Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Redundancy On The Instalment Plan: Chagossians And The Right To Be Called A People / Sandra J.T.M. Evers and Marry Kooy -- From The Birth Of The Ilois To The “Footprint Of Freedom”: A History Of Chagos And The Chagossians / David Vine -- Clement Siatous: Chagossian Artist In Exile / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- “Native Ilois Of Chagos”: Excerpts From The Narratives Of Dussercle (1933–36) / Vinesh Y. Hookoomsing -- Atman Ramchalaon: Seeking The Facts / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- The Making Of The Chagos Affair: Myths And Reality / Jocelyn Chan Low -- Charlesia Alexis: The Struggle Of The Chagossian Women / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Sorrow, Sadness, And Impoverishment: The Lives Of Chagossians In Mauritius / Laura Jeffery and David Vine -- Bernadette Dugasse: Born In Diego Garcia December 1956 / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Chagossians Twice Forgotten: Exile In The Seychelles / David Vine -- Allen Vincatassin: Negotiating Life In Mauritius And The UK / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Responsibility And Redress: The Chagossian Litigationin The English Courts / Stephen Allen -- Olivier Bancoult: Leading The Way Back To Chagos / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Self-Determination In The Post-Colonial Era: Prospects For The Chagossians / Maureen Tong -- Aurélie Marie-Lisette Talate: Young Again In Diego / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Cleaning For The Dead: The Chagossian Pilgrimageto Their Homeland / Steffen F. Johannessen -- Perspectives Of A UK Member Of Parliament: “Chagos,Just Plain Injustice” / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- ‘A Lost People’? Chagossian Onward Migration And Echoes Of Marginalisation In Crawley / Laura Jeffery -- Reverend Mario LI Hing: Committed To The Chagossian Cause / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Longing And Belonging In Real Time: How Chagossian Children In Mauritius Imagine The Chagos Islands / Sandra J.T.M. Evers -- About The Authors / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Bibliography / S. Evers and M. Kooy -- Index / S. Evers and M. Kooy.

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This book examines the history and contemporary living conditions of Chagossians who were evicted from the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean to make way for a strategic U.S. military base. Initially part of colonial Mauritius, Chagos was integrated into a new colony named the British Indian Ocean Territory in 1965. In 1966, Great Britain transferred control of Diego Garcia, the largest Chagos island, to the Americans under a fifty year lease. The expulsions which followed were designed to satisfy the U.S. demand for an unpopulated territory. The Chagossians were thus forced to resettle in Mauritius and the Seychelles, where livelihoods are poor and marginalized. The Chagossians are currently engaged in a campaign seeking right of return to the archipelago and recognition as a people forced to live in diaspora.