The silence of a Mauritian student by Claire Valerie is an autobiography that recounts the author's journey from Mauritius to Malaysia and Australia.
Published in 2020, I found out about The silence of a Mauritian student a year later, through social media. I was immediately drawn by Valerie's hair style on the cover, making a proud statement about identity. In my previous blog, I wrote about post-colonial concepts of beauty that many Mauritian women experience.
As an international student in Australia, I was interested to read about Claire's experience. I knew that the book was about Claire's experience of bullying and racism in Malaysia. However I was quite shocked to discover that the bullying and racism came from Mauritian students who were also studying in Malaysia. It took courage and resilience for Claire to stand up for herself and find her voice.
Make noise if you want to be heard.
The silence of a Mauritian student reads like a personal journal. It is self-reflective and unapologetic. At times, I can almost hear the Mauritian accent and bilingualism through the written words.
