First Rescued Gazan Academics Arrive in the UK
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
The first Gazan academics rescued by the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) arrived to the UK safely last Thursday, 10th October. The news comes just over a year since the 7th October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and the beginning of the war on Gaza, of which we are still witnesses today.
One scholar is set to complete her PhD at the University of Edinburgh, while another, a former Faculty Dean at Gaza University, is on a Visiting Fellowship at Cambridge University. Thirteen more individuals are expected to follow, heading to institutions such as the Universities of York, Glasgow, Newcastle, Durham, and Leeds.
The United Nations estimates that 80% of schools and universities in Gaza have been destroyed over the past year, and the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education estimates at least 105 Palestinian university academics have been killed. CARA works to protect academics throughout the world, allowing them to pursue their educational ambitions in safer environments, free from the violence or persecution they face in conflict zones. It is argued that the focus on the subgroup of academics allows for tangible, individual-level impact, which differentiates broader humanitarian aid organisations.
CARA forms partnerships with leading universities to help foster mutually beneficial relationships between academics and institutions. As well as rescuing academics from immediate danger, they also provide support for immediate families by sponsoring visas for their dependents.
While CARA is assisting more academics than ever before, they report that demand is still growing, as Palestinian academics represent the highest proportion of these professionals in need of urgent help in 2024. Tragically, one CARA fellow, who had returned to Gaza before the war, has been killed, whilst another reports her struggle to survive. It is crucial that Palestinian academics continue to receive refuge and support to ensure the preservation of their knowledge, in the hope of rebuilding their communities.