In French Guiana, Devil's Island is a must-visit.
Île du Diable (also spelled Alcatraz Island) is a small island off the coast of French Guiana, with an area of 34.6 hectares, one of the three islands of the Saviour Archipelago, only 11 kilometers from the space city of Kourou. Since 1852, the island has been built by the French as a prison for felons. In 1938, the inmate reception was stopped, the prison was abolished in 1946, and it was officially closed in 1952. The island is now under the control of the Guyana Space Centre.
The three islands of the Saviour Archipelago
During the 100 years that Devil's Island was used as a prison, about 80,000 prisoners died here, hence the name Devil's Island.
On December 30, 2014, early in the morning of the second day in French Guia, we set off for Devil's Island. I traveled basically on my own, not in groups, but because it was a little difficult to travel with visas involving Suriname and Guyana, I traveled with a group when I traveled to French Guiana in order to solve the visa problem of the next two countries.
We first drove to the marina of the space city of Kuru, where we changed into a yacht and headed straight to Devil's Island. The sea breeze in the morning was very strong and there was a drizzle and it felt very cold. The waves were also very large, and soon after leaving the dock, the ship was violently bumping in the sea, and everyone was clinging to the seats and railings of the ship, and strangely enough, the owner did not let everyone wear life jackets, which I felt very incomprehensible, but no one raised objections, and I pretended to be calm and did not make a sound. Soon, several people in the same boat began to vomit, and under the infection of the incessant vomiting, I wanted to vomit several times, but I resisted. I thought to myself, such a ghost weather to go to Devil's Island, may be the devil is doing something wrong.
Fortunately, it was not far away, and in less than an hour, our boat stopped at the pier of Devil's Island. There is no difference between the eyes and the common island, green trees, sandy beaches, beautiful environment, which can not be associated with the name "Devil's Island".
Not much, along the path steps you can reach the original commander's quarters, which is now a small museum, basically nothing physical, which exhibits mainly pictures, a pair of huge handcuffs pictures are the logo of the museum.
The management of Devil's Island Prison is stationed
Prison Administrator's Residence, now the Museum
Of the prisoners held on Devil's Island, how many of the prisoners died on the island. Among the many prisoners are two of the most famous legends, René Belbenoît, who is serving a prison sentence for theft on Devil's Island, and Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who was framed and imprisoned for collaborating with the enemy for treason. Brief descriptions of their pictures are on display in the museum of Devil's Island.
René Belbenois was one of the few who left Devil's Island alive.
Inside the museum, introduction and pictures of René Belbenois
Born in Paris in 1899, he was abandoned as an infant by his mother, Louise Daumiere, to live with his uncle.
René Belbenois saw and survived the First World War, after which he began working as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Besançon, eight francs a day, with food and accommodation. After working there for only 11 days, he stole a wallet containing 4,000 francs, then stole a motorcycle, and two days later he was arrested in Paris.
In 1920, he was sentenced to eight years of hard labor to serve his sentence on Devil's Island in French Guiana.
It has repeatedly tried to escape from Devil's Island in a vain attempt to escape Devil's Island, but has failed. During his imprisonment, he began writing memoirs, copies of which were sent to the new governor, and was able to leave Devil's Island in 1930 to work as a gardener on a Panamanian estate, until 3 November 1934, when Belbenois was officially released, but was not allowed to enter French soil and territory.
In 1938, his book The Guillotine was published in the United States. The memoir was printed 14 times in less than a year.
René Belbenois photo and autograph (image from Wikipedia)
In the United States in 1951, his new book, Hell in Trial (1940), caught the attention of immigration authorities again, and in May 1951 he was summoned to Los Angeles, where he was granted U.S. citizenship in 1956. He died of a heart attack in California on February 25, 1959, at the age of 59. (The main content is quoted from "Wikipedia")
Captain Alfred Dreyfus
The museum exhibits Captain Alfred Dreyfus's curriculum vitae and photographs
Captain Alfred Dreyfus (this image is from Wikipedia)
Captain Alfred Dreyfus was sentenced to life imprisonment for espionage for the benefit of the enemy. He was escorted to Devil's Island on 8 March 1895 and did not leave until 9 June 1899. He was held in a separate cell on Devil's Island, and even the guards were not allowed to talk to him, and it is recorded that "the hut where he was held was made of stone, square, four meters wide, and had a single large window with iron bars, so that the guards could see him at all times." Depending on the season, Dreyfus has the right to walk between the valleys of the island between 5 a.m. or 5:30 a.m., but must be monitored by five guards, including a heavily armed non-commissioned officer. ”
The cell where Alfred Dreyfus is being held (image from Wikipedia)
Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned on the island for more than four years, making him the most concerned, isolated and famous prisoner in the world!
The Dreyfus Affair, or Dreyfus Scandal, was a political and social movement event that occurred in France at the end of the 19th century. Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish-French officer, was wrongly convicted of treason, and serious conflicts and controversies broke out in French society, where the anti-Semitic atmosphere was very strong at that time. At that time (early 1898), the famous writer Zola wrote a letter in support of Dreyfus's innocence, which provoked a more than ten-year, earth-shaking social reform movement (1898-1914).
The museum's pictures --- Alfred Dreyfus accused of framing
After several re-examinations and changes in the political environment, Dreyfus was finally rehabilitated on July 12, 1906, and officially became a national hero, and the accompanying social reform movement also peaked with the passage of the French Separation of Church and State Law in 1905. (The main content is quoted from "Wikipedia")
In addition to the prisoners, Devil's Island also contains lepers. According to reports, there are also those who are imprisoned on Devil's Island for stealing a piece of bread, which reminds me of Hugo's character "Jean Valjean" in "Les Misérables".
"Babylon"
Stills from the movie "Babylon"
Also to mention is Henri Charrière, a French writer who was convicted of murder by a French court. In prison, he wrote the famous novel "Babylon", which is a memoir about his imprisonment and escape from exile at Devil's Island.
Although Henri Charière claims that the contents of The Babylon are true, modern researchers believe that much of the book's content came from other prisoners, not from Charrier himself. Charrier denied committing murder, although he admitted guilty of various other misdemeanors before being imprisoned.
Stills from the movie "Babylon"
The novel "Babylon", adapted into a film twice in 1973 and 2018, depicts Henri Charière, after being imprisoned for 10 years on Devil's Island, who used a bag of coconuts to escape Devil's Island and reach Guyana in 1941 and become a citizen of Guyana. After settling in Venezuela and marrying a Venezuelan woman Rita, the legendary story. (The main content is quoted from "Wikipedia")
The island was renovated in 1980 and has some cells, as well as churches, water towers and other buildings.
The high walls of the cell
church
Cells and water towers
cell
Helicopter apron
In the afternoon, we bid farewell to Devil's Island, returned to the wind and sun, the wind and waves were calm, and successfully returned to the space city of Kuru. In the setting sun, the white lighthouse on the pier reflects the blue sky, which is very beautiful.
Image taken on a trip to French Guiana in December 2014; textual materials are based on "Devil's Island Museum Notes" and "Wikipedia" related materials.
#Devil's Island # #Saviar Islands # #阿尔弗雷德 Dreyfus # #勒内 Belbenois # #电影 "Babylon" #