The story of the Chagos Islanders is one of heartbreak, struggle and suffering due to the perfidy and greed of powerful nations. The anthropological concepts of identity, place and placelessness are particularly pertinent to the people of the Chagos Islands. Hence, this paper examines the connection the Islanders have to their archipelago and the situation in which they are now living in Mauritius. It attempts to understand the reasons why Chagossians live in a situation of poverty and what connection this has to their displacement as well as the cultural phenomenon of resistance that generates and promotes Chagossian identity in the contemporary context.