{{Short description|Chagossian singer and activist (1934–2012)}} '''Charlesia Alexis''' (September 8, 1934 – December 16, 2012) was a [[Chagossian]] singer and activist, notable for helping establish the [[Chagos Refugee Group]]. ==Early life== She was born on [[Diego Garcia]]. Alexis and her family went to [[Port Louis]] on [[Mauritius]] in 1967 to get medical treatment for her husband. They were not permitted to return home afterwards because the United States wished to establish a military base in the archipelago.
==Career== In 1982, the British government paid compensation to the exiled Chagossians. However, by accepting the settlement, they also signed away their right to return. With [[Aurélie Marie-Lisette Talate|Lisette Talate]] and Rita Bancoult, she established the Chagos Refugees Group in 1983. The Chagos Refugees Group took its battle to the British courts, winning in the lower courts but then seeing that result overturned by the [[Lords of Appeal in Ordinary|Law Lords]]. The group next took their case to the [[European Court of Human Rights]]; in 2012, their case was judged inadmissible by that court.<ref name=mauritius/><ref name=times>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/charlesia-alexis-3902vp9sdlz |title=Charlesia Alexis |newspaper=The Times |date=February 8, 2013 |access-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084740/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/charlesia-alexis-3902vp9sdlz |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2002, the displaced Chagossian were granted British citizenship. In 2004, Alexis settled in [[Crawley]].<ref name=mauritius>{{cite news |url=http://www.mauritiustimes.com/mt/dr-sean-carey-16/ |title=Charlesia Alexis dies before hearing European Court of Human Rights ruling |newspaper=Mauritius Times |date=December 20, 2012 |access-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-date=July 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704040754/http://www.mauritiustimes.com/mt/dr-sean-carey-16/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
She also released several recordings of songs.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.temoignages.re/international/pays-emergents/charlesia-la-voix-du-paradis-perdu,5867.html |title=Charlésia, la voix du paradis perdu |work=Témoignages |date=October 16, 2004 |language=fr |access-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084541/https://www.temoignages.re/international/pays-emergents/charlesia-la-voix-du-paradis-perdu,5867.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Alexis died in Crawley at the age of 78.<ref name=times/>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{wikiquote}} {{Chagos Islands dispute}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexis, Charlesia}} [[Category:1934 births]] [[Category:2012 deaths]] [[Category:Chagossian people]] [[Category:Mauritian activists]] [[Category:Mauritian women activists]] [[Category:20th-century women singers]] [[Category:Exile]] [[Category:Expatriates in Mauritius]]