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

Faten Sweedan, a 30-year-old Unrwa school teacher from Gaza, recalls her 28th birthday on October 7, 2023, as a bittersweet memory. Celebrated just a day before the Hamas-led attack on Israel and the subsequent war on Gaza, her birthday marked the last moments of normalcy before her life was upended. Born on a date now synonymous with the onset of the Gaza genocide, Sweedan’s story is one of resilience amidst unimaginable loss and displacement.