Stealing a Nation (2004)

Directed by

John Pilger

Genre

documentary film, documentary television film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

56 min

Rating

8.3 of 10 from 14 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary investigates the forced removal of the Chagossian people from their islands in the Indian Ocean. It shows through interviews how they were expelled so the United States could build a military base. The film focuses on the injustice and ongoing suffering of the displaced population.

informativesoberingcondemningemotionalunflinchingindignanteye-openinghumanizing

What happens

Stealing a Nation is a 2004 Granada Television documentary about the British–American clandestine operation that saw the expulsion of the Chagossian population who have lived on Diego Garcia and neighbouring islands since the late 18th century. More than 2,000 people were forcefully relocated to Mauritius between 1967 and 1973, so that Diego Garcia could become a United States military airbase. The film contains a series of interviews with Chagossians, who have been deprived of their right of return and forced to live in abject poverty. Stealing a Nation was written and directed by Australian journalist John Pilger, and produced and directed by Christopher Martin; reconstruction footage was directed by Sean Crotty. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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