When Shahd* finally made it to the UK after fleeing the war in Gaza, she had her sights set on settling down, getting a job and making a life here with her husband and two children.
But since the Refugee Family Reunion scheme was suspended by the Home Office last year, 36-year-old Shahd and thousands of others like her have been unable even to start the process of applying for their spouses and children to join them in the UK.
She and her family fled Gaza in February 2024, when their children were starving. By then, they had 12 family members living in one room, and she recalls paying $20 (£15) for an apple at the market, which they had to try to split evenly among them.
Shahd described their life in war-torn Gaza as “hell, literally hell on earth” by the time they left.
Shahd and her husband escaped with their son and daughter, both under 16, to a country where at least they could find food and a reprieve from the bombing.
