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Their Island, Our Shame

Indigenous Indian Ocean islanders were brutally displaced nearly 40 years ago to make way for a U.S. military base.

By Eve Ottenberg

Though small in number, the indigenous people of Diego Garcia and the Chagossian Islands in the Indian Ocean have endured a suffering both relentless and intense. In the early 1970s, they were brutally deracinated and dumped in Mauritius and Seychelles to make way for a U.S. military base. Anthropologist David Vine reports in his new book, Island of Shame: The Secret… return to article

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    Page 1 of 1 pages

    You might be interested to see what I wrote on this topic on Open Salon. There was a great deal of interest from people who were not aware of what happened to the Chagossians. There was also some interest on Digg, Reddit and Stumbleupon with some comments from servicemen who had been to Diego Garcia.

    http://open.salon.com/blog/padraig_colman/2009/06/11/diego_garcia_uk_took_our r_homesus_killed_our_dogs

    Your article led me to discover “In These Times” for which I am very grateful. I look forward to reading it in future!

    Germany Posted by Padraig Colman on Jun 18, 2009 at 3:08 AM

    When you think you’re seen and heard it all…now this, absolutely disguising .The other thought that comes to mind ,is that at this point , I am not that surprized or even shocked ; you become to some degree desensitized , or maybe indifferent . I am truely at a loss for words…nothing…absolutely nothing can justify this insane nonsense ; and that’s an understatement…This is criminal and genocidal.

    United States Posted by blackhorse on Jul 3, 2009 at 8:31 PM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

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  • Their Island, Our Shame
    Indigenous Indian Ocean islanders were brutally displaced nearly 40 years ago to make way for a U.S. military base.
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