Students who are unable to leave Gaza and take up scholarships at Belgian universities have said they are devastated after Belgium’s government hit deadlock on a plan enabling them to leave the war-torn territory. Ahmed Abujami, a 28-year-old doctor in Gaza, said he was “deeply disappointed” after Belgium’s five-party coalition government last Friday failed to agree on an evacuation plan for 13 students and researchers in the territory. Abujami has a scholarship to do a one-year master’s degree in public health at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp.
He hopes to gain skills and experience to rebuild Gaza’s shattered health system. He said: “We are 13 students who followed every rule, went through a strict academic selection process and earned scholarships to study in Belgium. We have nothing to do with the political disagreements surrounding our case.” Salwa Abu Elhaj, a 23-year-old graduate, still hopes to take up her place to study communications sciences at KU Leuven, but said “with every passing day, that hope becomes more difficult.
I have worked very hard for this opportunity and it is heartbreaking to see it becoming uncertain because of circumstances that are completely outside my control.” She lives in central Gaza in a tent with her family, after their home was destroyed and she was forced to move several times. In May 2024, he was awarded a fellowship at the Free University of Brussels (ULB). He hopes to develop artificial intelligence-aided systems that can be used one day in Gaza to help with the efficient dispatch of ambulances and emergency vehicles.
He said his visa has been approved, but he must collect it in person in Cairo, Jordan or Jerusalem. Italy and the UK are among European countries that have negotiated with Israel and neighbouring countries to enable the evacuation of researchers and students in the last year. The Guardian has seen official letters confirming the scholarships and, in Abujami’s case, emails denying requests for remote application for a visa.
Rectors from seven of the academic institutions involved published a joint article on Monday saying they were outraged by the outcome. They were selected for a competitive scholarship by independent selection committees,” they said. Belgium’s government, an eclectic five-party coalition led by the Flemish nationalist prime minister, Bart De Wever, failed to reach an agreement on a plan to evacuate the 13 students last Friday.
Maxime Prévot, one of Belgium’s deputy leaders and foreign minister, announced he was withdrawing a proposal to evacuate the students. He said it had been “completely rejected” by one coalition partner – understood to be the New Flemish Alliance party – “unless we were prepared to make concessions on returns to Afghanistan and return hubs”. Dignity is not for sale.” Belgium’s asylum and migration minister, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, opposes entry for the 13 students, without stronger action to ensure people without the right to stay in Belgium leave the country.
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