Uk Chagos Support Association

The Chagos Islands are a UK Overseas Territory, like the Falklands or Gibraltar. They are members of the Commonwealth – that place where equality and democracy are promoted. That place where we are supposed to take care of each other. But in the 1960s and 70s, the islands’ inhabitants were violently removed by the UK government and discarded on the docks of Mauritius and the Seychelles. The UK government had leased Diego Garcia, the archipelago’s largest island, to the US military. Since being forced out of their homeland, the Chagossians have faced extreme racism and poverty. Many valiantly fought for their right to return, and continue to do so, but so far they have been unsuccessful. The campaign continues. But today, many Chagossians in the UK face an altogether different challenge. The association works to draw attention to the islanders’ plight, to help them in their struggle against injustice and to support them in hardship. Our patrons are Ben Fogle and Benjamin Zephaniah. We are a small group of unpaid volunteers and we gratefully accept donations which we can use to support our work and to help islanders in difficulty.