The UK has offered a number of desperate migrants, held for years in a camp on a secret UK-US military island in the Indian Ocean, temporary relocation to Romania.
After six months, they can be relocated to the UK. Others in the group were given money to travel to Sri Lanka where they said they were facing persecution, the BBC said.
In 2021, dozens of Tamils became the first people to ever seek asylum in Diego Garcia after their boat ran into trouble.
The unusual nature of the area has sparked a long legal dispute, with the UK government saying that bringing them to Britain risks creating a “back migration route”.
The government has been contacted for comment.
The offer of migrants, made by British officials on the island on Tuesday, took place after the UK announced that it would give the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), which includes Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. The military base, however, will remain on the island.
The BBC obtained unprecedented access to Diego Garcia last month to attend a court hearing about the group’s illegal detention in a small fenced camp, guarded by the private security company G4S.
It is expected that a decision will be issued in this case soon.
The British government has argued that the refugee convention does not apply to Biot because it is “constitutionally separate” from the UK, although it is controlled by the Foreign Office in London.
Instead, the Biot administration has established a separate process to decide whether Tamils can be returned to Sri Lanka or granted international protection – which the UN says is akin to refugee status.
There are currently 59 Tamils still living in Diego Garcia. About eight are currently in Rwanda after being transferred there for medical treatment after trying to harm or kill themselves.
Most migrants are awaiting decisions on their claims for international protection or rejection of appeals. In total, eight have been granted international protection.
In the summer, the site’s chief executive, Paul Candler, called for the government to bring all migrants to the UK because of what he described as a “dangerous and unstable situation” in the camp amid a spate of self-harm incidents.
Mr Candler stepped down a month later, saying in a resignation letter, obtained by the BBC, that he found “the situation for migrants increasingly difficult” and “the leadership wants this to challenge me more and more”.
Speaking to migrants at the camp on Tuesday morning, Biot’s acting commissioner, Nishi Dholakia, said the UK government had considered an earlier request by Biot management but decided to “give different advice to different people”.
“Some people will receive advice to go to another safe country and others will receive a promise to return voluntarily,” he said.
“I want to assure you that this announcement does not mean that anyone will leave the island immediately. You will all have time to consider the offer and the next steps.”
UK corporate lawyers Leigh Day and Duncan Lewis, who represent some of the migrants, said it was “important that the camp be closed without delay” and that the UK government “find a long-term solution for all people and families”.
Migrants – on the island and in Rwanda – whose requests for foreign protection have been approved, as well as families in the camp with children, will be offered a transfer to a “safe center” run by the United Nations in Romania while the UK Government continues to seek a “firm solution” – the migrants told the BBC.
They were told that they would stay at the center in Romania for up to six months.
“During those six months, the UK will continue to develop a permanent solution for you in line with international standards. You can choose to accept any solution offered to you at this time. If you do not wish to accept any offers made during those six months. months, you will be brought to the UK,” said the letters. from Biot’s management, seen by the BBC.
Another man, currently in Rwanda, who was given the opportunity to move to Romania described it as “a huge relief”. One attendee said it was “the happiest day in three years”.
Those who have had their protection applications rejected and are not part of families within the camp have been given financial support to return to Sri Lanka. According to the letter to immigrants, seen by the BBC, this will include £3,000, medical insurance for three years, accommodation for three years, and work or training or education opportunities.
The BBC understands that those who have not had their protection claims approved have not exhausted all legal options. Lawyers representing the immigrants are expected to fly to Diego Garcia to meet with their clients this week.
“I haven’t eaten anything since morning. I feel very depressed,” said one of the Tamils who underwent psychiatric treatment in Rwanda and has now been given the opportunity to return to Sri Lanka.
The first Tamils arrived in Diego Garcia in October 2021, saying they were fleeing persecution and trying to get to Canada to seek asylum when their boat ran into trouble and they were rescued by the Royal Navy. Their account was supported by maps, diary entries and GPS data on board.
In the months that followed, more boats arrived.
When the BBC visited the camp last month, men and women lined up against a six-meter fence and stood outside the tents waving.
The camp is made up of beige-lined military tents used as living quarters, and white humanitarian tents turned into temporary community rooms and a church.
Inside one of the tents, where about five or six men were sleeping, one man lifted a frame over his bed to reveal a nest of rats.
“Look at the leak. A mouse hole,” said another, pointing hastily towards his tent, where sheets and towels had been hung to create separate rooms.
The Tamils were given green military beds to sleep on but wooden pallets and flat cardboard boxes were piled on top in an attempt to make them more comfortable.
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Learn more about the host, Diego Garcia.
Handwritten signs and slogans such as “We are entrusted with caged animals” and “This place is bad” are hung in the camp.
Others show efforts to improve their living conditions, including a dining table made of wood, and plant beds covered with coconut husks.
Recently, an internal fence was installed to separate the camp between the single men there and the families.
An independent social worker employed by one of the migrant lawyers described the situation in the camp late last year as an “emerging psychological epidemic”.
Outside the court, men, women and children showed me signs of self-harm.
During the court’s visit to the camp, one woman cried tears alleging that her daughter was abused by another migrant in the tent, which is one of the allegations of sexual abuse.
The three men, each charged or convicted of crimes at the camp, are being held in a room near the island’s police station.
Both representatives of the United Nations and the Red Cross have expressed concern about the use of the camp and its conditions.
After a visit late last year, the UN said the camp was “unfit” for long-term stays and raised serious concerns about reported sexual and child abuse by some migrants.
The church used to host the hearing often functions as a school. Educational posters were pasted on the walls next to children’s drawings, one of which featured a military tent with palm trees in the background.
A short distance from the camp, there is a residence for unemployed contractors. Shops, bars, restaurants and recreational facilities, such as a bowling alley and cinema, are available to soldiers and contractors.
The Indian Ocean area, hundreds of kilometers away from any other population, is considered an important strategic base for the US.
Access to the island is highly restricted and has long been shrouded in rumor and mystery. The UK government has confirmed that two US planes landed there in 2002 but says the detainees did not leave the planes.
UK government lawyers earlier this year argued against the BBC being allowed to enter the island to attend the trial, but the High Court in Biot ruled in favor of the BBC, saying “justice must not only be done but it must be seen to be done”.
The US – which controls most of the personnel and resources in Diego Garcia – later said it would block access to the BBC and lawyers representing the migrants. It also said it would withhold food, transportation and lodging for all those attending the trial, including the British judge.
American and British authorities later allowed the hearings to continue, but with restrictions. Additional G4S officers have been flown in to monitor the BBC and lawyers and ensure access to the island is restricted.
If they accept Tuesday’s offer, the displaced Tamils could face a 4,600-mile (7,500km) journey to Romania and more limbo, or return to Sri Lanka.
Standing outside a courthouse with her parents last month, a 12-year-old girl said that ever since she saw a military plane pass over the camp, she had dreamed of becoming a pilot – so she could fly too.
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