Exiled Chagos Islanders' role in Crawley election

The Chagos Islanders want candidates to support their right of return

Chagos Islanders who settled in Crawley want the would-be-MPs in the marginal seat to support their right of return.

The Chagossians have fought a battle for repatriation since they were evicted from the British overseas territory between 1967 and 1971.

Many of the exiles were granted British passports in 2002 and settled in the West Sussex town near Gatwick Airport.

Islander campaign groups said their votes will go to candidates who pledge to support their fight to get home.

Roch Evenor, who chairs the UK Chagossian Association, said the estimated 2,000 islanders and their descendants in Crawley faced many challenges.

"Most of them are not working and a lot of them can't speak English," he said.

'Umbilical cord'

"Some of them are very old, they come from a tropical community. It's very hard for them to get jobs and speak to the relevant authorities.

"In our language we have a saying that wherever our umbilical cord is buried this is where your home is, and that is where we want to go back."

Henry Smith said it was an "appalling episode in British history"

The former residents of the islands in the Indian Ocean were evicted to make way for the US Air Force base on the largest island, Diego Garcia.

Most of the islanders were sent to Mauritius and the Seychelles where they encountered racism and discrimination as well as poverty.

In 2002 they were granted UK passports and many settled in Crawley near Gatwick Airport when they landed in the country

The seat was won by Labour's Laura Moffatt in 2005 by just 37 votes after three recounts. She is not standing for re-election.

The Labour candidate Chris Oxlade said he backed the islanders and accused the government of "dragging its heels" with regards to the right of return.

He said: "I am Labour through and through but I represent the people of Crawley.

"We have around 2,000 islanders in Crawley and they are part of the community.

Chris Oxlade said he was 100% behind the islanders

"I am 100% behind their long battle to get back to the island and it's something I am very passionate about."

Conservative candidate Henry Smith described the islanders' eviction as an "appalling episode in British history" and pledged to support their right of return.

"Seven years ago the islanders started arriving at Gatwick and they settled in Crawley because West Sussex County Council supported them," he said.

"They have assimilated well and have become a really active part of community life but they are being denied their human rights."

Mr Smith pledged to join the Chagos Islands All-Party Parliamentary Group, which was set up to resolve the future of the islands.

Liberal Democrat John Vincent said the removal of the Chagossians during the 1960s had been a "scandalous decision".

John Vincent said the eviction of the islanders was "scandalous"

"I believe that the government has a moral responsibility to allow these people to at last return home," he said.

"We have actively supported their cause in the past and we will continue to aid their campaign to see justice done."

Mr Evenor, who was four years old when his family was expatriated to the Seychelles, said the Chagossians would continue to fight.

He said: "The government knows what we want because we have made it very clear to them. What we want from them is to return to our homeland.

"We want to go back and live in those areas where its uninhabited, where we can make our living and go back to our way of life."

Candidates standing in Crawley are: UK Independence Party: Chris French; Independent: Andrew Hubner; Justice Party: Arshad Khan; Labour: Chris Oxlade; Conservative: Henry Smith; Green: Phil Smith; British National Party: Richard Trower; Liberal Democrat: John Vincent.