What happened to chagossians after their expulsion?

Facing social, cultural, and economic despair, the Chagossians now live as a marginalized community in Mauritius and Seychelles and have not been allowed to return home.

Why were the Chagossians forced to leave the Chagos Archipelago?

The islands used to be home to between 1,500 and 2,000 Chagossians, but they were forcibly removed from their homeland between 1967 and 1973 to make way for a US military base on Diego García, the largest of the islands.

What happened to the Chagossians?

Most Chagossians now live in Mauritius and the United Kingdom after being ethnically cleansed by the British government in the late 1960s and early 1970s so that Diego Garcia, the island where most Chagossians lived, could serve as the location for a United States military base.

How many Chagossians are there?

Currently, they are penniless, poor, and without a home. Numbering some 3000 to 4000 Chagossians, they currently live on the island of Mauritius. There are approximately 500 Chagossian survivors of the more than 1.500 original evictees right now.

Who owns Diego Garcia island?

British Indian Ocean Territory (UK) Reference no. Diego Garcia is an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is a militarized atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of 60 small islands comprising the Chagos Archipelago.

Is Diego Garcia for Mauritius?

Mauritius has pledged to give the United States — or even the United States and Britain together — a long-term lease to Diego Garcia. The Chagos Archipelago, although 1,300 miles away from Mauritius in the vast Indian Ocean, was nonetheless recognized as a Mauritius dependency under British colonial rule.

What is Chagossians?

Chagossians (often referred to as Ilois) were the indigenous people of Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean. From 1965 to 1973 the U.S. government put them on the overcrowded boats and shipped them off to Mauritius. The island of Diego Garcia was completely emptied of all the local peoples.