A mother-of-three has pleaded with the UK government to help her evacuate from Gaza and take up her place on a scholarship at one of Britain’s top universities before it is too late.
Amany, a 34-year-old mother-of-three, won a Phoenix Space scholarship to study for an MSc in Gender and International Relations at the University of Bristol.
However, she is one of 25 students with scholarships who are trapped in Gaza because the Home Office not yet put their names on one of the UK evacuation lists.
And even if Amany is allowed to evacuate herself, she may face the impossible choice of deciding between taking up a life-changing place at a British university or leaving her family behind in the war-torn region.
“This opportunity represents far more than physical relocation, it is a lifeline to reclaim our right to education, dignity, and hope after enduring unimaginable hardship,” she told The Independent. “The prolonged war and repeated displacements have left students feeling disconnected from the world, unable to pursue their dreams or even imagine a normal future.
“The evacuation process offers not just safety, but a renewed sense of purpose. It allows us to rejoin academic communities where learning, creativity, and human connection can flourish once again.”
Currently displaced in Deir al-Balah, her family have been left homeless seven times, moving to various areas including Khan Yunis and Rafah. Amany, her husband, their ten-year-old daughter and two sons, aged six and two, have been left stranded in terrifying circumstances.
The new home she lived in with her children, as well as her family home, and the home of her-in-laws have all been left in rubble.
There are nine students with dependents awaiting confirmation that they will be able to enter the UK, and if so, whether they can bring their loved ones with them.
Students not called forward for evacuation already are holding on to a thread of hope that they will be listed on Sunday (26 October). The next announcement after that will be in around a month, though no date has been set, and it may be too late for most affected.
“All my close family members are outside Gaza,” Alamy said. “My parents are in Egypt, my sisters are in the UK and Germany and my mother-in-law and her daughter are in the UAE for medical treatment. This separation leaves me without a family support network to care for my children if I were to leave.
“Yet I believe that advancing my education in a country like the UK, where academic excellence, innovation, and strong humanitarian values converge, will allow me to rebuild more effectively when I return.”
Earlier this week, The Independent reported that vice-chancellors and presidents across Britain’s top universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol, Exeter, Glasgow, Sussex and UCL, wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer asking him to use his “powers of discretion” to let the small group of their students through.
Failure to address the situation allow will break up families and leave children in Gaza without a parent, they warn.
The statement commended the government’s recent evacuations of scholarship students and the UK’s role in attempts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, but asked for urgent updates on the “timeline for the evacuation of all remaining eligible students” in the next week.
The statement said that unless students are on the dual list evacuation that is scheduled for this week, non-PhD students will lose their place, and their efforts to secure places and full funding will have been for nothing.
On Wednesday, a government spokesperson told The Independent: “We are actively supporting students in Gaza. We have already facilitated the departure of a number of students and expect further students to arrive in the coming weeks.
“Bringing individuals out of Gaza is an extremely complex and delicate operation. We have worked intensely to support Chevening Scholars and students in Gaza who have fully funded scholarships at British universities to come to the UK and take up their places.”
