Central Camp of Eel Crique

Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Camp Crique Anguille, also known as Bagne des Annamites, was founded in April 1931 in the commune of Montsinery-Tonnegrande in Guyana. Unlike other Guyanan gypsies, he was directly accountable to the governor and not to the prison administration. Its objective was twofold: to isolate about 500 Indo-Chinese opponents after the Yen-Bay uprising (1930) and to develop the forest area of Inini through forced labour (tracks, Decauville railway). The detainees, housed in seven wooden buildings built by them, were gradually released from 1939, before the camp was finally closed in 1945. The last prisoners, pardoned, settled in Cayenne, founding the present Chinese quarter.

The site, protected by the Conservatoire du littoral since 2012, is accessible after 30 minutes of walking in the forest. Remnants were rediscovered between 2013 and 2015 thanks to restoration projects led by local volunteers and high school students, revealing rails, wagons and operating engines. This work, supervised by the commune and the Conservatoire, has rehabilitated the trail to the Tonnégrande River. The camp was inscribed in the Historic Monuments on May 25, 2023, recognizing its heritage importance related to French colonial and prison history.

Originally, the camp occupied land with a former colonial home (XVIII–IXth centuries), but the current remains date back to the first half of the 20th century. The guards, initially Senegalese tirailers, were replaced in 1940 by Guyanese soldiers because of the war. Today, the site bears witness to the political deportation and forced labour, while illustrating the settlement dynamics in Guyana. The administrative hill, the rails and the rediscovered engines offer a concrete overview of the living and operating conditions of the detainees.

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