For hundreds of thousands of international students, the UK's higher education system represents a golden opportunity. For those living in Gaza, securing a place has become an almost insurmountable challenge, a reality starkly illustrated by the journey of 27-year-old Aseel Mousa.
A System Shattered by Conflict
The education system in Gaza was already under severe strain before October 2023, crippled by a near two-decade Israeli blockade. Following what a UN inquiry designated as a genocide during a two-year war, Unicef reports the system is now on the brink of total collapse. The human cost is staggering: over 70,000 killed and 170,000 injured, representing roughly a tenth of the pre-war population of 2.3 million.
Despite this devastation, a handful of students managed to escape. Aseel Mousa is one of fewer than 100 Gazan students who have reached British universities since the conflict began. Before her arrival to study for a master's in International Relations at the University of Leicester, she worked as a journalist documenting the war's early horrors from within the enclave.
'The War Followed Me': A Year of Guilt and Grief
In her own words, Mousa describes her academic year in the UK as a painful paradox. 'It has been a year of achieving my dreams and ambitions, and a year of guilt, pain and helplessness,' she writes. Her academic successes are shrouded in shame, knowing her family and friends in Gaza often cannot even access the internet due to Israeli telecommunications blackouts.
Her narrative contrasts the mundane freedoms of student life in Britain with the relentless terror at home. 'How can I show them pictures of the meals I try to cook... when people back home are being shot by Israeli snipers while trying to secure flour?' she asks. While her UK student residency allowed her to travel to seven countries and visit displaced family in Egypt without Israeli permits, she has lost everything in Gaza: her home in Tel al-Hawa, friends killed in airstrikes, and the city she longs for but fears returning to, knowing it is destroyed.
The Unbearable Weight of Injustice
The psychological toll of existing between two worlds is profound. Mousa recalls being in Barcelona, calling her younger brother to show him a sea that reminded her of Gaza's al-Rashid street. The joy of such moments is obliterated by tragedy, like the day five Gazan journalists, including Anas al-Sharif, were killed. Wearing black in mourning, she walked through Leicester where life continued, undisturbed and unaware.
'I often look at people's faces here and wonder what life feels like when a person is born a "global citizen",' she reflects, overwhelmed by the injustice. Her dream was always to return to Gaza, but the genocide has forced her to seek asylum, with the prospect of being barred from entering for at least seven years. 'The UK is a beautiful country,' she concludes, 'But I find myself always talking about bombing, killing, destruction and genocide.' Her story is a searing testament to the indelible scars of conflict, even on those who physically escape.
