A Dream Deferred: The Impossible Choice Facing a Gaza Mother
A Palestinian mother has been compelled to reject a life-changing scholarship at a British university after the UK government informed her she must leave her husband and three young children behind in Gaza. Amany, 34, was offered a prestigious place to study for an MSc in Gender and International Relations at the University of Bristol, a opportunity she believed would secure her family's future.
The Heartbreaking Ultimatum
Earlier this year, Amany won a Phoenix Space scholarship, a beacon of hope amid the devastation of the ongoing conflict. However, her hope turned to despair when the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) delivered a crushing blow. In an email seen by The Independent, the FCDO's Gaza Departure Support team stated they could only support her individual exit from Gaza, explicitly excluding her family members.
The email read: "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... 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."
Amany, a devoted mother to ten-year-old Taima, six-year-old Taim, and three-year-old Adam, was left with what she describes as an "impossible choice".
Family First: A Mother's Decision
"Every detail of my children’s happiness matters to me, their comfort their strength, their ability to feel love within the family," Amany told The Independent. "How can I leave them?" She has decided she will not take up the opportunity, prioritising her children's safety and wellbeing over her academic ambitions.
"I can’t bear leaving my children in such unbearable and horrible circumstances," she said, highlighting that the ceasefire is merely "a word on paper" while bombardments continue on the ground. Amany and her family have been displaced seven times during the war, and her family home has been destroyed.
She has been unable to break the news to her children, who were hopeful about the evacuation. "I didn’t want to break their hearts," she confessed, adding firmly, "My kids are my priority. They are more important than any dream or ambition."
A Policy Labelled 'Unfair and Discriminatory'
Amany expresses deep frustration with a UK policy she calls "deeply unfair and discriminatory". While ministers recently reversed a blanket ban on dependants, the new rules only permit them on a "case-by-case basis" for students studying PhDs, doctoral qualifications, or research-based higher degrees. Masters students like Amany do not qualify.
"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 in NGO and humanitarian work, she expressed shock at the UK's stance. "I didn’t expect this from a country that consistently advocates for inclusion, human rights, and the rights of children."
She emphasised that her family's intention was not to seek asylum but temporary safety for a year while she completed her studies. A Home Office spokesperson stated that the government supports the evacuation of dependants of scholarship students "on a case-by-case basis", acknowledging the "unimaginable hardship" they have endured.
