Ivan Ramirez Professor Sandy History 2301 30 April 2017 Book Review: “Island of Shame” Introduction “Island of Shame,” is a book written by David Vine. The book was published in Princeton by the Princeton University press in the year 2009. The setting of the book is the Diego Island, which is referred to as the, “Island of Shame” in this book. It talks about the U.S military base that was built in Diego Garcia and kept secret. The American government colluded with the British government to build a massive Navy base in this Island displacing the people. This site was the same used in fighting the Afghanistan hence almost all the able and well -trained soldiers collectively assembled in Diego Garcia due to its overwhelming network of military installations. The island was exposed due to the inhumanity caused to the natives of this island most of whom were left homeless and in abject poverty following their displacement. The action of the two governments has been highly castigated in the book for the act of treating fellow humans …show more content…
It addresses the common people and encourages them to seek justice just as the Chagossians did and eventually some of them got compensation though not enough, they got some pieces of land. In addition, it addresses those people who lose their historical linage as Rita does and even changes her name to Isou symbolizing a certain change in her life, a new chapter (Vine, 66). The people later were able to gain citizenships in Britain with the government being reprimanded for their behavior and mistreatment of the people. David Vine also wrote this book to show how power corrupts people in that the human rights court was unable to protect the people after the American government declared that the activities carried out by the military in Diego Garcia were far more important than allowing the Chagossians back to their