They managed to get accepted to US universities. But they're still stuck in Gaza

"Within days of 7 October 2023, much of Maryam's world had been wiped out: her home in Gaza City, her children's schools, and the Islamic University of Gaza, where she was a graduate student in physics, were all destroyed by airstrikes. In early December, Maryam's mentor Sufian Tayeh, a prominent Palestinian scientist and president of the Islamic University of Gaza was killed along with his family in an Israeli strike."

"While living in a tent in Rafah, with no stable access to internet or electricity, she learned of a spot near the border where she could get a faint internet signal from Egypt. Despite the risks, she started going there to research opportunities abroad, eventually managing to earn admission to a fully-funded PhD program at the University of Maryland. After deferring her start date by a year, she was meant to start this month."

"But Maryam remains in Gaza. She is one of dozens of students from the devastated territory who have been admitted to US universities and colleges but are stuck, advocates say, after the Trump administration suspended nearly all non-immigrant visas for Palestinian passport holders. As part of its campaign against US universities, the administration has made it more difficult for international students to travel to the US, and claims it has revoked the visas of thousands of foreign students already in the US over unspecified violations."

Within days of 7 October 2023, airstrikes destroyed Maryam's home in Gaza City, her children's schools, and the Islamic University of Gaza where she studied physics. In early December her mentor, Sufian Tayeh, a prominent Palestinian scientist, was killed along with his family in an Israeli strike. While fleeing bombs, Maryam sought ways to continue her physics education, traveling to a border spot to access a faint internet signal and researching opportunities. She earned admission to a fully-funded PhD at the University of Maryland, deferred a year, but remains trapped in Gaza after US suspension of nearly all non-immigrant visas for Palestinian passport holders.

Read at www.theguardian.com