Lisette Talate was born on 19th March 1941 in Diego Garcia, the Chagos Islands, located in the Indian Ocean. She describes her childhood in the Chagos as idyllic where she wanted for nothing.

In 1974, her life and that of all the islanders was thrown into turmoil when they were forcibly removed from the Chagos by the British colonial government, who wanted to clear the islands for the US government to create a strategic placed naval base in Diego Garcia. The islanders were promised housing, education and employment in Mauritius, however the reality was that they were left to fend for themselves at the margins of society.

For over thirty years, Lisette has been a leading figure in the plight of the Chagossian people to return to the islands, being voted as the Vice President of the group, Refugies Chagos. In 2000, the Chagossians had a symbolic victory in the British High Court; this victory was quashed by subsequent actions of the UK government to undermine the judgement and block the Chagossians right of return.

Lisette is also a prominent member of the women’s movement in her community. She believes that women are responsible for the family’s financial security, and ensure that all the family’s needs are provided for with savings to spare.

Her role models are Nelson Mandela – a real source of her inspiration – and Anjalay Coupen, a woman worker in the 1940s who was killed by policemen while militating for better working terms and conditions.

In 2005, Lisette’s tremendous and ongoing work was recognized by the international community, and she was one of the 1000 women who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.