical services delivery to the inhabitants of La Digue.
Minister Larue and her delegation noticed that there was no admission of in-patients in the wards and she praised the Digwa for living healthy lifestyles and taking into consideration healthy eating, exercise especially as most of them are physically fit due to riding bicycles which is the main source of transport on the island.
The Logan Hospital nursing officer, Ginette Freminot, briefed the minister and her delegation on the different medical treatment and services being given at the hospital such as consultations, visits of medical specialists from the Seychelles Hospital and the Baie Ste Anne health centre on Praslin and this ranged from dental, oncology, paediatrics, ante-natal, mother-child health care, among many other specialised services.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250682

La Fête de La Digue a encore tenu toutes ses promesses

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250683