Up Close … with seaman and rock driller Barry Zelia |10 November 2020

Barry in his element

‘I’m glad to have finally got rid of that weight and pressure off my chest’

By Roland Duval

Out of fear, many people choose to keep silent on events they have witnessed, knowing the consequences it could bring to their lives or their impact it will have on their families.

It is a practice that has been very common in Seychelles, especially during the past forty years, until the recent set-up of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC).

The disappearance of Hassan Ali Umarji, a well known businessman in Seychelles on August 13, 1977 has brought forward several individuals who gave clashing statements on the event in front of the TRNUC.

While most of them gave ‘supposed evidence’ on the incident after it happened, I once heard that a certain young man at that time witnessed the abduction, but never said a word about it, until the late nineties when he mentioned it to close ones.

Now 63 years old, Barry Zelia of Quincy Village, feels that it is the appropriate time to come out and give his version of the first case of a disappearance after the 1977 coup.

He claimed he was the only one in the vicinity of the abduction scene when the incident happened and he is ready to take the hot seat of the TRNUC to give his account of the event.

Early life

Born on August 16, 1967 at Anse Royale, Barry spent his early childhood at Anse Louis and began his schooling at Anse Boileau.

He left Anse Boileau at seven years old and moved to Cascade, where he was an altar boy with Father Serge.

He then moved to Plaisance for a while, before moving to St Louis where he continued his education at the St John Bosco School (where the present Seventh Day Adventist Church is), before continuing his secondary education at the Dominique Savio School.

Barry was then selected to attend technical school which was R60, but his family could not afford the fee, so he left school and started to learn carpentry.

Due to the low remuneration, since he was also helping to cater for younger siblings, he left the job and went to work with a certain Mr Shariff at Island Printing in the Bel Air district.

He then quit again and went to work for the then cooperative, doing carpentry work, before crossing the road to go and work at the Cold Storage with Mr Bonté.

Already 16 years old then, Barry left the island to go and work on Silhouette for a year as a labourer, before leaving to start his career at sea.

Life at sea

His first job on the sea was to salvage copper canons from sunken war ships off the banks of Boudeuse, a job which was introduced to him by his uncle.

“I remember they sold the canons to the Americans who did not collect them and they sold it twice to a local businessman. They were prosecuted for that and all the crew, except for me, were convicted and sent to jail for three months. Then the government seized those canons which can now be found at various places, including museums and archives,” explained Barry.

After the second trip, he came back ashore to work in construction with his older brother Ahmed who is a mason.

He then stuck his nose into electrical and air-conditioning, before joining the entertainment industry, precisely night clubs where he was a ticket seller at the Rendez-Vous, Barrel and Lovenut nightclubs.

At that time Barry was also working with the Union Lighterage Company (ULC) as a stevedore where he was a team leader, organising the first strike and helping his fellow workers to get their dues, with the help of some other bodies.

Then, through Sea Harvest, Barry joined the Long Liner industry where he spent quite a number of years, ending up specialising in fish processing, targeting and maintaining grade A fish products for the Japanese market at that time.

From Sea Harvest, Barry carried on with fishing of different sorts spending a further number of years at sea, until he returned ashore so start rock drilling.

When asked about the sudden switch, Barry explained that he felt that the way things were going, seaman, or fisherman, were losing money, due to the greediness of those buying the products.

Encouraging youngsters to take a career at sea, Barry explained that it should be out of love and the ambition for a career, instead of the aim of making big money.

He however noted that with the new administration, especially the new Minister for Fisheries who he knows quite well, there would be a change in the way things are being done and fishermen will be better paid according to the value of their products.

“At this age, I will not be going out on long trips, but I am ready to help youngsters and mentor them, preparing them to become good seamen. Now there is heroin which is affecting our youth. When the existing seamen are gone, I do not think there will be a new generation, if we do not tackle the heroin problem right now,” explained Barry.

As a person

“To be a successful and respected person, first of all, you need to believe firmly in God and prayers, along with a hard working attitude. You have to work hard to provide for your family. It is very important to give a helping hand, especially in the community where you live as we may all need each other at one point in time.

I am someone who is always alert and become very good in everything I attempt to do. I will never allow someone to wait for me since I will be always turning up ahead of the scheduled time. I do not recall ever being late for an appointment, or meeting,” explained Barry, who pocketed his first social security cheque in September.

Love for football

He started playing football for St Louis as a field player, before becoming a goalkeeper. He then joined Afro Brothers, then Rovers.

“Collin Whiting saw my potential and encouraged me to join Rovers where there were three of us goalkeepers, including Vincent Confait and Max Racombo. After the abolition of club football, I was already married and living at Mont Fleuri where I was supposed to be playing. I did not want to play under the set conditions, including calling each other ‘Kanmarad’ (Comrade), so I left sports altogether. Then I moved to Anse Aux Pins where I had a little spell with the football team under Dereck Barbe and Roy Roseline, until I moved to Quincy Village where I joined the Anse Etoile team. From Quincy Village I managed to gather the youth where we formed a Sunday league team which got promoted to the third and second divisions. Unfortunately, I had to leave the team as the sea was calling me,” explained Barry, adding that at that time it was important for him to work hard since all his children were still small.

Witnessing the abduction of Hassan Ali

“As a football player and youth at that time, I used to hang out at ‘Long-win’ at St Louis and on that particular day, I was on my way home, a little after 7pm. At that time there were few lights and cars on the road and my proper home was next to a ‘Kalorifer’ belonging to Mrs Delhomme. I decided to take another route that day for some reason which I will not mention. While jumping over the wall, I noticed a car and hid behind the wall to see whose car it was and noticed a lady which I know very well. Then there was another car, which I knew was Mr Ali’s car. A third car then stopped behind them. While hiding behind the wall, I heard exchanges of words ending with ‘Quatre, i en pti ka li, pran li al avek’ (Quatre, he is no big deal, snatch him and go).

“Simultaneously I heard ‘ki mon’n fer zot, ki mon’n fer zot’ (What have I done, what have I done).

“After that, the cars left and I noticed a slipper on the road, before I ran home in fear.

“I am glad to have finally got rid of that weight and pressure off my chest, but it is something that I will never forget.

“Telling the story openly is like deliverance for me.

“My biggest regret is that even if I was mingling with Lewis Betsy during our football days and I was close to his family, including the Tall family at St Louis, out of fear, I could not tell them anything about what I saw,” said Barry.