A group of 60 SL asylum seekers arrive in UK from Diego Garcia

A group of 60 Tamil migrants from Sri Lanka, who had been living in precarious conditions for over three years on the remote island of Diego Garcia, has been relocated to the United Kingdom, news agencies reported.   

This move comes as part of a humanitarian solution facilitated by the UK Foreign Office, which stated that the migrants would receive financial support for six months. The assistance is described as being “outside of the Immigration Rules” and intended to provide the group with time to consider their long-term options.   

The situation for these migrants has drawn significant criticism from human rights organizations, highlighting the challenging circumstances they faced. Rescued at sea on October 3, 2021, the group had fled from refugee camps in Madurai and Thiruchirapally in India, where they had been living for decades after escaping the civil war in Sri Lanka. Despite their desperate situation, they were unable to obtain Indian citizenship, leaving them in a limbo of uncertainty.