A man in Gaza who received an offer to study in Dublin has said he feels “devastated” and “left behind” after the evacuation of more than 50 students to Ireland.
Shaker Albuhaisi (22) received a scholarship to study at University College Dublin (UCD) in July. The offer, citing his address as Deir al-Balah refugee camp, Gaza, was for the college’s year-long graduate degree in biological and biomolecular science.
Due to start his studies on September 8th, he said he has been unable to leave.
On hearing how 52 students who received scholarships to study in Ireland were evacuated and due to arrive, he said he was “devastated to learn of this only after it happened”.
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He said he had “approval from the Israeli side to leave Gaza” and “much of the paperwork required”, but he said was not told of the evacuation of the students.
“I feel I have been forgotten and left behind,” he said.
“Because I did not know about the evacuation, I was not included and now I risk being left behind again.”
He has sought assistance from the Representative Office of Ireland in Ramallah to reach Dublin to study, though he said he believed he would not be evacuated for a further 30 days under the “best-case scenario”.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it had begun preliminary operations and the initial stages of an attack on Gaza City, saying it was operating with “great force” on the outskirts as Israel pushes ahead with its plan to take control of the Gaza Strip.
Mr Albuhaisi previously studied at Al-Azhar University in Gaza and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in medical laboratory science. His university has since been destroyed by Israeli forces, he said.
“The ongoing conflict in Gaza has made life nearly impossible. For almost two years, I have faced, like the other two million people, the immediate danger of being killed every day, with no realistic hope of escaping to a safe place,” he said.
He said he and his family have been “struggling to survive” amid famine conditions faced by about 514,000 people, or nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population.
“Feeling left behind while others are evacuated is breaking me,” he said.
He said he hoped to be evacuated as “soon as possible, so I can hold my place at UCD and build a better future”.
“I do not know if this effort will succeed, but I know that this might be my last opportunity before the expected full-scale invasion of Gaza,” he said.
He said UCD had been “very supportive”, saying he “deeply appreciates Ireland’s continued support for the Palestinian people”.
Asked about Mr Albuhaisi, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it would not comment on individual cases.
