Chagos Islanders sleep in leisure centre in Sussex

Chagos Islanders are sleeping in emergency shelter at a leisure centre in West Sussex after a "significant number" arrived from Mauritius at Gatwick Airport.

It comes after the government launched a British citizenship route for people of Chagossian descent in November 2022.

Chagossians were forced to leave their homeland when Britain bought the islands in the Indian Ocean in the 1960s.

The government said its guidance to Chagossian British citizens moving to the UK sets out that they should make their own accommodation arrangements before travelling.

It is understood that a steady stream of people with British passports have travelled to Gatwick since Monday, with dozens now being accommodated by Crawley Borough Council.

A spokesperson for the council said following the arrival of a "significant number of people from Mauritius", it had assessed everyone against its statutory housing duties.

"Following the assessment, some were offered emergency accommodation. The remainder did not qualify for accommodation but had nowhere else to go," they added.

"We therefore had to set up a rest centre to provide shelter".

'It's very difficult'

The UK government granted British passports to Chagossians to recognise the role Britain played in expelling islanders in the 1960s and 1970s in order for a US military base to be built.

At the time, most of the population of the islands, which now form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), was sent to Mauritius.

Mary Douce, 33, is among the group staying at the leisure centre.

She said: "In Mauritius, it's very difficult. There's high inflation. We want to work but there's no opportunity for us."

She added that those who recognised the islands as being a British territory could be criminalised in the country due to a dispute over its sovereignty.

After the eviction of Chagossians in the 1960s, the only inhabitants are US and British military personnel and associated contractors

Misley Mandarin, who runs the group BIOT Citizens, claimed families with children were being housed in hotels and that 52 single adults were at the leisure centre.

Crawley council disputed this figure, saying it was "lower", but would not say how many people it was currently accommodating.

Mr Mandarin said that arrivals knew "that in the UK there's a housing crisis".

He added: "But what we say is our home is not the UK. Our home is not Mauritius. Our home is being used as the biggest military base for the western world."

The government said it was working with councils to help them manage new arrivals.

The Crawley council spokesperson described the situation as "a challenge made harder by the housing situation in the town.

"In February of this year, the council was the first in England to declare a Housing Emergency. These pressures remain unabated.”

West Sussex County Council has been contacted for comment.