The Challenges of Studying Abroad for Two Young Master's Student's
“I felt like I’m stuck in a box, a box that is totally closed” International Master’s Scholar Abeer Alabyad describes the feeling he has living in Gaza and his experience in leaving to study for his Master's degree in the UK.
Early in September 2013, 17 Gaza students chosen by Al Fakhoora’s Dynamic Future program to pursue their Master degrees in the United Kingdom were encountering one of the hardest experiences in their lives, to travel out of Gaza to reach the UK, it was not a problem of not having a visa, or funding of their studies or the trip itself, but it was freedom of and access to movement, a concern that continues to be a nightmare for Gaza students who wish to study outside the Gaza Strip.
Known as privilege, the Al Fakhoora International Master’s Scholarship has become, in just a few years, it has become the peak to aim for, for students in Gaza, because unlike many scholarships in Gaza, it is based on community as well as scholarly demands and achievements. In 2013, Al Fakhoora’s Dynamic Futures was the biggest program in Gaza offering quantity and quality for International Master’s Programs.
Selected by the Senior Academic Committee composed of academics from different local universities, the 17 students were preparing for the upcoming start of their programs in September. All had booked their flights as early as possible to avoid any travel difficulties. However, all of them encountered difficulties that made almost all of them go back and forth between home and the Rafah Terminal, trying to cross from Gaza into Egypt.
“I feel like I’m stuck in a box, a box that is totally closed. There is nothing I can do about my situation. Everything around me, the political situation and conflict, it is all outside of my control.” Stated Abeer AlAbyad, 26, a candidate for MA in International Education at Leeds University, describing her situation being stuck in Gaza.
Abeer adds: “We are bearing the brunt of what is happening in the region. Yet, none of this is our fault. We are simply the wrong people at the wrong time in the wrong place, living in Gaza. Students are not a part of any conflict, political party or military. They just want to pass through the border. All we want is to go to our universities to study.”
Ahmed Alajrami, a candidate for MSc for Advanced Computer Engineering, at Manchester University stated that “Leaving Gaza was extremely challenging, this is my fourth day at the crossing; this doesn’t happen in any country in the world; waiting that long to cross”. On the Fourth day, Ahmed crossed the Palestinian side, but had to spend another night on the Egyptian side, as there was no possibility to cross the Sinai that late in the evening.
As of early October, all International Master’s Students have made it through to the UK to join their universities, for Ahmed Al Aljarami is is “…a massively new start in my life – we are just starting another journey of challenging education, hoping that we will bring rich knowledge and experience with us back to Gaza.”
