Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
18 August 2025 | 09:00 CAT
3 min read

When 23-year-old Logain Hamdan secured multiple offers from leading UK universities, it should have been an exciting start to a new chapter. Instead, she told Radio Islam International, her future is suspended by war and red tape.

Hamdan, a Flutter mobile developer, computer engineering student and freelance writer from Gaza, has secured multiple offers from top UK universities along with funding. But like more than 100 fellow Gazan students who earned admission abroad, she remains trapped by the absence of a visa centre in Gaza and the impossibility of leaving safely.

Regarding her application process, Hamdan explained that she refused to give up when most opportunities had dried up. “I worked on myself and doubled my efforts to apply to top universities. I secured unconditional offers. But the situation now is not just about me, it’s about more than 40 accepted students on full scholarships in the UK, and over 100 admitted without scholarships. All of them made many efforts to reach this point and achieve these amazing achievements,” she said.

The obstacle is not a lack of acceptance or funding, but bureaucracy and war. UK visa applications require biometric data collection, including fingerprints, which cannot be completed in Gaza. Without evacuation, students cannot take up their places. “The UK government demands that we submit our fingerprints for the visa application to be successful. So all we need from the UK government is to step forward and help us evacuate Gaza. This is not speculative. Other democratic nations have already done it. Ireland, Italy and France successfully evacuated their students through coordination with Israeli authorities and humanitarian organisations like the ICRC,” Hamdan said.

For many, the clock is running out. Some students were accepted in 2024 but saw their universities defer admissions until 2025, hoping the situation might change. “There are many students who postponed their applications since last year. They held onto the hope that the UK government would do something, as their universities generously deferred their scholarships. But most of us, if not all, have secured competitive scholarships. It wasn’t easy,” she said.

Hamdan pointed to her brother as an example. “He secured the Qudumi Scholarship in 2024, and it wasn’t easy at all. He deferred his application and scholarship because of the situation. During that time, he was suffering from hepatitis due to polluted water and unhealthy food. Despite that, he studied for the Duolingo English exam, submitted his application, and fulfilled all requirements. This is the same situation for many students who applied for such scholarships,” she explained.

To amplify their voices, students and allies in the UK have launched the Gaza Scholarship Initiative, which recently started a campaign called Gaza 40. The campaign calls on the UK government to evacuate its students from Gaza before they lose their hard-won opportunities. “Many of us will lose our scholarships, which we made the impossible effort to secure. Even if we defer our applications, we cannot guarantee we will study next year. Previous colleagues who deferred in 2024 still have not reached the UK. That’s why we ask the government to understand the urgency of the situation,” Hamdan said.

The irony, she added, is bitter: “The UK has invested decades in international education, offering prestigious scholarships like Chevening. It champions learning and opportunity and builds countless international partnerships. But when it comes to Gaza students who embody that ethos, we are being temporarily forgotten.”

When asked if students were applying elsewhere, Hamdan said their focus remained firmly on the UK. “All of us are aspiring to study in the UK because of its history of championing learning and innovation, its supportive environment, distinguished professors and engaging with like-minded peers.

She believes that at this point, students should focus their efforts in one place for a final attempt. “Time is running out, not just for me but for my peers too. We are in August 2025 and most of our applications begin in September,” she stressed.

For Hamdan and dozens of others, the dream of stepping into lecture halls abroad is slipping further from reach. Their plea is simple: for the UK government to act as others have and create a humanitarian route out of Gaza.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Logain Hamdan, a Flutter developer, computer engineering student, freelance writer and voice from Gaza, here.