Prof. Dominic Alessio and RAUL Alum Saira Joomun Examine the Dark Legacy of the Chagos Islands Hando…

Dominic Alessio, Professor of International History and Vice President International at Richmond American University London has recently co-published a piece with Richmond Alum Saira Joomun, now Head of CRM Engagement at DLA Piper, for Fair Observer.  

‘The Sinister Side of the Chagos Islands Handover’ focuses on the October 2024 decision by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing that his country would transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, a British territory, to Mauritius. Diego Garcia, one of the islands in this grouping, is renown for hosting a US military base; but the island itself is also at the center of debate over the way by which the British government removed its population to make way for this base.  

Dom and Saira suggest that despite the fact Starmer’s decision is being internationally lauded, the handover instead tragically mirrors other historical patterns of colonization as the indigenous population of Diego Garcia have had no say in the decision about their homeland and their political future. Saira, who recently completed an MA in Cambridge University in Sustainability Leadership, says she is “thrilled” to be working on this subject, not only because of her own Indian Ocean connections to the region and the injustice of what happened, but also because it allowed her to utilise her history skills again.   

You can read the full article here.