UK visa rules leave Palestinian scholars in limbo and their children stranded in Gaza

Faten Sweedan remembers celebrating her 28th birthday in October 2023, the day before the Hamas-led attack on Israel and the start of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

She was born on 7 October, a date now forever associated with the start of the Gaza genocide.

“It was a special birthday, on the Friday," she told Middle East Eye. "I ate bowls of chocolate, I ate ice cream, iced sweet drinks, I ate lamb barbecue and also barbecued chicken. And stuffed vine leaves… it was a beautiful day.”

The Unrwa school teacher, now in the UK on a scholarship, smiles as she remembers this special occasion, the day before the war and her family’s displacement began. 

“The first street to be bombed [by Israel] was our street… We were displaced from the very first day,” she said.

Read more: UK visa rules leave Palestinian scholars in limbo and their children stranded in Gaza