Dear Readers,
Buckle up. It’s going to
be a bumpy read!
"Coma Story: Island of Consciousness" is about the forgotten Entitled
British Citizens.
Affectionately
called Gitmo, the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has become the most prominent
among
the 1000 plus offshore American military bases. Hence the Chagos
Island's Naval Support Facility on a small v-shaped island
near
Mauritius, called Diego Garcia,
lost its due top-spot. As well the
forced relocation of those African inhabitances got
overlooked.
This book centers on the Chagossians, who were forcibly relocated by Great Britain using an outdated royal decree to make way for a military base. Through the art of fiction, Dr. Stephen Thompson offers a definitive view of the controversial depopulation saga, through the often humorous lucid dreams by a coma patient. However, the emphasis here is not the exposure of the transatlantic cover-up, nor the tragic cost incurred due to avoidable military strategies, but rather an attempt to uplift those damaged people. Coma Story: Island of Consciousness is neither tragedy nor indictment but inspiration.
The narrator, Aldan Foy (a coma survivor), along with his Chagos friend (Tarzan), conspire to gain back the de facto U.S. territory from the Union Jack without violence. With scenes of deep emotional beauty and surprising prose, this is a moving performance with richly drawn characters, and a balanced cultural analysis.
PS: THIS ISLOMANIA NOVEL is in no way an attempt at a definitive history of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) deportation during the Cold War, nor a catalyst for any anti-base.