Sabrina Jean
Chagossian Activist and Chair of the Chagos Refugees Group UK · 1973
Who is Sabrina Jean?
Sabrina Jean, born in 1973 in Mauritius, is a second-generation Chagossian activist. Her father, Serge Aristide, was born on the atoll of Peros Banhos in 1950 and left for Mauritius in 1967, shortly before the wider expulsion of the Chagossian population by the United Kingdom. Growing up in Mauritius, Jean joined a youth group of Chagossians led by Olivier Bancoult, which helped build awareness and community among the second and third generations born in exile. After relocating to Crawley in the United Kingdom in 2006, she became chairperson of the Chagos Refugees Group's UK branch, representing the sizeable Chagossian diaspora community based in England. In 2011 she was permitted by the UK government to visit her family's home island of Peros Banhos, the only time she has been able to set foot there. She has continued to speak publicly on behalf of UK-based Chagossians, including following the 2019 International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the archipelago's status.
Sources: Sabrina Jean, Wikipedia (biographical summary) · "Chagossians urge caution over UN legal win," New Internationalist, 26 February 2019