Exclusive
Chagossians beg to return to their homeland, as LBC visits their lunch club in Crawley
14 February 2025, 08:40
Meet the exiles of the Chagos Islands
Just a matter of miles from Gatwick Airport live thousands of Chagossians.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Crawley in West Sussex is where many of the islanders settled since 2002, after initially being expelled from their homeland in the 1960s and 1970s.
The population was moved to make way for the building of a US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the archipelago.
That agreement was signed in 1966 with all inhabitants being forcibly removed to either Mauritius or the Seychelles by 1974.
But after being given full UK citizenship, many Chagossians settled in the town of Crawley, with an initial 19 landing at Gatwick airport in 2002 and the population steadily growing.
This has fostered a real sense of community in the area in the town with a weekly lunch club allowing islanders to come together and converse in their native language, Chagossian creole.
Organised by Mylene Augustin, who founded the group Chagossian Voices, around 50 or so meet weekly to catch up, play bingo and eat lunch together - often 'Seraz Poul', a rich coconut mix between a curry and stew, with chicken or octopus, and served with rice.
Using nuts and 1p coins as counters, the bingo numbers are shouted out in French over the general ambiance of the room as people catch up and reminisce over soft drinks.
Mylene tells me that the Chagos Islands are "beautiful" and describes them as "like a paradise, like a dream", 'I'm ready, I'm waiting [to return]". She says that she would return in a heartbeat tomorrow if she could.
But despite her love for the islands, she is furious that the British government "are not listening". "It's like we are not existing, they need to speak to us. Let our voices be heard and stop dividing us".
It is a lovely atmosphere, but tinged with sadness. The ladies who run the club are hardworking, welcoming and kind to the many elderly residents who attend, you can distinctly hear people speaking the French-based language and enjoying themselves.
But speaking with many of the regulars, it is clear that they long to return to the Chagos Islands.
Lucie Tiatos, 78, tells me in Chagossian creole (translated through a young man Maxwell who speaks both), that "if god keeps me [alive], I'd love to see it again. I'd love to live there".
Born on Pehros Bahnos, she grew up on Diego Garcia, and was forced off of the islands in the 1970s. She travelled with her father to Mauritius for a hernia operation - she was never allowed to return to her homeland.
She tells me that on many of the islands the remnants of villages are still there. Churches, administrator offices and homes stand derelict and invaded with coconut crabs.
After enjoying a delicious lunch, and trying my first Seraz Poul, many Chagossians, initially reluctant to speak, decide to tell me their views. It's apparent that the media and political circus has not been enjoyable.
Maxwell, who came to the UK on the 19th May 2010 with just £60 in his pocket, and regularly attends the club to help out the elderly. Born in Mauritius, his father was deported from the islands, and he tells me that his community was treated very badly.
The "inhuman" conditions Maxwell describes include his family being "sent to live in animal houses alongside goats, with no windows" in Mauritius.
He contrasts that with the "beautiful" Chagos Islands, pointing out that the military personnel on Diego Garcia wear shirts with "paradise island", with the area full of wildlife, fishes, sea, coconuts and crabs.
Maxwell's message to the Prime Minister is to recognise us as a "distinct people" and "engage meaningfully" . The deal agreed on the future of the islands "has really played on my mental health and I cant sleep. Imagine your island and heritage is just given away like that".
Frankie, who worked for 10 years at Gatwick Airport, and now works for the NHS uses the same word to describe the Chagos Islands which has been ubiquitous during my brief visit: "paradise". His parents worked on a coconut plantation on the island and pleads with Sir Keir Starmer to "let the Chagossians decide our future"
"It is not the UK or Mauritus who should decide. The UK want to secure the base, Mauritus want to get as much money as possible. What about us".
But many here are desperate to return. Frankie tells me that his "next wish is to end my life on the islands". He has asked the government to "build me a house on Diego Garcia. Let me die there so I can have a peaceful, stress free life".
