Stealing a Nation (TV 2004)

This tells a story literally 'hidden from history'. In the 1960s and 70s, British governments, conspiring with American officials, tricked into leaving, then expelled the entire population ... See full summary »

Directors:

John Pilger, Sean Crotty

Writer:

John Pilger

Stars:

John Pilger

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
John Pilger	...	Himself - Reporter

Storyline

This tells a story literally 'hidden from history'. In the 1960s and 70s, British governments, conspiring with American officials, tricked into leaving, then expelled the entire population of the Chagos islands in the Indian Ocean. The aim was to give the principal island of this Crown Colony, Diego Garcia, to the Americans who wanted it as a major military base. Indeed, from Diego Garcia US planes have since bombed Afghanistan and Iraq. The story is told by islanders who were dumped in the slums of Mauritius and in the words of the British officials who left a 'paper trail' of what the International Criminal Court now describes as 'a crime against humanity' .

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Plot Keywords:

indian ocean | military base | chagos archipelago | united kingdom | coercion | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 2004 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Mauritius

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent Television (ITV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

56 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In March 2005, Stealing a Nation was awarded Britain's most prestigious documentary prize, given by the Royal Television Society.

User Reviews

Heartbreaking, infuriating and embarrassing

The endless bounds of our inhumanity to our own kind never fails to stun me. This truly astonishing story of a horrifically abused and largely unheard-of population is compelling, well-documented and enraging. As an American, I am constantly humiliated by my country's behaviour and this is just another in our long catalogue of international debasement. We suck. This is probably the first John Pilger documentary I've seen, but it immediately made me want to see what else he's done. My only complaint, and the reason I gave this film only 8 out of 10, is that Pilger shows us this travesty and the appalling collaboration of the US and UK governments, demands that we viewers/citizens are complicit in our own inaction...but makes no suggestion of how to help. I don't know about Britain, but America's made it nearly impossible for the citizenry to take part in their government's doings. A gesture in the right direction might help these islanders' cause.