Refugees stuck on Diego Garcia island told they can go to UK

Tamils from Sri Lanka were on their way by boat from India to Canada when they were rescued, sparking three-year legal battle

The Tamil asylum seekers after arriving at Diego Garcia. Photo: Handout

Scores of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka who have been stuck on Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory for three years are being given the chance to go to the UK, The National has been told.

The group includes eight who were taken to Rwanda for medical treatment. One of them has revealed they have been told they can travel to Britain, subject to entry clearance.

Last week, The National told how Priya, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, and her father were among a group of 89 Tamils who set off on a rickety fishing boat filled with asylum-seeking families heading from India to Canada.

“I feel relieved,” Priya, 24, told The National. She said she was looking forward to “a peaceful life” and “sleep, freedom, independent life” after eventually leaving the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

A UK official told her a flight would be arranged to take her to the UK as soon as possible. They will have to first apply for entry clearance. The official stressed the deal was for those on Diego Garcia, and not family members who may arrive later. The National reported how the UK government was concerned that the British island in the Indian Ocean could become a backdoor entry to Britain if it accepted the asylum seekers.

The UK says anyone travelling to Diego Garcia will be transferred to the South Atlantic island of St Helena. The only exceptions will be three people being held in prison on British Indian Ocean Territory or any family members who arrive on Diego Garcia from now on.

In total 61 people, including 16 children, will be allowed to stay in the UK for a short period, which officials say will allow them consider what to do next.

The Tamils were picked up by the Royal Navy on their 11th day at sea when drinking water had run out, the boat was damaged and the passengers had come to realise the crew were not trained sailors.

The group have been living in squalid conditions in a camp on Diego, a UK-run territory that is leased to the US, whose military operate a large and strategically important base on the island. The asylum seekers live in a 100 metre by 140 metre area near the base. Priya said they were put into nine tents at first, with about 15 people in each.

The sense of hopelessness felt by the Tamils has resulted in attempts at suicide and cases of self-harm by more than 20 people, including Priya.

“Diego Garcia is a hell island,” one asylum seeker said. "We think that death is better than living like this situation on Diego Garcia."

Many of those who set out from India's southern Tamil Nadu state in September 2021 had sold their valuables, including wedding rings, to pay for the journey. It was organised by fellow Tamils, not people smugglers.

The boat was bought by four members of the community and they sourced water and diesel for the journey. They found a crew for the ship, but they were not professional sailors or had little experience of navigating the high seas.

The decision by the UK government comes on the same day as a judge was due to decide on a claim by the asylum seekers that they were being unlawful detained.

Tom Short, a lawyer with Leigh Day, who is representing many of the asylum seekers, said the move was only made after they went to court. “Our clients, including 16 children, welcome the Home Secretary’s belated decision to offer them safety in the UK," he said.

“Our clients fled Sri Lanka seeking refuge from persecution. The treatment and unlawful detention they have endured at the hands of the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration for the past three years is disgraceful.

“Today’s decision is an enormous relief to our clients and we urge the Home Secretary to close the camp and bring our clients here without any further delay so that they can begin their recovery.”

A spokeswoman for the UK government said it "inherited a deeply troubling situation that remained unresolved under the last administration for years after the migrants’ arrival on Diego Garcia".

“Diego Garcia has never been a suitable long-term location for migrants and this government has been working to find a solution that protects their welfare and the integrity of British territorial borders," she said.

“We have now closed down this route, with all future arrivals relocated to St Helena until Mauritius takes responsibility for the island. A small number of the migrants including children and their families will be temporarily relocated to the UK, subject to security checks."