What does Mauritius’ acquisition of the Chagos Islands mean for the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees?
The Chagos Islands have recently been handed over to the Mauritian government by the UK’s new Labour government. Yet, on these very islands, specifically Diego Garcia - a US-UK military base, around 60 Tamil refugees, including 16 children, are trapped in limbo after claiming asylum in what was, and still is, the British Indian Ocean Territory in 2021. The group are alleged to have faced rats in their camp and multiple reports of sexual harassment and abuse along with several self-harm attempts (the latter of which led to 8 being treated in Rwanda), even resulting in the United Nations declaring that Diego Garcia is an unsuitable location for these migrants. The issue over whether they will all be able to go to the UK is still unresolved, however, the impact of the agreement made between Mauritius and the United Kingdom has had consequential repercussions for the Tamils stuck in limbo.
From https://rozenberg.substack.com/p/us-blocks-british-judge
The 36 in Diego Garcia and 3 in Rwanda have been allowed to move to a UN-run transit camp in Romania, where they will be given 6 months to explore other solutions. If they can’t find any, they will be transferred to the UK. It remains unclear what will happen to the remaining few, who haven’t been allowed to move to Romania, however, it is likely that they will either be deported to Sri Lanka/India or, if they are ‘lucky’ as they were in early 2023, they may be given a boat. The group of 18, who did the latter, ran into problems 2 weeks later near Mauritius, where they were prevented from landing and restocked before eventually landing in Réunion 2 days later. All 18 applied for asylum - only 3 got accepted. The rest went back to Sri Lanka. However, for those that may still be stuck on Diego Garcia, it appears that they may be incentivised to return to Sri Lanka, with the BBC claiming that they will be offered £3,000, “medical insurance for three years, accommodation for up to three years, plus a job or training or education opportunities”.
From https://southasianvoices.org/chagos-islands-and-the-struggle-for-global-britain/
Albeit, all of this is overshadowed by the wait for the verdict from the UK’s Supreme Court about the legal challenge to their detention, seeking to clarify whether The Refugee Convention will apply to them. Meanwhile, the so-called “loophole” has effectively been closed since the 16th of October 2024 when Labour introduced a plan to transfer asylum seekers, who may arrive at the Chagos Islands to St Helena, at the cost of over £6.5 million. Critics in Parliament have argued that this has created a 'pull factor' to the islands. Notwithstanding, the deal made by Mauritius and the UK in the handover has included a plan for refugees. After the handover, Mauritius will take care of any refugees, meaning the irregular route for illegal immigration has been officially closed. These deals do not include the Sri Lankan Tamils. They, at this moment in time, are still stuck in purgatory, with the shadow of the impending verdict looming over them every day.