anatomicdeadspace:Photograph of a Chagossian man during his final coconut harvest. The Chagossian pe
anatomicdeadspace:Photograph of a Chagossian man during his final coconut harvest. The Chagossian people were inhabitants of the Chagos islands, including Diego Garcia, Peros Banhos and Saloman islands. Currently there are no Chagossian’s on the islands as a consequence of a violation of human rights carried out by the British government, when there inhabitants were forcibly evicted in the 1960′s and 70′s so that Britain could lease the islands and allow them to serve as a military base for the United States of America.The nature of the eviction was highly disturbing. The inhabitants were threatened with being shot or bombed, residents that had to venture to other islands to access medical services were refused re-entry on their return to their home, and the British government slaughtered all of the cats and dogs on the islands, animals that were beloved family pets. The few who remained after this campaign of intimidation ultimately left because their food supplies were depleted, having been unable to venture off their islands to replenish their stores for fear of being refused re-entry, and they were left with the option to either leave or starve.The inhabitants were re-located to Mauritius where they lived in profound poverty, losing the way of life they had become accustomed to in the Chagos islands where they had been self-sustaining. In the months following their evictions suicide rates and child mortality sky rocketed amongst the displaced Chagossians. In the following years the population was ravaged by drugs, unemployment and prostitution, issues that were entirely alien to them prior to their displacement.Despite a concerted campaign to allow the Chagossians the basic human right of return to their home, they have been repeatedly denied this by the British government. Apparently their acceptance of compensation - £3,000 per person, not enough to cover the enormous debt that they incurred having lost their home and way of life - cancels out their fundamental human rights. -- source link
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