Second-Lieutenant David Paul Antat fell under the bullets of the mercenaries on November 25, 1981.
Paying homage to the fallen hero, former head of State and Commander in Chief of the defence forces, France Albert Rene, said: “The Seychellois people have lost an officer of the Liberation Army. Second Lieutenant David Paul Antat, who courageously sacrificed his life and became a martyr of our Revolution.”
According to reports, Antat was in one of the two armoured vehicles which made its way to the Seychelles International Airport terminal forecourt, but the lights were out in the building where the mercenaries had been confined and the driver had difficulty spotting them. The vehicle’s tyres were quickly shot out and it was set ablaze by a Molotov cocktail. Second-Lieutenant David Antat, the vehicle’s commander, emerged from the top and engaged the mercenaries. They surrounded the vehicle and shot him several times in the chest, killing him.
Born on May 24, 1958 in Victoria, David Paul Antat studied at the Mont Fleuri secondary school. He later attended an accountancy course from November 1977 to May 1978 in Dar-es-Salaam and military training at Arusha, also in Tanzania, from 1979 to 1980 before being promoted to second-lieutenant in July 1980.
Heroes do not die. Those who fall on the field of battle defending their country cannot die. They live on beyond death, not only in the memories of their fellow men, but because of that for which they died and for which others will strive.
A poem in memory of David Paul Antat
Oh brother David!
When into this world were you born
And left by your cruel fate to fend for yourself,
You inherited nothing much ‘cept your nationality.
And fierce love for your country
For which colonialist hands fought hard to keep.
The joys and warmth parental love
You never knew,
Yet you never once complained.,
But instead brought gaiety into others’ lives
With your laugher and jokes so contagious.
Oh brother David!
Had necessity to seek shelter
Not forced us under the same roof,
Share the same bed and meagre allowances,
My heart would bleed not so heavily now.
The time came when country called
For the strength and will
Of your ripe age
And you tirelessly gave of yourself
In body and spirit,
To fight for what we have always fought for
In the seclusion of our room ‒ freedom.
Today dear David,
The hands of marauding racists
Have drawn your lifeblood away
As you stood ground for us all.
Your soul will rest peacefully,
For the nobility of your deeds
Has ensured you a place in your nation’s heart
While your blood shall forever
Be the life-force of us all
And your name be marked in our skies clear.
Source: National Information Services Agency