A Palestinian mother has been forced to give up on a prestigious scholarship to study at a British university after an “unfair” government policy prevented her from bringing her family to the UK.
Amany, 34, won a life-changing Phoenix Space scholarship to study for an MSc in gender and international relations at the University of Bristol earlier this year.
Last month, she told The Independent she was one of several students waiting for an evacuation from Gaza to take up their place at a UK university. Leaders at several of Britain’s top universities had warned Sir Keir Starmer that frustrating delays to evacuations meant that many students were at risk of losing their place.
Now, she has been called up for evacuation out of Gaza on Wednesday, 19 November – but has been told she must leave her children and husband behind.
Amany has three children: a 10-year-old daughter, Taima, and two boys, six-year-old Taim and three-year-old Adam.
She says she has been left with an impossible choice.
“Every detail of my children’s happiness matters to me, their comfort, their strength, their ability to feel love within the family,” she told The Independent. “How can I leave them?”
As a determined and “devoted” mother, she says she spent considerable resources putting her children through private education before the war. They were enrolled in every extracurricular class she could find, and she tried to provide them with a semblance of normality even as the horror of the war in Gaza unfolded.
An email sent to her by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) Gaza Departure Support team, seen by The Independent, reads: “We can only extend our offer to try and support your exit from Gaza to complete biometrics to you individually, and not family members or dependents. It is not currently possible to take forward your request to include your husband or three children in any departure from Gaza.”
It continues: “Therefore, we are sorry to let you know that your case for facilitated departure will not be progressed at this stage, unless you provide confirmation by reply email that you would like us to try and facilitate your exit individually.”
“We recognise this is an extremely difficult and personal decision, which impacts you and your family. If this makes taking up your place this year difficult, you will need to contact your university to explore alternative options,” it adds.
“It was really heavy on my heart when I got the news,” Amany said. “I cried all my tears. I felt alone navigating the situation as all my family and in-laws are outside Gaza. I can’t bear leaving my children in such unbearable and horrible circumstances.
“The situation is not stable and the ceasefire is just a word on paper. On the ground, there are bombardments. How can I leave my kids alone with no support here?”
She says she has decided she will not take up the opportunity and will look elsewhere at other countries and other schemes if she is unable to take her children to the UK. Amany has been unable to break the difficult news to them, as they hoped for an evacuation. “I didn’t want to break their hearts,” she said.
Amany says she has “no regrets” about potentially being forced to give up the opportunity. “My kids are my priority. They are more important than any dream or ambition.”
She has been left frustrated by what she calls a “deeply unfair and discriminatory” policy, which only allows dependents of scholars to come to the UK on a “case-by-case basis”. Just two weeks ago, ministers reversed a policy that forbade any dependents of Gaza scholarship students from coming to the UK.
Now, dependants must meet certain requirements, including proving they can cover living costs. They must be studying a PhD, doctoral qualification or research-based higher degree, according to the Home Office website.
“It has left me with a sense of oppression and injustice as if my plans were not my own,” she said.
As someone with experience working with NGOs and humanitarian groups, she says she is surprised by the UK’s policy.
“I didn’t expect this from a country that consistently advocates for inclusion, human rights, and the rights of children,” she said.
“It’s deeply disheartening to see policies that deprive children of joining their mothers. Our only intention is to seek safety. We aren’t seeking asylum. It’s a temporary measure to allow me to study and find safety for a year.”
Amany and her family have been displaced seven times during Israel’s brutal war in Gaza. Her “forever home”, which she had decorated to be “cosy and welcoming”, was destroyed by IDF bombs.
The Independent has contacted the Home Office and FCDO for comment.
Last month, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Students coming from Gaza to the UK have suffered an appalling ordeal after two years of conflict. They have endured unimaginable hardship but can now begin to rebuild their lives through studying in our world-class universities.
“That is why we are supporting the evacuation of dependants of students on scholarships who are eligible to study here under the immigration rules on a case-by-case basis.”
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