An open letter from UK university staff to the government calling for safe evacuation of 40 Palestinian students from Gaza has received nearly 5,000 signatures in the past two weeks.
The students have full scholarships to study at UK institutions and 15 of them are meant to attend universities in London, but government red-tape poses obstacles to them taking up their places.
A biometrics deferral protocol was established in 2023 by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), but Birmingham University researcher and coordinator of the open letter Dr Nora Parr claimed efforts made by the students and legal counsel to apply for that deferral have gone unanswered.
Parr said: “There is a 15-day window given for a decision.
“That 15-day window has come and gone.”
Parr claimed UKVI’s guidance was unfeasible for the students’ circumstances in Gaza, and responses to their questions about avenues for biometrics deferral were vague.
She added: “We don’t get a yes or a no, we simply get ignored.”
Trapped in a warzone as the academic year approaches, the students are in the centre of a dire humanitarian crisis instead of preparing for their degrees and are desperate for government action.
Abdallah Ramadan is a recipient of the prestigious UK government-funded Chevening Scholarship and has an offer from Queen Mary University of London, which he was forced to defer last year due to the war in Palestine.
He is among those stranded in Gaza and is leading the #Gaza40 campaign, advocating for himself and his peers while enduring hunger, displacement, and bombing.
Ramadan claimed he and other scholars have repeatedly reached out to the Chevening Secretariat seeking support, but have received no meaningful response.
Ramadan said: “This is my appeal to the Chevening leadership: Do not fail us now.
“Stand by the values you promote. Stand by your scholars, especially when they need you most.”
Ramadan was moved by the support from the wider Chevening network of over 100 MPs, 5,000 academics, and thousands of students across the UK, and asked the scholarship, which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, join the call to action.
Fellow Chevening scholar Gonzalo Castillo Narváez said he texts Ramadan once or twice every week to make sure he is okay.
Castillo Narváez said: “It’s hard to have conversations with someone that is going through so much pain and stress and suffering at this moment.
“But from what I know so far, he’s managing to survive.”
Advocate Castillo Narváez and other Chevening scholars wrote to the organisation’s secretariat in an expression of solidarity for their eight Palestinian counterparts in Gaza.
The Chevening Secretariat responded on Monday 4 August, with a spokesperson saying they are doing everything they can to support the students.
Castillo Narváez is optimistic about the cumulative effect of the open letter from university staff, the letter to Chevening Scholarship, and all other exhibitions of support for the 40 students in Gaza.
He said: “I think the main idea of these petitions is just to show in numbers how many people are interested in these scholars and that they should have the opportunity to come and study and fulfil their dreams.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.
“We are aware of the students and are considering the request for support. Clearly the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this challenging.”
Feature image: Free to use from Unsplash
