'˜Please do not let the government deport my teenage daughter away from Milton Keynes'

Eighteen year-old Taniella is the eldest daughter of Jeanette Valentin, a British Citizen who has lived in MK for nine years.

Jeanette’s mum, Taniella’s grandmother, was one of hundreds of residents evicted from Diego Garcia by the British government in 1971.

Britain had leased the small Indian Ocean island to the United States, who built a multi billion dollar military base there.

Taniella’s gran was deported to the Seychelles, where Jeanette lived and raised her two elder children until she moved to the UK 15 years ago.

Now the government refuses to recognise those children, the third generation Diego Garcians, as British Citizens.

This means that Taniella, because she has reached the age of 18, must return to the Seychelles unless her mum spends thousands of pounds battling through the courts for her right to stay. Her sister Nesta, 16, faces the same fate in two year’s time.

“They are scared. They tell me they would rather die because there’s no family left in the Seychelles and no way for them to live,” said Jeanette, who lives in Simpson and has two jobs to make ends meet.

Taniella, who went to MK Academy, did well at her exams and wants to go to uni and become a psychologist.

“She’s a clever girl. All she wants is to be able to stay and study and work in the UK, where all her family and friends are,” said Jeanette, who has two younger sons who were both born in the UK.

She has set up a crowdfunding page on Just Giving to help Taniella

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