Chagossians living in Crawley have hit out at the government’s decision to hand the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius.
After years of negotiations, it was announced this week that the UK would give up sovereignty of the islands – including Diego Garcia – more than 50 years after its inhabitants were removed to make way for a US air base.
Jemmy Simon, of Bewbush, said: “We think the decision is wrong. We were never consulted or asked – just like back in the 1960s – and if it was illegal then then it surely is illegal now.”
Jemmy said that by not seeking the views of the Chagossians, the government had again acted ‘like the Chagossians don’t exist’.
She added: “The UK government should have done right by us and granted us self-determination and ended this suffering once and for all.
“Instead, the UK has thrown our lives into the Mauritius government’s hands without us having any control over it again.”
Her views were shared by Michael Jones, leader of Crawley Borough Council, who said the government’s decision seemed ‘quite sudden’.
Mr Jones added: “I had hoped more consideration would have been given to the Chagossians in all of this.
“These people deserve the right to return home.
“As far as I am concerned, these islands belong to them, not Mauritius.”
Over the years, pressure has been placed on the council’s already stretched finances and housing as it stepped up to help Chagossians who arrived at Gatwick with nowhere to go.
This came to a head in June when more than 70 people arrived from Mauritius, 37 of whom had nowhere to stay and no right to emergency accommodation.
A rest centre was set up, first at K2 leisure centre and then at Northgate Community Centre.
Almost four months later, a small group is still at the community centre, refusing to leave.
In July, Mr Jones wrote to the government warning that the authority could no longer help, having ‘exhausted the council’s resources in addressing this emergency’.
He said: “At present, although we have had New Burdens Funding allocated for supporting Chagossian migration following the previous government granting British passport holder rights, nothing has yet been paid to the council.
“I am also aware that representatives of the Chagossian community in the UK have recently written to the government with requests on how to address some of their particular needs.”
As for the group living in the community centre, Mr Jones said arrangements were being worked out between them and the council and he believed they would be leaving ‘in the very near future’.
Looking ahead, Jemmy appeared resigned to future of her and the other Chagossians being firmly in the hands of others.
She said: “We are being told we will be rehabilitated into the outer islands but none of us can trust Mauritius, so until we are given an exact date/time of return we will not believe them.
“Islanders like myself are all for going back and that’s great – and again we don’t have no say or choice, so we’ll wait and see.”
