Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, July 6, 1993

Erath Man Wants England to Apologize To Cajuns

by Dunstan Prial

Perrin says his suit stems from gross violations of his clients' civil rights at the hands of the British.

The suit has never been filed in a court of law, however, and Perrin's clients have all been dead for more than 200 years.

Perrin represents the Acadian people who were exiled from their settlements in Canada by British military authorities beginning in 1755. The forced exodus, known as "le Grand Derangement," was the inspiration for Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline."

Many of those exiled resettled in Louisiana where their descendants, including Perrin, remain to this day.

"Only two groups of people were forcibly brought to America--the Cajuns and the African Americans," he said. Both groups have had trouble assimilating into the mainstream American society," he added.

"Even today," he said, "the Cajuns remain isolated in a foreign land here in Louisiana." Perrin said his suit against the English government is a symbolic venture, not retribution for wrongs committed nearly 250 years ago. Specifically, he wants an apology from the British government, and a formal lifting of the order which forced his ancestors into exile.

The order of exile is "a black mark on the heads of our ancestors," he said. "I'm trying to give England a chance to redress a wrong that occurred 237 years ago."

His true objective, though, is to change the way the Acadians are perceived in history.

The British military officials who initiated the exile claim the Acadians were cast out of Canada because they were rebellious and could not be trusted.

Perrin says the officials motives were self-serving. The Acadians were thrown off their land because high ranking British officials wanted the land for themselves, he said.

"I'm not on the fringe of some kooky idea. I'm in the mainstream of an idea that many Canadians are very interested in," he said. "I have yet to be told by anyone that what I'm doing is wrong either from an historical aspect, or that the remedy I'm seeking is unfair."

Perrin began researching his suit about five years ago after his son Bruce, then 6, asked if his ancestors were pirates. At first, Perrin went along with the romantic analogy of Acadians as wandering rebels. Then it began to bother him.

It was a false analogy, he says now. The Acadians were essentially a community of farmers who wanted nothing more than their independence and to be left alone.

An admission by the British government that the order of exile was unjustified would correct the common but erroneous perception of the Acadian people as criminals, said Perrin.

"I'm challenging history. I'm trying to change the way history has been reported," he said.

After researching 18th Century British law, specifically as it pertained to the orders of exile, Perrin began drafting his suit. For legal purposes, he fashioned the suit as an amendment to a petition forwarded by a group of Acadians to the king of England in 1763.

In January of 1990, Perrin sent copies of his updated suit to the Queen of England and to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

To his surprise, the English ambassador to the United States responded.

While the English government has yet to lift the order of exile or apologize, British officials are taking Perrin very seriously.

His efforts have also gained the attention of the international legal community.

Earlier this year, Perrin presented his case in Normandy, France at the Contest for International Human Rights. Perrin's suit was chosen from more than 100 entries to be presented as if in an actual court of law.

Perrin's case was the only non-contemporary human rights issue addressed at the conference. The others dealt with such diverse topics as AIDS, starvation in Africa and human rights violations in the Middle East.

"The reason this won't go away is because the order of exile is still in effect," he said. "Technically, because I'm a Cajun, when I travel to Canada I'm violating British law."

The crux of Perrin's case is that the exile occurred in a time of peace - some eight months before the start of the Seven Years War between France and England, which began in 1756. According to British law at the time exiles could not be ordered in time of peace without the consent of Parliament. No consent was ever given for removal of the Acadians, he says.

British officials now claim the English government was not responsible because the illegal exile was carried out on Canadian sod by independent authorities.

Perrin calls their defense "a bunch of malarkey."

He cites the recent apology by the U. S. government for the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II as just one precedent for a government apologizing for past human rights violations.

Another occurred when former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev apologized to his countrymen for the actions of Josef Stalin, whose violations were committed a generation before Gorbachev came to power.

The current British government could show their commitment to human rights by apologizing for the actions of military officers under British command in the 1750s, says Perrin.

Perrin said be isn't sure when or how the British government will concede to his requests.

The only certainty is that he will continue his efforts to shed light on the tragic plight of his ancestors.

Said Perrin, "The support is so overwhelming from so many quarters. Things are rolling ... this is attainable."

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