Berndate Dugse was just a child when his family was forced to leave his birthplace. As long as she was not a grandmother, she did not get a chance to return.
68 -year -old Dugas has spent most of his lives Seychelles And Britain, wondering what it would be to set foot on the tropical island Diego GarciaPart of remote cluster of Atol in the middle Indian Ocean Is called Chagos islands,
Like hundreds of other people, natives of the islands, Dugsee was excluded from its homeland more than half a century ago when British and US governments decided to build an important military base there.
After years of fighting for the right to go home, Dugse and other displaced islands saw in disappointment on Thursday as the UK government announced that it was formally transferring the sovereignty of Chagos Islands Mauritius,
While political leaders talked about international security and geopolitics, the deal meant only one thing for Chagosian: that the possibility of going back to his motherland to stay in his motherland is now out of more reach than ever.
“We are natives. We are there,” Dugse said, who has settled reluctantly CrowleA city in the south London“This made me feel angry because I want to go home.”
Dugas was born in the Chagos Islands, which was under administration MauritiusA former British Colony, until 1965, when Britain separated him Mauritius,
Mauritius gained independence in 1968, but Chagos remained under British control and was named the British Indian Ocean region.
Dugas was barely 2 years old when his family was deported Seychelles After her father in 1958, a laborer allegedly broke a work contract. They were never allowed to return. During the 1960s, many other islands thought they were leaving temporarily – a holiday, or for medical treatment – would not be said that they could not return to Chagos.
It was discovered that Britain was evicting the entire population of Chago Islands- about 1,500 people from African slaves and plantation workers landed- so the US Army could build a base on Diego Garcia, the largest island, the largest island.
By 1973, all indigenous Chagosians were forced to leave. Thousands of islands and their descendants are now spread worldwide, the most in Mauritius, UK and Seychelles. Most want to return home.
The UK government has admitted that the removal of the islands was wrong, and has provided many citizens and set some funds to improve their lives. But it continues the Chagosis by returning and living in its homeland, citing defense and safety concerns and “the cost of the British taxpayer”.
Although this week the British government finalized a deal to transfer the sovereignty of Chagos to Mauritius, there is no reverse for Chagosians, ending the colonial heritage contested for a long time.
Dugase and other islands say that they were completely excluded from political negotiations, and Mauritius’s government is unlikely to give them any right to return. Under this deal, which still needs the approval of Parliament, Britain will withdraw the Diego Garcia military base for at least 99 years. This means that the island will be off-lymph for remote convenience.
“I don’t have a Mauritian passport. I don’t want to associate myself with Mauritius,” she said. “We have our own culture. We have our own identity. We are unique indigenous people.”
Dugase and another Diego Garcia native, Bertris Pompe, demanded a legal action against the British government on the deal to transfer the Chagos Islands to the Mauritius control. He managed to sign the deal for a few hours only on Thursday.
Pompe said that it was a “very sad day”, but she was not giving up.
Outside a courthouse in London, Pompe said, “The rights we are right now, we have been fighting for 60 years.” “Mauritius is not going to give us. So we need to keep fighting with the British government to listen to us.”
Human Rights Watch and other groups have urged the UK government to recognize Chagosian’s rights to return home, calling the failure “to do so as” a constant colonial offense against humanity “.
Map of Chagos Islands:
Dugase – who received British citizenship, but said that he has not received any other compensation – it has been allowed to return to Diego Garcia only twice in recent years. Both times trips were possible with special permission from the UK government.
He described the island as a “mini-America”, which was populated by American service members and Filipino employees. She visited the church where her parents were married and where she was baptized, but she found ruins in her village cemetery and school.
And when he collected Sechle and white sand from the beach, the authorities told him that he was not allowed to bring those houses.
“I told him no – (shells and sand) are mine, not yours,” he said. “We were allowed there only for nine days, and I cried every day.”
Dugas said that her elderly mother, who lives in Seychelles, wants to die on Garcia. She does not think that it is possible – and she is pessimistic as to where any of her children or grandchildren will get a chance to see where her family came from.
“Are we always going to be nomadic, going from place to place?” He asked. “Most of the natives are dying. What will happen? It is time for us to set the feet home.”