From Durham in northeastern England to Deir al-Balah in the heart of the Gaza Strip, it’s a long way in every aspect. It’s another planet, not just another world,” says Sana el-Azab, who was evacuated to the UK along with thirty-three other students and landed in the cathedral city late last month.
The 29-year-old former educator received a scholarship to study educational leadership and change at Durham University in June. Following weeks of uncertainty, British academics and politicians pushed for her and scores of other Gazan students who had fully-funded spots to be permitted to visit the UK.
When the moment of her life finally came, Sana left her house to go to Jordan for biometric testing and then to Durham. She informed me that there is no opportunity for you to pursue further education in Gaza. “Every university has been destroyed. There’s no education system at all anymore.
Israeli bombing and deliberate demolitions are said to have reduced the main campus of Al-Azhar University, one of the largest and oldest Palestinian academic institutions, where Sana earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature, to rubble.
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