Editor Alice Keegan reports from today’s UCDSU-organised protest against the refusal of visas for Palestinian students looking to study in Ireland
On 11th September, protesters gathered outside the Department of Justice in response to the Irish government’s continuing refusal to grant visas to Palestinian students with places to study in Irish universities.
Attendees included representatives from UCD Students’ Union, Maynooth University, AMLÉ, DCU Students Union and Trinity Students Union. Additionally, a number of Gardaí were also outside the Department of Justice.
Speakers included UCDSU Welfare Officer Éabha Hughes and UCDSU President Enzo Crothers, who both played and read aloud testimonials from affected students in Gaza. Hughes noted that the protest was organised last minute, with less than 24 hours notice given via social media. Further, she explained that they were purposely not including politicians in order for the protest to be “student centered”. Speaking to the University Observer, Crothers said: “The parties are less keen to attend when they’re not allowed to speak”.
While there was a somber atmosphere at times as the crowd heard testimonials from affected students. There were chants led by speakers to “grant their visas,” and to “let them study,” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” TCDSU president Amy Kennedy expressed her anger as “these students have fought tooth and nail” for their place in Irish universities.
One student described that in Gaza “people are trying to sit English tests while the sky is trying to kill them”. Some thanked Irish people for standing with Palestinians “through so many chapters of our history”. Abdullah, a Maynooth student from Gaza at the protest, told the story of his evacuation and his experience of “not knowing if family members are alive or dead,” as Palestinian cities are being “erased from the maps”.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan was highly criticised by a number of speakers at the protest. Called the “ministry of injustice", certain speakers pointed to his broader migration policies, and the Irish government’s complicity in a “horrific genocide and scholasticide".
A woman who was in negotiations with UCD to donate 1.2 million to provide full scholarships to Gazan students with acceptances, criticised the “planes flying through Shannon” and how the Occupied Territories Bill has been “watered down".
The woman told The Univeristy Observer of two students that were denied Visas to study in Ireland, inclduing Mohammad, who was due to start a Masters in Biomedical Engineering, he had previously repaired medical devices in hospitals that were under siege, while Raghad, who was meant to start a Bachelors in Business, had recommendations from professors at MIT.
"This process has been devastating for everyone. First and foremost for the students; who are in constant physical danger as Israel has continued to decimate Gaza; but emotionally as for the international volunteers working with them. We talk with them every day, multiple times a day. We develop real friendships. We meet their families on video calls. We email their university administrators. The students are doing everything right; they say please and thank you and expose their vulnerability over and over again; they stay calm even as the world literally burns and crumbles around them. So every set back feels like a gut punch that takes your breath away. I have nightmares that someone will stop responding and we’ll find out they’re dead. It’s a real possibility that keeps us all up at night."
The woman finished by saying that "due to the visa refusals, everything has been put on hold and the students have been left in limbo. We have found alternatives in other countries for some of them, but it’s a shame that UCD has missed out on these incredibly hardworking, accomplished students".