Three years ago, 89 Tamil asylum seekers left Sri Lanka via southern India to escape persecution. Their aim was to reach Canada in an unseaworthy boat, as others had attempted before them. They expected the transoceanic crossing to take 30 days.
After 11 days at sea, their motor no longer working, they were rescued and taken to Diego Garcia, an island in the Chagos Archipelago. The archipelago is one of a few surviving British colonial overseas territories, and Diego Garcia is host to the largest US military base in the Indian Ocean.
The arrival of the asylum seekers marked the beginning of a multilayered international dispute that would go on to last three years. But their long search for safety may now be coming to an end.
