Meeting the Chagos Islanders and Hearing their Sad Story

Some years ago a number of constituents approached me to express their concern about the way the Chagos islanders had been treated and to ask me for help. The Chagos Islanders come from a group of islands in the Indian ocean which were taken over by the United States military two decades ago. These were British teritories.

The US government wanted the islands to use an immense strategic base. The islanders were forced to leave their homes and literally lost everything.They lost their livelihoods, their communities and the right to live on their beautiful islands. Britain allowed this to happen to appease the US..

Many of the islanders came to Britain because they had nowhere else to go. They have had a hard time. Many have decribed how it broke their hearts leaving their islands and their homes.

The islanders have fought in the courts to be allowed to return home. A few months ago they achieved a major breakthrough in their campaign to returm home when the courts judged that they had a right to return.

Disgracefully the Government appealed this decision and in the House of Lords today (Wedenesday 22nd October) this judgement was overturned. This means that the islanders will now have to take their case to the European court.

I joined and filmed the demonstration outside Parliament that the islanders organised after the Lords decision.

The threat to force people out of their homes and communities as result of the proposal for a third runway gives us all in our area something in common with the islanders and increases my sympathy and support for their struggle to go home.

submitted by John on 22 Oct 2008 at 23:57