Not a lot of NaCl
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190303022401im_/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/592/181/320/Chagos%20map.gif)
To be unduly fair to the British government, they have been promising for sometime that islanders would be allowed to visit these graves. The only problem is that these promises have hitherto amounted to diddly-squat. The idea has been bounced around by the British government for longer than I care to look-up, with periodical announcements promising that it will happen. Soon. Honest. While in the real world the Chagossians inch towards their own graves, still unable to pay their respects to their ancestors.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190303022401im_/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/592/181/320/Rammel%20meets%20the%20Chagossians.jpg)
You'll excuse me then if I greet the news (which materialises in my inbox courtesy of the Chagos Discussion List) that plans are afoot for a visit to finally take place with a not inconsiderable pinch of sodium chloride. Apparently, the Chairperson of the Ilois Welfare Board in the Social Services. (Ilois is patois for "islander" and is commonly used as an alternative appellation for the Chagossians) has received the following from the Prime Minister of Mauritius' office:
Note in particular the weasle-words "in principle," which might be bureaucrat-speak for "we hope" or "all being well (as long as those shady Brits don't fuck us around again)." Of course, I hope that this time things actually work out and the visit takes place, perhaps even becoming the fist of many such trips. What I hope for and what I expect, don't always correlate, however.PROPOSED VISIT OF CHAGOSSIANS TO THE CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO
The proposed visit of members of the Chagossian community to the Chagos Archipelago is being, in principle, scheduled for end of March -beginning of April 2006.
The number of passengers from the community to be accommodated on the trip is one hundred, and it has been decided that the group will be constituted as follows:
i. 85 persons from the Chagos Refugee group and
ii 15 persons from the Seychelles Chagossian Community.
In this connection, I am directed to request you to submit to this Office, the list of Chagossian passengers from Mauritius and Seychelles who would undertake the trip.
It is worth mentioning in passing, because its easy to lose perspective, that even if the visit does go ahead it will hardly begin to put right the multitude injustices done to the Chagossians. Nor for that matter will it make life any more confortable for the "detainees" reported to be incacerated on Diego Garcia at The Presidency's Pleasure. The imense difficulties which have been faced by the Chagossians and there supporters in securing even one measly visit do not bode well for the chances of challenging the fundamental issue of the base's existence, but in order to continue in the spirit of hope outlined above, let's not dwell on that.
Tags: Chagos, human+rights, UK
<< Home