Emergency centre for Chagos Islanders to close

A group of Chagos Islanders who flew to Gatwick two weeks ago after getting UK passports under a citizenship scheme have said the closure of their emergency shelter has left them facing a crisis.

Crawley council said it set up the rest centre at Northgate Community Centre for safety reasons, given the numbers involved and lack of other support available.

However, it said rest centres usually only lasted for 24 to 48 hours, it did not have staffing resources to keep it open and that it had informed people using it that it would close on Thursday.

Government guidance for Chagossians moving to the UK is they should make accommodation arrangements before travelling.

Vanessa Mandarin Calu, Chagossian community spokeswoman, said most of the group did not have friends and family in the UK.

She said: “Every door we knock [on], every door is closed."

A woman from the group which previously sheltered at the K2 Leisure Centre, Mary Elysee Douce, said: “We don’t have anyone here. We don’t know anyone.”

She said: “Where will we go? We have no place.”

Britain bought the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean in 1965, creating a region known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Between 1967 and 1973 it evicted the population to make way for a joint military base with the US, which is still in place on Diego Garcia.

Chagossians have fought for their return ever since.

Both women said the group would return to the islands if they could.

Crawley council said 52 UK citizens of Chagossian descent arrived on 10 June and were joined by 25 others who previously made the same journey. After assessment, 37 remained without a place to stay.

All obtained UK passports through a British citizenship route for people of Chagossian descent set up by the government in 2022.

The authority said it requested government support, but the government “insisted this is a local problem”.

Last year, Crawley council told the government more arrivals could lead it to bankruptcy.

The government said it was engaging with Crawley council as it worked to assist new arrivals.

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