A cross-party group of more than 100 MPs has written to the government, highlighting the plight of Palestinian students unable to take up scholarships at UK universities because they have been barred from bringing their children.
The British government has now evacuated from Gaza almost 60 scholars with fully funded university places and more are expected soon, but others have been forced to abandon their plans in order to remain with their families.
Among them is 26-year-old Loay*, who has a place to study at the University of Oxford, but chose to remain in Gaza when told his family could not accompany him.
“Postponing my evacuation was heartbreaking,” he said. “My wife, Hala, and our three-month-old daughter, Raseel, are my whole world. I couldn’t leave them behind in Gaza City, where life has become a daily nightmare.
“I was offered a lifeline, but what kind of life would it be if I escaped while they remained trapped in this horror? I held on to hope that if I waited, we might be allowed to leave together.”
Loay was due to study for an MSc in health service improvement and evaluation at St Hilda’s College, but now he spends his days trying to source formula to feed his baby daughter.
“I didn’t want safety at the cost of leaving my family behind. Becoming a father has deepened my sense of purpose, not only to protect my own daughter, but to build a future where all children can live in peace.
“My drive to learn, grow and return equipped to serve my community has only grown stronger. I want to continue my education not just for myself, but for them and for Gaza.”
Fatin, a 31-year-old mother of two with a scholarship to study for an MA in international education and development at the University of Sussex, said: “When deferring my first evacuation I tried so hard to calm down by convincing myself that days pass and the next evacuation is so close.
“However, even before recovering from the stress and pressure of the feeling that you’re closing your way out to life with your own trembling hands, I suddenly started to be attacked by thoughts of a second failure, a second heartbreak: what if I cannot leave with my boys yet again?”
The letter to ministers has been signed by MPs and members of the House of Lords from all parties, including the former Conservative education secretary Kenneth Baker, the veteran Labour peer and former child refugee Alf Dubs, the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Green MP and former party leader Carla Denyer.
Abtisam Mohamed, the Labour MP for Sheffield Central, and coordinator of the letter to the government, said: “Britain has a proud record of supporting scholars from conflict zones, and I welcome the government’s action on evacuating scholarship students out of Gaza so far.”
The ceasefire offered a significant chance for peace, she said, but did not remove the challenges for remaining students who were being asked to make the impossible decision to evacuate and pursue their education while leaving their young children behind.
“We cannot allow bureaucratic hurdles to stand in the way of compassion, nor should we abandon students and their families, whose lives and futures hang in the balance,” she said.
As part of a crackdown on immigration, most international students are not allowed to bring their dependants with them to the UK, but campaigners say these are not typical circumstances and exceptions should be made.
Dr Nora Parr, a researcher at the University of Birmingham who is supporting the students in Gaza, said the UK had so far welcomed 58 students under its scholar evacuation initiative and just one child, of a couple who are both master’s students, after the then home secretary, Yvette Cooper, exercised her ministerial discretion.
“Many of the remaining scholars are also mothers and fathers, who have been unable to leave without their families. Some of these scholars are not typically eligible to bring their children or spouses on a student visa,” Parr said.
“These are not typical times. In order to continue their education, they will need ministerial discretion to be exercised to ensure they and their fully supported families are able to reach safety.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are actively supporting students in Gaza. We have already facilitated the departure of a number of students and expect further students to arrive in the coming weeks. Bringing individuals out of Gaza is an extremely complex and delicate operation.”
* Campaigners have asked for only first names to be used
