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This introductory chapter first sets out the purpose of the book, which is to explore Chagossians' recollections of forced displacement, their reformulations of the homeland, their challenging lives in exile, their experiences of onward migration, and their attempts to make home in successive locations. It then details the Chagossians' forced displacement from the Chagos Archipelago and the onward migration to the UK. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.

This chapter combines an intersectional approach with a lifecourse perspective in order to understand the migration of the highly skilled. An intersectional lifecourse approach contextualizes migration processes, considers the role of both structure and agency, and the macro and micro factors underlying peoples’ moves. These theoretical ambitions are best furthered, the chapter argues, in conjunction with a methodology that draws on multiple types of data sources. In order to illustrate how such a project might be carried out, the chapter draws on a study conducted with people of Iranian origin who first moved to Sweden, and then moved again to London or Toronto. Findings suggest that for these highly mobile people, deciding to make multiple migrations was based on a variety of factors. While employment opportunities were an important aspect of the decision making process so too, were a number of non-economic factors. Overall, the chapter critically identifies, evaluates and aims to address some of the challenges that often arise in migration research.

This chapter reveals the similarities and differences between the Chagossians' forced displacement from the Chagos Archipelago and their onward migration to the UK. The ‘echoes of marginalisation’ include bureaucratic hurdles in acquiring citizenship status and the relevant identification documents, familial separation across continents, and the implications of relocation to an area of relative ethnic diversity, socio-economic deprivation, and educational challenges. The similarities go only so far, of course. In particular, unlike the high rates of unemployment in Mauritius in the 1960s, late 1970s to early 1980s, and again since the late 1990s, Crawley has had consistently extremely low rates of unemployment since its inception as a New Town in the 1960s. By and large, Chagossian migrants in Crawley have managed to find jobs and adequate housing, and have been able to access state welfare when required. Compared to their overwhelmingly negative assessments of their lives in Mauritius, they have reported a far wider range of experiences, both negative and positive, relating to education and employment, taxes and benefits, and racism and discrimination in the UK.