A long time ago, me and my friends used to think that when we grew up, we would move to some remote place, to live the "authentic life" (that is, eating what you find, sleep on the floor, without a care in the world). (yeah, silly).

The place we elected for this was chosen on a old world map, pointing at the place which seemed the most lonely and in the middle of nowhere: the Chagos Archipelago.

We found some pictures of the place, palms trees, blue waters, coconuts, perfect, a paradise.

Some 40 years ago, someone else thought exactly the same. The island was (and still is) a colony of the British Empire. 40 years ago they sold it, (or, lent it) to the American Army. They used it to build one of the biggest army (navy) bases outside the U.S. . There they keep nuclear weapons, bombers, an army of 2000 or so soldiers, a bowling facility, fast foods, video dispensers.

It's the starting point of many bombing missions, in Afghanistan and Iraq. It can also server as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle.

The only problem is that there used to be people on the Island. Some 2000 "Chagossians" who inhabited a small settlement there: they were deported, their animals gassed, their homes destroyed, they were forbidden to ever come home. They were transfered to slums in the Mauritius Islands, living in third-world conditions. The UN of course forbids this kind of things. But, as always, human rights are only useful to provide grounds to attack someone else..

Watch the video, it's a great documentary by Australian videomaker John Pilger. You can also download it and watch it on your computer.