Human rights campaigner finds solace in Jersey

A human rights lawyer forced to flee her home in Egypt described Jersey as being "like a doctor" for her after taking a therapeutic holiday in the island.

Maha Attia has campaigned for 20 years to improve the lives of victims of domestic abuse and female genital mutilation in her home country.

She said she was jailed in 2014 while conducting an urban survey in the city of El-Khosous but given asylum in the UK in 2024 with her two daughters.

The charity Prisoners of Conscience Jersey Holiday Fund paid for Attia and her family to visit the island.

Attia and her daughters were taught how to how to surf in St Ouen's Bay by the charity Healing Waves during their visit.

She said "I really liked it. I was a bit scared but it was easy in the end with the lovely ladies".

She added: "The people in Jersey are very lovely, very friendly and they've been helping me so it's been so nice.

"I want to thank Prisoners of Conscience because this visit has helped me physiologically like a doctor, because it's helped me relax and I need this."

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Attia has continued her human rights campaigning and was accepted on to York University's Protective Fellowship Programme.

She said: "I work on rights for housing, rights of girls in education and violence against women and FMG but in Egypt it's very hard to do this work with the government.

"I was experiencing a lot of stress because I'm afraid but bringing me and my daughters to Jersey has really helped."

The Egyptian government has been asked to respond to the claims of human rights abuses.

A report from Amnesty International said Egypt was in the throes of a "human rights crisis".

Attia's daughters 16-year-old Maram and 18-year-old Maryam said they had made the most of the experience.

Maram said: "It was very good but the first time I scared but it was quite easy. I've had very nice and beautiful girls helping me."

Maryam added: "I was very scared to come here but people have been so friendly and it's also a really nice place to be because it is so safe.

"I want to try seafood from Jersey because I've heard a lot of good things about it."

Michael du Pre volunteers with Prisoners of Conscience and helped show Attia and her family around the island.

He said the charity was "fantastic" and "these people have been through an awful lot".

Du Pre added: "They really deserve something like this and I'm very glad that Jersey can help in the way it does."

The charity relies on donations from the public to continue the work it does in helping human rights abuse victims.

Vicky Cushing from Healing Waves helped teach Maram how to surf.

She said: "Every session with Prisoners of Consciousness has always been so special. It's just so nice that we're able to do our little bit to help as well."

Cushing added: "I know some of these families have gone through very tough times and being able to put that away for even just a split second whilst they're in Jersey and have those memories shared as a family means the world to us."

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