Palestinian teacher Haneen Eshreim (32) feels like she is “dying inside” since her visa application to study at University College Dublin was refused.
Originally from Al-Zahra city in West Gaza, she has lived with her family in a “worn-out tent” in Khan Younis in the south of the beleaguered territory for three years.
A teacher of English, she successfully applied for a fully funded place on a one-year Master’s programme in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), starting at the Belfield campus in September.
“I have always seen Ireland as a welcoming country, especially because of the compassion it has shown the Palestinian people,” she said on Tuesday, speaking in English by phone from Gaza.
READ MORE
“I chose UCD because it seemed a very supportive place. I felt it was the right environment to build my future.”
Her visa application was “prepared very carefully” with assistance from UCD and a UK-based teacher friend. “I provided very clear information about the scholarship from UCD,” she said.
Funds raised by a community group, Dublin 6 For All, amounting to €25,000, to be managed by UCD, would ensure she would not need State support while in Dublin.
On July 20th, however, she received an email from the Irish Embassy in Israel.
“I regret to inform you that your application for an Irish visa has been refused ... for the following reasons,” it states. The letter says her application included “insufficient documentation” demonstrating her financial security and proficiency in English.
It says she had not properly accounted for gaps in education and employment, and produced “insufficient evidence of strong obligations to return to your home country”.
[ Heartbreak as Palestinian GAA players are refused visas to visit IrelandOpens in new window ]
Eshreim is one of more than 20 prospective students from Gaza who have been refused visas allowing them to take up fully funded places in Irish universities from September.
University sources say this marks a shift from last year, when about 60 Gazans were evacuated by Irish authorities to study in Ireland.
“I was in complete shock,” Eshreim says of receiving the email. “My hands would not stop shaking. It was very painful.
“This is not just about my education. This is about building a future for myself and my people. Studying in Ireland was the hope I was holding on to. Losing the visa feels like another door closing in front of me. I feel like I am dying inside.”
Asked about her life, she said: “Before the war I had a very peaceful life in Gaza. I lived with my family, neighbours, friends. I worked as an English teacher. Teaching is a love for me.
“The war has turned my life to rubble. My city was completely wiped out. I lost my job, my neighbours, and the life I had built.”
Individual members of the Dublin 6 For All group have written to Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan on the issue. “As a resident in your Dublin Bay South constituency who had raised money to assist Haneen, I would appeal to you to repeal this decision for Haneen and other Gazans,” they wrote.
Eshreim says she is “not sure” what she will do.
“My hope is that the Irish Embassy with reconsider their decision... I will not be a burden on the State. My wish is simply to study to gain the skills to serve my own people in the future.”
The Department of Justice has been contacted.
