Meet Joanne and Jesse
Meet Chagossians Joanne and her son Jesse, doing GCSEs. Their family was deported from the Chagos Islands. Moving from Mauritius to Britain they lived in “temporary accommodation.” After a few months the Council threatened eviction.
PHOTO: Joanne and Jesse, 19.2.2025/Christopher IchaJoanne, 42, is a single mother to 16-year old Jesse, currently studying for his GCSEs.
In October 2024 they arrived at Heathrow airport from Mauritius.
Joanne and Jesse were given a hotel room by a Council, near Heathrow airport. Jesse joined a local school to continue his studies.
But in February Joanne and her son were threatened with eviction.
Eventually the family was offered a new home - 200 miles away, north of Manchester, where they know nobody. Would Jesse be able to finish his GCSEs?
You’d expect a mother and her son, whose family have been forcibly removed and deported from a British Overseas Territory, to be given a permanent home in the UK. Immediately. On arrival.
After removing Chagossians from their homeland, don’t we at least owe them and their families a home?
Alexia Psalti & TESSA CLARKE/17.4.25