A group of Palestinian scholars who have been awaiting evacuation from Gaza to take up their places at universities across the UK finally arrived on Monday after “a surreal journey from devastation to opportunity”.
The 34 students, who all have fully funded scholarships, arrived in London and Manchester onboard three flights from Queen Alia International airport in Jordan. A number took onward flights to Northern Ireland and Scotland, where they will purse their studies.
Their arrival followed months of campaigning by politicians, academics, and others on behalf of more than 100 Palestinian students holding offers from UK universities this year. Supporters are hoping others will follow and a permanent pathway will be established to ensure more Palestinian scholars benefit.
The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, welcomed them, saying: “The flight time from Amman to England is only around six hours, but this was a journey that was months in the planning and years in the making.
“These students have lived through the most appalling ordeal. After almost two years of war, many have lost loved ones, and all have had their lives and their education thrown into chaos.
“Yet despite all the death and destruction they’ve witnessed, they’ve not given up. Instead, they’ve chosen to answer loss with learning, despair with determination, and war with hope.
“They are an inspiration to us all – and I am deeply relieved that they’ve arrived in the UK and can now continue their education in safety.”
Their arrival came shortly after the UK joined Canada and Australia in formally declaring recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Commenting after the students’ arrival, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Our support … reflects the UK’s commitment to the future of postwar Gaza and its reconstruction, where educating the next generation will play a vital role.”
The cohort includes recipients of the Chevening scholarship, the government’s flagship international programme, which is aimed at the leaders of tomorrow and supports them to pursue one-year master’s degrees in the UK.
Not included in the cohort, however, were two women – bound for Glasgow, and the Liverpool School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – who declined their initial invitations for evacuation when they were told their young children and spouses would not be permitted to exit the Gaza Strip with them.
Just days before the first bus of UK students was due to leave Gaza last week, the two PhD students were informed that while their families were eligible for UK visas, they were not eligible for the evacuation. Put in an “impossible situation”, according to supporters, they chose to stay.
Nora Parr, a University of Birmingham researcher who has been coordinating efforts to support the students, said she was thrilled to finally see the Palestinian scholars being welcomed at university campuses across the UK.
“They are beginning a new chapter of what has for all been a surreal journey from devastation to opportunity. Of course the logistics and parameters of the new UK scheme for students are still being worked out.
“We hope that mothers and fathers will not be asked to choose between education and family survival, that post-doctoral scholars will be included and that mechanisms toward a permanent pathway for education in the UK will be established, as a political solution is created for Palestine, allowing these scholars to use what they have learned in the UK to rebuild their communities.”