Tamil refugees in tropical island nightmare

Stuck in paradise - 10th July 2023

Just under a hundred people from Sri Lanka have been detained on tropical island Diego Garcia for over 20 months. In October 2021, British troops on the Indian Ocean atoll rescued 89 people from a fishing boat in distress. The migrants were Tamils, an oppressed ethnic group from Sri Lanka.

The group claimed to be in danger of persecution in their homeland and were headed for Canada before their vessel was blown off course. Two additional boats arriving in the British Indian Ocean Territory in 2022 brought the number of refugees from Sri Lanka seeking asylum to 173.

The migrants ended up in a fenced encampment with no idea when their situation may be resolved. The small atoll's a US-UK military base, which complicates matters. While Britain's a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention, its protections don't apply to this military base.

For the asylum seekers, this island paradise is turning into a living hell. With no civilian population on the island, their children have no education and medical resources are limited. As a result, refugees with serious illnesses have had to be flown to Rwanda for treatment. Meanwhile, some have agreed to return to their homeland rather than face the ongoing "prison-like" conditions. One boat of refugees opted to sail from Diego Garcia and found its way to the French island of Reunion. Another had to be rescued with the migrants returned to Diego Garcia.

"We are mentally and physically exhausted," said one refugee. "We are living a lifeless life. I feel like I am living like a dead man."

The migrants have taken part in hunger strikes in the hope of obtaining better conditions and access to phones. Currently around 60 remain on the atoll. Some have managed to receive legal advice from UK legal company Leigh Day, which argues that the refugees should be sent to Britain.