I am Abdool of Mauritius, found in the Indian Ocean. Previously our island was colonised by the French and later by the British. In 1968 we obtained independence (political) - still the British kept one of our islands called Diego Garcia and surrounding islands of Peros Banos and Salomon as part of the 'British Indian Ocean Territory'. Later, Britain hired out Diego Garcia to the Americans to build a military base. They expelled many of our citizens from there; these people are still living in extreme poverty in Mauritius.
Refugees have taken legal action against the British government and the high court of England has even accepted that the British government should let these refugees back to their homeland. Maybe one day ..

Moderators' note:
The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising about 55 islands, with a total land area of 60 km2. The first settlers were of African origin, brought as slaves from Mauritius by the French in 1776. Others, mainly from India, arrived as coconut plantation workers during the 19th century. The Archipelago passed to the control of the United Kingdom in 1814.

Between 1967 and 1971, an estimated 2,000 inhabitants of Chagos were evicted from their island home of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, to make way for a US military base. The majority were forced to exile in
Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius and some in Seychelles.

The Chagossians have since been fighting for their right to return to their homeland and for compensation. After a long legal battle, they won a high-court ruling in 2000 allowing their return to the outlying islands, excluding Diego Garcia, which is under lease to the US till 2016. In 2004, the British government announced two 'orders in council' (use of a royal decree that bypasses parliament) to ban the Chagossians from returning even to the outlying islands. However, in 2006, the high court overturned the 'orders in council' of 2004. Another appeal by the UK government followed, but on 23 May
2007 the court rejected the appeal saying that the methods used to stop the Chagossians to return to their islands were 'unlawful' and 'an abuse of power'.

The Chagossians in exile now number around 4,500 and although the above court rulings make it legal for them to return to all islands other than Diego Garcia, many questions and uncertainties remain ...