A few people are still detained on the Island, including one of JCWI’s clients.
Our legal team continues to fight for them, and for the right to remain for those who have recently arrived.
Success – Migrants stranded in Chagos Island arrive in the UK
The JCWI legal team were showered with hugs and smiles at Gatwick airport last week when our clients, Sri Lankan Tamils who had been held in indefinite detention on Diego Garcia for more than three years, finally arrived in the UK.
Our clients, who included a family with young children, had been living in a rat-infested, makeshift camp on the Island. Their arrival marks the end of years of complex legal battles during which time we received alarming testimony of the deteriorating mental and physical health of our clients.
During their time on the island, there were multiple hunger strikes and numerous incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts due to the inhumane living conditions on the Island. Many of those with the most severe mental health issues were transferred to Rwanda for medical treatment, and they too have thankfully arrived in the UK.
Our client, one of the Island detaineesIt was like hell being on the Island, but our lawyers did a lot to give us hope. We are so grateful to them and the media who told our story. It is great to finally be in the UK, but we are waiting to take the next step now – working, getting our children into schools - we just want to be living normal lives.
Laura Smith, JCWI Co-Director of LegalIt has been a long and difficult road and there were times when we really feared our clients would not get through it. They've spent years in limbo and it is a testament to their resilience that they have finally made it here. We're so grateful for their faith in us and feel privileged to have been able to help them on their way.