The island of Chagos Archipelago is covered in rich foliage and soaring palm trees. It is located in the center of the Indian Ocean and was at one time the home to over three thousand natives known as the Chagosians/Ilois. In the 1960's they were forced to evacuate their home to accommodate the United Kingdom and United States military base. Britain claimed that the small island could not accommodate a civilian population and a military base at the same time so the people were forced off their "mother land." The Creole speaking citizens from the island of Chagos have had an extremely difficult life ever since. At first, the islanders were told that they could stay 100 miles away on the island of Peros Banhos. They were offered living quarters that were in bad condition with no doors or windows, and in some cases had been used to house animals. Adjusting to the new and unsanitary life was extremely difficult for everyone. The majority of the Ilois were not accustomed to the new economy and were accustomed to learning to live off of their prosperous coconut and sea environment. The extent of their skills in this new environment were scarce.
Finally in 1973, a ship was arranged to transport the Ilois to Mauritius, with the promise of a new and different life. They were dissatisfied though, to find that the money, land, and the housing that they were promised, was never to be reality. The Ilois had no choice but to settle in their new home on the island of Mauritius, deserted to poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, suicide, lack of shelter, illiteracy and unemployment. The Ilois have been fighting for the right to inhabit their "mother land" again some day soon, but it has been forty years since any Ilois have legally been allowed to set foot on their home soil
The Ilois were shocked that the government of the United Kingdom could turn on it's own people and neglect them. Many believed that it was primarily because they were black descendants of slaves from Africa. The majority of the Ilois families had been living on the "mother island" since the early 19th century, having originally come from India, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Mozambique to become fisherman, farmers, or to work on coconut plantations. Most of the hard working citizens prefer to think of themselves as a proper, settled community, not just the descendant of slaves, despite the hardships that have been forced upon them by their government.
For over forty years the Ilois have resided in Mauritius, forgotten and secluded until 2000. The British government claimed that the removal of the culture from Chagos Island was unlawful, and should never have been allowed to happen. Tthe Islanders from the tiny Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean won the right in British court to return to their homeland 30 years after they were forcibly removed. (Rinaldo, R. Britannica). Then in 2002, the decision was again overturned and the people were forced once more away from their homeland and onto the island of Mauritius. They are still fighting to day to return to their homeland, and hopefully one day they will.
References:
"Mauritius News." The Battle for the Chagos Archipelago; (August 2000) http://www.mauritius-news.co.uk/mnews/Aug00/4.htm. March 1, 2001
"Britannica.com." World: The Secret Deal for the Chagos Islands; (November 7, 2000) http://www.britannica...article/print. March 3, 2001
Author Emily Bernhard
(last updated 10/14/2004)