LONDON: A student from Gaza granted permission to live and study in the UK has been evacuated from the Palestinian territory, with her family, by the British government.
Manar Al-Houbi won a full scholarship to study for a doctorate at the University of Glasgow. It also allowed her to bring her husband and children with her, and they applied for the required visas. But shortly before her studies were due to start, UK authorities told her the rules for international students and their dependents had changed and her family could no longer accompany her.
Shortly after her story was reported in October, however, the government backed down as said it would consider evacuation of international students’ dependents on a “case-by-case basis.”
Al-Houbi and her family are now in Jordan, on their way to the UK, The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday. The British scheme for the evacuation of students from Gaza is due to expire on Dec. 31. People who have attempted to use it have described it as being riddled with issues, as a result of which some students with scholarships have been left stranded in the Palestinian territory.
Several told the Guardian they had decided not to travel to the UK because they had felt pressured into leaving loved ones behind, including children.
