Let Us Return
Chagos Islands in focus ⬿

Let Us Return

The Chagos Islanders tell their story
info
January 31, 2016
 

Last Updated on April 20, 2025

Let Us Return is a short documentary told by the Chagos Islanders about their expulsion from their homeland and their fight to return home.

Between the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s the entire Chagos Archipelago was cleared of its native population by the British Government so the American Navy could build a base on the largest island, Diego Garcia. Today, nearly 50 years after these events the Chagossian community still lives a life of suffering and sadness. Today they are campaigning to return to their homeland. This film tells their current story about the effects of the past and their desire to return.

Stay Informed!
Enter your email to receive a weekly round-up of our best posts.
icon

The film consists of 25 interviews shot with the Chagossian community living in the UK between 2014 and 2015 and provides a unique insight into the traumatic events the community suffered during their deportation and the gross breach of human rights by the British Government that has still not been corrected to this day.

A film by Andy Marsh and the Chagossian community of the UK. To learn more, visit chagossupport.org.uk.

Dear reader,

Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life. From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections, the threat is global—and it is growing.

What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.

Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context needed to understand what is truly at stake.

That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..

For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise. We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context. And when the world looks away, we stay focused.

But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.

We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions. And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to support independent Indigenous journalism.

Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.

Thank you,

John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief

 
#Chagos Archipelago #Diego Garcia #filmoftheweek #Spotlight on Film ↝ The Chagos: Islanders with a Deep Oceanic Heritage

Related Posts

Keep us independent for $10/m and get our book, "Everyday Acts of Resurgence", free!