Surge in Chagos arrivals prompts row over housing costs

Since a rash of them arrived in the country to claim their right to British citizenship, the UK government is being asked to help Chagos Islanders who need temporary housing. 152 Chagossians arrived at Heathrow Airport in the borough this week, taking the total number to over 600 since last July to over 500. The Tory-run council says it intends to spend £2 million this year to assist homeless British-Chagossians, placing pressure on stretched housing funds and breaking its budget. Many of the Chagossians are coming from Mauritius because they feel unsafe after the UK government agreed an agreement to hand over the Chags Islands to the country.

Chagossians were supposed to make their own housing arrangements before traveling, according to the UK government, and the influx of arrivals was completely unrelated to the Chagoes Islands deal with Mauritius. In the 1960s, the Chagos Islands, then a British overseas territory, were converted into a military base, and the entire population was forced to relocate, mainly to Mauritius or the Seychelles. However, in 2002, a select number of Chagossians were granted the right to full British citizenship. Thousands of people now live in the United Kingdom, including 3,000 in Crawley, West Sussex, who were born anywhere in the world, and the government introduced a new British nationality route in November 2022, allowing them to be recognised as British citizens free of charge. Adults have lived for five years, from 23 November 2022 to the establishment of British nationality. Children born within the five-year application process must wait until they are 23 years old to apply. This predates the UK government's decision this year to sign a contract to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The United Kingdom has agreed to pay £101 million per year to maintain ownership of the UK-US military base, which was constructed on Diego Garcia, the country's largest island under the agreement. Many Chagossians see the agreement as a betrayal and want to see the UK maintain sovereignty over the islands so they can return to their homeland one day. Any fear that Mauritian authorities might sue the Chagos Archipelago for promoting UK sovereignty over the Chacos Archepelagon. Damien Dursonial, 35, and his wife and two children, aged four to six, arrived in Heathrow on Wednesday, aged between four and six. Mr Dursonial, a born in Mauritius, where he served as a police constable, saved up for two years and sold his motorcycle to pay for the flights to the United Kingdom.

I came to the United Kingdom because it was the only place where we could feel safe, respected, and recognised as a British citizen,

We faced serious challenges as a Chagossian in Mauritius by simply identifying as British or supporting UK sovereignty over the Chagoses islands.

The government should have done this because all this work is going to be paid for by a local council.

Hillingdon Council believes that it is in danger of going bankrupt and has filed a request for exceptional financial assistance from the government. This year, the council intends to cut spending by £38 million, the highest savings target the council has ever set. According to Steve Tuckwell, cabinet member for planning, housing, and expansion at the Conservative-run council, It's breaking the council.It's taking away hard-earned taxpayers' money from essential programs.

The council had written to ministers asking for funds to assist Chagossians, but had no responses,

I'm asking for the government to do the right thing.

The Chagos Islands have been under British rule since 1814 and have officially established as an overseas territory after the UK government purchased the Chago Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. Between 1967 and 1973, the islanders were evicted to form a joint UK-American military base on Diego Garcia. According to statistics, Chagossians' global population is expected to be around 10,000, with many of them living in Mauritius, the Seychelles, or the United Kingdom. Many British-Chagossians were temporarily settling in the United Kingdom while waiting to return to their homeland, according to Vanessa Mandarin Calu of Biot Citizen.

Our homeland is a British Overseas Territory - the government should establish a concrete route for British-Chagossians rather than transferring our territory to another country without consulting us,

This week, Hillingdon Council opened a pop-up processing center in the borough to deal with the influx of Chagossian arrivals. Local authorities have a legal responsibility to assist homeless people and families with dependents and provide temporary housing for families. As British citizens, people of Chagossian descent, are entitled to the same treatment as any other homeless individual with a UK passport. According to the council, it is still struggling to help asylum seekers placed in the borough by the Home Office.

Chagossians moving to the United Kingdom are likely to book their own accommodation ahead of arrival,

Hillingdon Council has been given funds to help when immediate local pressures arise and cannot be addressed by standard contingency procedures,

This is completely unrelated to the Diego Garcia Military Base agreement signed with Mauritius.