(Photo by David Stanley via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0 DEED)
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The Union of the Comoros, or Comoros for short, sits between the much larger island of Madagascar and mainland Africa. Although three islands — Grand Comore, Anjouan, and Moheli — officially make up the country, many people from the region would tell you that there is a fourth island named Mayotte. To this day, families and friends remain separated by a political French border in the sea. The Comorian flag even includes four stars, one for each island.
When Comoros had its first referendum vote in 1975, over 90% of the population voted for independence. However, under the defence that Mayotte voted to stay with France by 63.8%, France held onto its power over that island. Over the years, there have been several additional referendums, and each one has shown the same result: 99.4% of Mahorians voted “yes” to stay in 1976, 73% in 2000, and 95.2% in 2009.
Today, Mayotte is recognized internationally as an overseas department with limited representation in the French parliament. Despite this inequality, being part of France still comes with a list of attractive benefits for Comorians: greater access to imported goods, hospitals, schools, and, most critically, the opportunity to immigrate to France and apply for birthright citizenship. While France seems unwilling to invest fairly in its overseas departments, Comorians on all four islands are left to deal with the daily reality of living in a region left behind. And as of recently, Comorian migrants to Mayotte are being punished for surviving the dangerous journey between islands.
Colonialism’s Shadow: France’s Failure to Return Power Ethically
From the very beginning, France’s rule over Comoros has been questionable. When French colonizers first arrived on the islands during the 1800s, there was no single ruler, but instead, many sultans from mainly the Comorian islands, Zanzibar, and Madagascar. Sultan Andriantsouli of Mayotte, fearing overthrow from other sultans, agreed to sign the entire island into a French protectorate. This shaky agreement repeated on Grand Comore between a French botanist and Sultan Saïd Ali bin Saïd Omar. After several decades of resistance, France gained complete control, and all four islands became united under a single ruler for the first time in known history.
France did not gracefully handle its exit from the three islands in 1975, leaving behind many problems. French became the language of power used exclusively in non-religious education and government, which was a significant change for the population as they did not have a written language before colonialism. Though literacy rates are not tracked accurately in Comoros, international aid groups estimate that almost one-third of the population cannot read or write in their mother tongue of Shikomori, let alone French.
While France has significantly scaled back their presence in Comoros following independence in 1975, its influence still looms. Televisions and radio stations continue to broadcast French shows. A majority of meat, dairy, eggs, cereals, and other staples are imported from France and are so expensive that few Comorians can afford to buy them in their weak currency, the Comorian Franc. Which, if that was not already enough of a power imbalance, is still minted in France.
The Perceived Benefits of Living in Mayotte
The pull to France and its overseas department of Mayotte continues for several reasons. A history of coups and poor economic development in Anjouan encourages migration. Comorian President Azali Assoumani, easily one of the richest leaders in Africa, has enjoyed a lavish lifestyle since gaining power through a coup in 1999. In January 2024, Azali entered his fourth, five-year term despite widespread concerns that the elections were fraudulent.
Emigration from Comoros, especially the island of Anjouan, has been a common practice for decades. The most common form of transportation for these migrants is by “kwassa kwassa,” which roughly translates to “unstable boat.” Although these boats are best suited for fishing and short-distance travel, families send children, pregnant women, and young men on the 100-kilometre journey in them, hoping they can one day have access to better schools and hospitals. From a Comorian perspective, they are moving between Comorian islands, from a village without opportunity on one island to a city with comparatively more opportunities on another.
However, the reality of immigrant life in Mayotte is far from idyllic. Over half of the population was born outside of Mayotte, making the struggle to obtain paying jobs and access to food and water highly competitive. Immigrants are forced to live in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of town without documentation or a way to provide for themselves. The government has been systematically demolishing these neighbourhoods for several years as well, leaving these communities to have to build again from the ground up. Given how dire the situation is in Mayotte, only Comorians who feel they absolutely must are willing to risk their lives crossing in small boats to Mayotte to live in fear of deportation and violence.
The Rise of French Right-Wing Politics Strengthens the French Sea Border
Now, enter French President Emmanuel Macron’s party and, more specifically, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Under their right-wing, anti-immigrant leadership, Mayotte has been increasingly distancing itself from its Comorian heritage. Immigration to and deportation from Mayotte has been in flux since before 1995. However, in 2023, far-right government workers and civilians destroyed Comorian immigrant neighbourhoods as part of France’s Operation Wuambushu, a local Shikomori word meaning “take back.” Meanwhile, on a busy street in the capital of Comoros, Moroni, a sign in French reads, “Mayotte is Comorian and will remain forever so.” At times, Comoros has even refused to accept Comorians deported from Mayotte against their will.
Macron’s party has been leaning further into anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim policies in hopes of winning over right-wing members of parliament for several years now. To address the rising crime in Mayotte associated with housing shortages, hunger, and a diminishing water supply, the French government has turned to violence. Instead of investing in affordable housing and rainwater storage cisterns to make it through the dry season, the French government allows Mayotte to remain the poorest of France’s 101 departments. France is using Operation Wuambushu to soothe disgruntled Mahorians — the people of Mayotte — instead of addressing the infrastructure problems Mahorians could face regardless of the presence of Comorian immigrants.
As of February 2024, Darmanin has announced that Comorians will no longer be eligible for birthright citizenship in Mayotte to address Mahorian concerns about “declining living standards.”
A Comoros Divided
The reason Comorians emigrate for critical hospital care and better schools directly connects with France’s colonial legacy in the region. While in power, France barred Comorians from developing beneficial skills and taking seats of power. When three of the Comoro islands outvoted France, France fled to the fourth.
France has yet to acknowledge and take accountability for its damage on the three islands of Comoros. Instead, it continues to repeat the same cycle of control in Mayotte without granting the people any power. There is an opportunity to invest in Mayotte, but instead, France chooses to blame its unwillingness to scale infrastructure with its population on crime allegedly caused by immigrants.
France’s Operation Wuambushu — to “take back” Mayotte — is a human rights violation. When France counted Mayotte’s referendum vote separately from the other three islands in 1975, it set in motion a decades-long strategy to turn the people of Mayotte against those they once thought of as other Comorians. The French policy to revoke birthright citizenship for immigrants in Mayotte makes it clear which group of people is being held responsible for post-colonial consequences, and it certainly is not the colonizer. It is the Comorians themselves.
Looking at the sheer number of colonies, departments, and territories France has had a hand in globally, it is important to pay attention to what is happening in Comoros. Not only for the sake of the people living there but to better understand how France continues to operate in these regions. It fails to treat the people living in its overseas departments and territories as if they stand on French soil. Instead, it runs operations centered around “taking back” from the nearby people they took from hundreds of years ago and refuses to invest in water supply strategies.
Though France has changed its vocabulary, it still behaves like a colonizer.
Edited by Gabrielle Andrychuk
