Tamil refugees in tropical island nightmare

Nightmare in paradise - 10th July 2023

For nearly two years, close to a hundred refugees from Sri Lanka have been held in detention on the remote tropical island of Diego Garcia. The saga began in October 2021, when a fishing boat carrying 89 Tamils, a persecuted Sri Lankan ethnic group, floundered in turbulent waters. British troops stationed on the small atoll came to the beleaguered craft's rescue.

The Tamils informed their rescuers that they were en route to Canada when their vessel was blown off course, having fled their homeland due to threat of persecution. Over the course of 2022, a further two boats arrived, bringing to 173 the total number fleeing Sri Lanka and seeking asylum on the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The migrants are confined within a fenced encampment, with no indication of any resolution to their plight. The island in question's a US-UK military base, which presents a significant hurdle. Despite the United Kingdom being a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, its jurisdiction doesn't extend to military bases.

The base lacks a civilian population, meaning there's no access to education for children and limited medical facilities. Paradise has transformed into a nightmare for these asylum seekers, with some who require urgent medical treatment even being airlifted to Rwanda. Other refugees have reluctantly opted to return to Sri Lanka rather than endure the debilitating conditions on Diego Garcia. One vessel of refugees which left the atoll landed on the French island of Reunion, while another required a second rescue, with the migrants returned to the confines of the camp.

"We are mentally and physically exhausted," shared one refugee. "We are living a lifeless life. I feel like I am living like a dead man." Another claimed, "We are the parrots. We are in a cage."

They've staged hunger strikes in a bid to access improved conditions and phones to communicate with the outside world. Approximately 60 migrants remain trapped on the atoll. Some have succeeded in accessing legal counsel from UK-based law firm Leigh Day, which is advocating for their relocation to a third country, such as Britain.