&MUN IX THE 1968 CHAGOSSIAN EXILE BACKGROUND GUIDE & Letters From The Directors
Dear Delegates,
My name is Ramona Shelton and I am so thrilled to be your director for Reclaiming an Island: The 1968 Chagossian Exile. The themes of sovereignty, and human rights as well as the international response to violations of these concepts have been interests of mine throughout my college career, and I am excited to hear what each of you brings to the table at &MUN IX!
I am a sophomore from Staunton, VA, double majoring in International Relations and Economics at William and Mary. I joined the International Relations Club as a freshman after competing in model United Nations in high school. I have staffed and directed committees for all three conferences that William and Mary hosts, have competed with our collegiate model United Nations team, and am currently serving on the Secretariat for our middle school conference, as the director of conference development. Outside of model UN, I am a member of William and Mary’s club rowing team, and also enjoy hiking, skiing, reading, and cooking for my friends in my free time.
As a delegate in this committee, you will be expected to take on the role of your character, however &MUN condemns any displays of racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, religious discrimination, or any other form of bigotry, and this behavior will not be tolerated in committee.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Thank you all for participating in &MUN XIX, I cannot wait for a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely, Ramona Shelton
& Letters From The Directors
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to &MUN IX! My name is Alexandra Byrne and I am so excited to be serving as your crisis director for Reclaiming an Island: The 1968 Chagossian Exile. I am currently a sophomore at the College, and as an International Relations and French & Francophone Studies double major, I am interested in issues of human rights and transitional justice in the Francophone world. This year is my second competing in crisis committees on the college MUN circuit. I serve as an assistant head delegate for our travel team and I have greatly enjoyed staffing and directing all three of our MUN conferences at W&M. Outside of MUN, I write for The Flat Hat, W&M’s student newspaper, and I am a research fellow in the International Justice Lab on campus, where I research transitional justice and truth commissions. In my (limited) spare time, I enjoy art, film, tea, and tennis. Focusing on a little-known crisis of autonomy that remains largely unaddressed to this day, I hope this committee will carefully and thoughtfully address the issues of forced displacement and the human right to one’s native territory. Though the Chagos territory dispute has grown to be an international issue involving major actors such as the United States and the United Kingdom, when creating this committee, we wanted to place agency in the hands of the Chagossians. Thus, you will represent a group of Chagossian activists exiled on Mauritius. You will be tasked with running a grassroots campaign to reclaim your islands. Though we recognize MUN is meant to be a fun time, please note that the issue at hand is one of great sensitivity and gravity for the generations of Chagossians that remain exiled from their native islands and have received no redress. Like native and indigenous peoples across the world, Chagossians are very much alive and retain their unique language, history, and culture. There is no denying the pain inflicted upon the Chagossian people by French, British, and American colonial endeavors. That said, we expect all delegates to handle the issue with care in room and in their crisis arcs. Like all committees at &MUN, we will tolerate no discrimination or bigotry of any kind. It is a crazy time in our world, but I hope that this committee will prompt thought-provoking and meaningful debate as we have seen in past iterations of &MUN. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]. Thank you so much for coming to &MUN and I look forward to meeting you all come conference weekend!
Best, Alexandra Byrne
& Background
Committee Date: June 1975
The Chagos Islands is a group of seven atolls, made up of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean. In 1715, France laid claim to the islands, and established a small colony on the island of Diego Garcia, which consisted of around fifty French citizens, and a handful of slaves from what are now Mozambique and Madagascar.[1] The French began issuing permits for companies to establish coconut oil plantations, and the Chagos Islands began to establish themselves as an economy based on the production of copra, and its by-product, coconut oil. In the 1814 Treaty of Paris, France surrendered Mauritius and its dependencies (including the Chagos Islands) to the United Kingdom. During this time, the atoll of Diego Garcia and the Chagos became prominent posts for slave ships in the Indian ocean. Trading between Sumatra, Seychelles, and the French Island of Bourbon added a population of Malay slaves into the Chagos gene pool.[2] The French government abolished slavery in 1794; however local administrators did not enforce this in the Chagos Islands. Similarly, the abolition of slavery by the British government in 1834 could have propelled a change in the slave culture of the islands, but former slaves simply became contract workers for large plantations, continuing the precedent of poor working conditions, and little to no pay for much of the population.[3] Despite less than ideal lives for many living on the island, the slave population developed rich traditions. In the 1960s, the United Kingdom and the United States began negotiations on establishing a military base in the Indian Ocean region. Since the United States did not possess any land in the region, they were dependent on reaching a deal with the United Kingdom to secure land for the project.[4] The United States sought an unpopulated territory in order to avoid the rules set forth by the United Nations Special Committee on the Situation with Regard and Implementation of Declaration on the Creation of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which prohibited the colonization of land that was already inhabited by native peoples. In order to find a loophole to these restrictions, the British Colonial Office recommended to the UK government to detach the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, an independent island to which the remote British islands of the Central Indian Ocean were administered. On November 8, 1965, the United Kingdom created the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) by an order in council.[5]
[1] Durup, Julien. “The Chagos. A Short History and Its Legal Identity.” Études Océan Indien, INALCO, 1 July 2013, journals.openedition.org/oceanindien/2003. [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid. [4] Ibid. [5] Ibid. & In December 1966, the United States and the United Kingdom signed a 50 year agreement to use the Chagos for military purposes, and each island was to be without a resident civilian population. In April 1967, the BIOT bought out the Chagossian Agalega, the company that owned the majority of the plantations on the archipelago for 600,000 euros, becoming the sole property owners in the BIOT. This put them in a position to easily depopulate the entire island, as many of the individuals who resided on the island were contractually bound to the Chagossian Agelega Company. Between 1965 and 1973, there were approximately 426 families, numbering 1,151 individuals who had left the Chagos Islands for Mauritius either voluntarily or involuntarily. By April 27, 1973, the entire population of the Chagos was removed to Mauritius and the Seychelles.[6]
The Chagos Islands The Chagos Archipelago is made of 60 separate islands that extend over an area of 10,000 square miles.[7] The Chagos Islands are very secluded, with no other land within 1,000 miles of it, making it a prime location for a military base. Geographically, the Chagos Islands are located seven degrees north of the equator in the North Central Region of the Indian Ocean, and have India to the north, Madagascar to the West, Indonesia to the east, and Antarctica to the south. Diego Garcia is the largest of the many atolls that comprise the Chagos Archipelago, and the land can only be reached using government authorized ships and planes.[8]
[6] “Chagossians-the Original Inhabitants of Diego Garcia Face U.S. Government in the Court.” Accessed March 5, 2021. http://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/chagossians-original-inhabitants-diego-garcia-face-us-government-court. [7] Diego Garcia - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. archive.eol.ucar.edu/projects/dynamo/documents/history.html. [8] Ibid. Map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagos_Archipelago & The Chagossian People and Culture Chagossians have diverse ancestry, including peoples from Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, India, and Malaysia. Many Chagossians descend from enslaved individuals brought to the islands by the French during the 18th century. Others arrived as fishermen, farmers, and plantation workers. Since the first successful French colony was established in the Chagos in 1793, many Chagossians worked for the coconut plantations that were set up on the islands. Chagossians and their diaspora speak Chagossian Creole—a French derived Bourbonnais Creole.[9] Chagossian society on the islands was matriarchal, and most men and women worked. Land and resources were plentiful, so the economy was relatively communal. Most Chagossians are Christian and there was a church on Diego Garcia that was well attended for Sunday Mass.[10] Chagossian culture is distinct from other Indian Ocean island cultures, with unique cuisine, traditions, and festivities. Many aspects of Chagossian culture are tied to elements of the islands themselves, such as the wildlife and plentiful resources that were maintained by Chagossians for centuries. Distanced from their islands, Chagossians feel excluded from the physical environment in which their culture is rooted. Many Chagossians who were deported settled in Mauritius or in the Seychelles. Since Chagossians were not given citizenship in either island, nor in the United Kingdom, they are seen as outsiders in these societies and face discrimination and exclusion. Often, they are forced to live in poverty with little social welfare, and as a result, Chagossian communities face physical and mental health issues, lack of education, homelessness, extreme debt, and unemployment.[11]
Forced Deportation of the Chagossians Throughout the entire deportation, Britain and the United States severely downplayed the scale of the deportation efforts in an attempt to avoid scrutiny from the United Nations. The forced relocation essentially occurred in three stages. First, Chagossians that were away at the time were not permitted to return, then the British government cut off the flow of all goods to the island, and eventually, the remaining population was forced onto ships and relocated to Seychelles or Mauritius.[12] Britain’s plan was to deprive the Chagossian population of an income by buying all of the plantations from the Chagos Agalega Company, encouraging them to leave the island voluntarily. Furthermore, the British government avoided the phrase “permanent inhabitants” when referring to anyone living in BIOT, because to recognize there were any permanent residents put them at risk of facing consequences from the United Nations and other human
[[9] Chagos Islanders Movement. “Our Culture.” Accessed March 5, 2021. http://www.chagosislandersmovement.com/chagos-islands-culture/. [10] chagos-support. “Chagos | UK Chagos Support Association.” Accessed March 5, 2021. https://www.chagossupport.org.uk. [11] UK’s Chagos Islands Descendants Feel like ‘Lost Nation.’” BBC News, June 1, 2019, sec. UK. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48426031. [12] Ibid. & rights groups.[13] The British government issued inhabitants of the BIOT with documents stating that they were “belongers” of Mauritius and Seychelles, meaning that they were only temporary residents of BIOT. Another tactic used by the British government to downplay the deportation was to deliberately under-count the number of residents.[14] Three years before deportation, the British Governor of Mauritius estimated the permanent population of Diego Garcia to be 1,700 people, however, the BIOT report made in June 1968 estimated only 354 Chagossians resided in the BIOT, and this number subsequently fell in later reports.[15] On January 23, 1971, nine men from the US Navy’s Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 (NMCB-40) landed on Diego Garcia to survey the beach landing areas. Construction began in March and continued for the rest of the summer.[16] By October 1971, the Chagossians on Diego Garcia had been relocated to the islands of Peros Banhos and Solomon on ships chartered from Mauritius. By November 1972, the plantation on Solomon atoll had been evacuated, and by May of 1973 the plantation on Peros Banhos had been closed, and the last islanders were sent to Seychelles or Mauritius.[17] Those sent to the Seychelles received a severance pay equal to their remaining contract term, and those sent to Mauritius were to receive a cash settlement from the British government distributed by the Mauritius government, however, the Mauritius government did not distribute this settlement until four years later.[18]
The Base and Military Involvement in the Region The United States military base was immensely destructive to the island’s habitat. The construction of a ship channel and a turning basin in the lagoon alone cost 6.1 million dollars. Furthermore, even after initial construction, expansion of the base continued in 1975 and 1976, when the United States Congress authorized $28.6 million to provide minimal logistics support for US task groups operating in the Indian Ocean.[19] America’s naval policy had many motivations concerning the Indian ocean in the 1960s, however, the largest motivation was to deter Russia from interrupting the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf countries to America and Europe. With Russia’s influence in Iraq, the United States had an interest in supporting Iran in order to counter Russian influence in the region. The American strategy was to maintain a naval presence in the Persian Gulf in order to secure sea lines of communication within the Indian Ocean. Around the same time that the American base was built on Diego Garcia, Russia developed a base in Socotra, near the Gulf of Aden,
[13] Ibid. [14] Ibid. [15] Ibid. [16] Ibid. [17] Ibid. [18] Ibid. [19] CNN, By Jenni Marsh. “Is the United States about to Lose Control of Its Secretive Diego Garcia Military Base?” CNN, March 9, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/09/asia/chagos-islands-feature-intl/index.html. [20] Diego Garcia, Camp Justice, https://archive.eol.ucar.edu/projects/dynamo/documents/history.html & resulting in a steady increase in the presence of both Russian and American naval influence within the region.[21] In 1969, American president Richard Nixon utilized the “Twin Pillar” strategy, which entrusted the security of the Persian Gulf region to the monarchies in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and the United States began heavily arming both countries under the Nixon Doctrine.[22]
Chagossian Activism Beginning with the first forced deportations, Chagossians protested for their right to remain on their islands. In 1975, Chagossians exiled in Mauritius petitioned the UK government after the UK offered no resettlement assistance or financial compensation.[23] Many legal fights and political activism have been led by Chagossian women. Furthermore, men and women are generally represented equally in Chagossian activism, whether it be planning demonstrations, leading organizations, or negotiating legal deals. Some divisions exist within activist circles. One of the largest dividers is the question of which country should have sovereignty over the Chagos. Some argue that Mauritius is the rightful owner of the Chagos and that the United Kingdom is a colonizer that must return the islands. Others assert that Chagossian return is possible under British rule, assuming that all Chagossians are provided British citizenship and passports. Chagossian activists have received some political support. The Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), a far-left political party formed in 1969, is sympathetic to the Chagossian cause and has offered legal support.[24] While support for Chagossian repopulation and reparation is scarce in the United Kingdom, some Labour politicians and other left-wing groups support the Chagossian cause.
[21] Ibid. [22] Ibid. [23] the Guardian. “‘What about Justice?’: Chagos Islanders Pin Their Hopes on Biden,” December 29, 2020. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/29/what-about-justice-chagos-islanders-pin-their-hopes-on-biden. [24] CSIS. “Africa Notes,” September 25, 1984. https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs- public/legacy_files/files/publication/anotes_098402.pdf.
& Topics to Consider
Living conditions in resettled areas: Living conditions in resettled areas: After being forced to resettle in Mauritius and Seychelles, Chagossians received no resettlement assistance and quickly found themselves living in poor conditions. Chagossians faced impoverished conditions and found it difficult to secure jobs that could support themselves and their families. Moreover, their main export in the Chagos Islands had been copra, which was not translatable in the Mauritian sugarcane economy.[25] Many Chagossians were the subject of ethnic discrimination, making it even harder for the group to secure livable conditions. The Chagossians were never given a path to citizenship in their new countries, making it even harder for them to feel a sense of belonging or attachment to Seychelles and Mauritius. Many families were separated in the expulsion process, and as a result of the abject living conditions, many Chagossians turned to alcohol and drug abuse.[26]
Furthermore, some Chagossians believe that pursuing British citizenship and moving to the United Kingdom may be the best route to ensuring a good life for themselves and their families. This issue could be a point of disagreement, with many not wanting to assimilate into British society. Some activists also fear that the issue will be less prominent if Chagossians disperse to areas further away from their home islands.
Starting a grassroots movement: Because the Chagossian people did not gain much aid from international or national actors at first, much of their early efforts were focused on grassroots organizing amongst the exiled. This required careful organizing and leadership in order to create an effective grassroots movement that would actually gain traction on the international stage. Starting a grassroots movement requires mass mobilization of people in order to gain enough support to make a difference. Along with grassroots mobilization by the exiled, the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), the Mauritius opposition party gained some traction in questioning the validity of the purchase of the Chagos and the subsequent removal of the population from the area.[27]
While Chagossians seek to remain united as a people, there will inevitably be disagreements within the movement. Notably, some activists will only accept a return to the Chagos, while others believe a settlement and reparations are the only viable solution. Whether to negotiate with the United States and the United Kingdom or to pursue confrontations under international law could prove to be an influential internal debate. Furthermore, the issue of Mauritian or British citizenship could be another sticking point.
[25] “Timeline.” The Chagos Archive, edspace.american.edu/chagosarchive/timeline-2/. [26] Ibid. [27] Ibid. & Gaining media coverage: Gaining media coverage is of utmost importance to grassroots mobilizers because it provides a way for information to spread quickly and to many people across the world. Because of the hugely successful military base that the United States and the United Kingdom had built on the island, the United Kingdom and the United States had incentives to conceal the true scope of the deportations. Despite this, David Ottoway of the Washington Post wrote and published an article published “Islanders were Evicted for U.S Base” in 1975. The article told the story of the Chagossian exiles in detail and prompted U.S Congressional committees to look into the matter, however, nothing was done, as the subject of Diego Garcia was still considered classified at the time.[28]
[28] Vine, David. Taking On Empires. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F9780230104570_10. & Questions to Consider
1.What should be the priorities for the Chagossian movement? In what form will it take?
How will it be financed? What political, economic, and social grievances should be
addressed first?
2.What are the most effective ways for the exiled Chagossians to gain international support
for their movement? How can Chagossians living in Seychelles and Mauritius work to gain support from the governments of these countries?
3.What are short term and long term solutions for improving living conditions in Seychelles and Mauritius? What are short term and long term solutions for Chagossians to become integrated into the economic systems of the Seychelles and Mauritius? 4.How might Chagossians document their struggle and preserve their cultural heritage? 5.What geopolitical considerations make Chagossian return difficult and how might this movement overcome those challenges?
& Dossier
Please note that, due to the nature of this committee and the ongoing Chagossian activism, some of the most prominent actors in the movement were very young at the time this committee is set. We felt it right to include them in this committee due to their contributions and persistent activism. For those positions, assume your character has all the abilities to act as an adult as outlined in their dossier and feel free to do further research on the person’s life and accomplishments.
Rita Élysée Bancoult Rita Élysée Bancoult lived on the Chagos and was part of the first waves of deportations, in which she left for medical treatment in Mauritius and was barred from returning. After learning that their family would not be able to return home, Rita’s husband suffered a stroke and she lost three of her children in the years following. Rita Bancoult saw the injustices of the exile first hand—particularly the financial struggles of Chagossians, who did not have the means to purchase basic necessities on Mauritius. Rita, like many Chagossians, continues to speak Chagossian Creole and is outspoken about their right to the island. She is enraged at British claims that the Chagossians are not indigenous to the island and believes that international law should protect Chagossians’ human right to citizenship and their native land.
Charlesia Alexis Charlesia Alexis is a Chagossian singer and activist. She was not permitted to return to the Chaogos in 1967 after travelling to Port Louis in Mauritius for medical treatment for her husband. She works closely with Rita Bancoult and Lisette Talate to push for compensation and return to the islands. Alexis misses the islands and struggles with the mental toll of living on Mauritius. She enjoys cooking traditional Chagossian meals and longs to once again make them using the ingredients native to the Chagos.
Aurélie Marie-Lisette Talate Lisette Talate was present at a 1971 meeting in which Chagossians still left on the islands were told that they would need to leave to make way for a military base. Some islanders, including Talate, initially resisted the mandate, but ultimately were forced out. Talate, along with Rita Bancoult and Charlesia Alexis, make up the founding leaders of the Chagossian reclamation movement. She believes that the United Kingdom has colonized the Chagos and that the islands should be returned to Mauritius and Chagossians allowed to repopulate them.
& Louis Olivier Bancoult The son of Rita Bancoult, Louis Olivier Bancoult is an outspoken activist and community leader of Chagossians living in Mauritius. Many Chagossians look to Bancoult for guidance on how to secure justice for their people. Bancoult holds a British passport, which indicates the Chagos as his place of birth, and he considers the United Kingdom to be responsible for the mistreatment of the Chagossians. Bancoult was outraged by the conditions upon arrival in Mauritius and he worries for his fellow Chagossians who are facing alcoholism, addiction, racism, and mental health issues. Bancoult, while ultimately desiring to return to the islands, believes reparations are essential for Chagossians.
Lindsey Collen Novelist Lindsey Collen was born in South Africa and just recently moved to Mauritius in 1974, where she is active in political life. In South Africa, she had been arrested for anti- apartheid activism and is an outspoken supporter of the Chagossian cause. Collen views the United Kingdom as a colonizer and advocates for Chagossian return as Mauritian, not British, citizens. Furthermore, she rejects the Western capitalist systems that she argues have caused Chagossian suffering. She believes that the United Kingdom should be held accountable for its crimes in the Chagos.
Liseby Elysé Born in Peros Banhos in 1953, Liseby Elysé was 20 when she was forced to leave the Chagos. She is now an activist who is determined to return to the Chagos and seeks justice for the conditions she and her fellow Chagossians were subjected to on the ships that carried them to Mauritius and in the years that followed.
Paul Bérenger Paul Bérenger is a young and upcoming Mauritian politician who is sympathetic to the Chagossian cause and wishes to help represent the movement in political office. Bérenger founded the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), a left-wing socialist party, in 1969. The MMM began largely as a student movement, but Bérenger has larger aspirations. In 1971, he led a series of port strikes backed by labor unions, which led to a national state of emergency. Bérenger survived two assassination attempts in 1971 before being imprisoned in late 1971 with other members of the MMM. He was released a year later. Bérenger believes the Chagos are Mauritian territory and that Mauritian politicians should stand up to the United Kingdom’s claims to Diego Garcia and the surrounding islands. If the UK does not comply, Bérenger has expressed his support for actions such as leaving the Commonwealth, which could draw international attention to the issue.
& Dev Virahsawmy Dev Virahsawmy is a young Mauritian politician and was one of the early leaders of the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM). Born in Mauritius, Virahsawmy studied languages, literature, and linguistics at the University of Edinburgh before returning to Mauritius. In 1970, he became the first member of the MMM to be elected to the National Parliament. In 1973, he left the party to form his own splinter party, the Mouvement Militant Mauricien Socialiste Progressiste (MMMSP). Aside from being a politician, Virahsawmy enjoys writing plays and poetry and seeks to popularize the use of Mauritian Creole.
Kader Bhayat Kader Bhayat is a Mauritian politician. He was born in Mauritius to a wealthy Indian family and studied law in England. He joined the MMM in 1972 and currently serves as its Vice President. While many of the party’s leadership was imprisoned, Bhayat maintained communication links between those in prison and their supporters on the outside. He is often credited with keeping the party alive during this time. Bhayat is currently eyeing a seat in the Legislative Assembly and is well-liked in Mauritius, particularly among the working classes.
Clement Saitous Clement Saitous is a Chagossian artist born in 1947 on Peros Banhos before moving to Diego Garcia as a child. He was stranded in Mauritius after seeking medical treatment in 1968, after which Saitous began painting. He is self-taught, documenting the Chagossian experience both in the Chagos and beyond. His art mixes tradition and modernity, happiness and struggle —representing the Chagossians’ collective memory.
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn is a British Labour politician who was elected to Haringey Council in London in 1974. Corbyn was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire in 1949 and attended, but did not graduate from, the North London Polytechnic university. Previously, he has served as a trade union representative and is active in anti-fascist and anti-apartheid activism and is an organizer for the local Labour party. Corbyn has traveled extensively and has become aware of the Chagossian exile. He has his eyes set on becoming an MP in upcoming elections and could be a key British ally—perhaps the only British ally—for Chagossian activists.
& Allen Vincatassin Allen Vincatassin is a Chagossian activist who opposes the view of Bancoult, Alexis, and Talate that Mauritius should have sovereignty over the Chagos. Instead, Vincatassin advocates for a democratic future for Chagossians under British citizenship. He does not wish for Chagossian independence and believes Chagossians can coexist with the new base on Diego Garcia. He also advocates for improving education and literacy for second-generation Chagossians.
Serge Aristide Serge Aristide was born in Peros Banhos in 1951. He was forced to leave for Mauritius in 1967 and was denied return to the Chagos. He has a two-year-old daughter, whom he wishes to raise as an activist with a deep knowledge of Chagossian culture. He is invested in ensuring that second-generation Chagossians have access to their native home and cultural community, even those who choose to move to the United Kingdom in search of a better life.
Marie Therese Mein Marie Therese Mein is a Chagossian activist with an interest in international law. She is married to the former manager of Peros Banhos. Mein harbors deep resentment of the United States, whom she believes is responsible for the exile of the Chagossians and their cruel treatment during the deportations. Mein was three months pregnant at the time of her exile. She miscarried upon arriving in the Seychelles in 1972 due to the poor conditions on the ships. She currently resides in the Seychelles. Bernard Nourrice Born on Diego Garcia, Bernard Nourrice and his family were exiled to the Seychelles in 1973. He is now an activist and works a day job at a hotel in the Seychelles in order to provide for his family. He is especially concerned about the economic conditions that Chagossians face and believes the movement should focus primarily on reparations, job opportunities, and economic support programs.
Fernand Mandarin Fernand Mandarin was born in Peros Banhos in 1943 and was exiled to Mauritius in 1966. Mandarin and his family face poverty and racism in Mauritius and he works various jobs to support his family—from fisherman to mason to docker. Mandarin has begun to involve himself more with the Chagossian resistance in Mauritius and is especially passionate about securing the right of return to the Chagos and support for the Chagossian community.
& Bernadette Dugasse Born in Diego Garcia, Bernadette Dugasse has vowed never to stop fighting until she is able to return to the Chagos and her family’s native land. Dugasse was not expelled from the Chagos by the British, rather she was deported to the Seychelles following a dispute between her father and Mauritian plantation owners. The rest of her family was deported by the British. Since then, she has become politically active within the Chagossian community in the Seychelles, which she feels has been even more neglected than those in Mauritius. She hopes to expand negotiations on reparations and return to the Seychelles.
Further Reading https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/jul/06/features11.g22 https://brill.com/view/title/19853 Silence of the Chagos by Shenaz Patel https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/acts-of-memory-acts-of-power-on-shenaz-patels-silence- of-the-chagos/ https://simonprestongallery.com/?gallery_artist=siatous-clement
& andmun.org &2021