Gary Lineker, Nicola Coughlan back Gaza UK scholarships campaign

Palestinian children attend lessons in a tent school built on the rubble of their teacher's destroyed home in Khan Younis [Getty]Mahmoud Hasanain was an ordinary teenager in Gaza. From going to school, hitting the gym and playing video games with his friends, his focus turned to survival after Israel launched its genocidal war. A self-taught computer scientist from Gaza City and a former international Fortnite competitor, Hasanain wanted an opportunity to study at one of the top universities and find a way to overcome Israel’s war. With a passion for tech and computers, Hasanain decided to apply to the University of Glasgow to study Computer Science, but it was no easy task. “I knew I had a dream to chase; regardless of everything happening, I'm going to get that done,” Mahmoud Hasanain told The New Arab. “I always say there has to be a solution for what problem you're facing in life.” As Israel’s war has destroyed the enclave’s electricity and internet, the self-taught computer scientist would go to the highest cliff in Gaza, amid Israeli bombardment, and raise his arm to find a connection with his eSIM and fill out his university application. Once he found a connection, Hasanain would return to his temporary shelter, his family home having been destroyed, and wait until night, when the only sounds were Israeli drones flying overhead. The tech enthusiast would light a candle and draft his personal statement on a piece of paper to take back with him to the cliff to submit his application. From spending his days collecting gallons of water, finding food and chopping wood, the 20-year-old is now living his dream of studying in Scotland. "I can't believe after everything we've done, all the sacrifices, I've managed to secure myself a place and a scholarship at one of the top UK universities," Hasanain said. Mahmoud Hasanain, 20, is now in the UK studying Computer Science at Glasgow University [Mahmoud Hasanain for TNA] While the 20-year-old was fortunate enough to evacuate Gaza through his scholarship, being one of over 100 students who left the besieged and battered enclave to study at UK universities last academic year, Hasanain’s older brother Mohammed remains in Gaza, with an offer to study Business and Management at the same institution in Glasgow. While Mohammed has secured a place and a prestigious World Changers Global Excellence Scholarship, he remains trapped in Gaza. The one obstacle standing in his way: funding. While the British government announced it would help Palestinian students evacuate Gaza, they must have fully funded scholarships, something hundreds of Gazans do not have, preventing Mohammed from following in his younger brother’s footsteps. Hasanain’s brother reflects the many Gazan students who are looking for a chance to access higher education. To help them study in the UK, several celebrities will be auctioning items to fund scholarships for Palestinian students who have secured offers through Scholarships for Gaza, a 10-day campaign beginning on 27 July and organised by education charity Phoenix Space. Public figures including Gary Lineker, Paloma Faith and Nicola Coughlan are donating items to give Palestinian students a chance to fulfil their dreams. “This empowering fundraiser and scholarship programme is a lifeline for Palestinian students who need emergency help and support to evacuate and take up their rightly deserved places in higher education in the UK and abroad,” Emma Atkins, best known for playing Charity Dingle in ITV's Emmerdale, told The New Arab. Having studied at Salford University, Atkins, who is donating a university magazine to the auction, understands that even having the opportunity to apply for a drama course at Salford is a privilege she does not take lightly. “Going to Salford University was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. Gaining experience and knowledge in the arts and spending four years studying what I love is one of the main reasons I knew I wanted to be an actor,” she said. Knowing that all these public figures are helping students like his brother have the opportunity to study in the UK feels “incredible” to Hasanain. Mahmoud and his brother Mohammed in Gaza [Mahmoud Hasanain for TNA] “I was once in that position where we had nothing, and all of a sudden we were granted scholarships,” the student explained. "Having that feeling that I felt passed on to the same students who have worked so hard to get themselves offers from top UK universities, and it's just the funding that's standing in their way." Israel’s genocidal war has decimated Gaza’s education system, destroying or damaging 95% of higher education campuses. Students currently hold offers from some of the UK’s leading universities, including University College London, Imperial, and the University of Edinburgh, in subjects like artificial intelligence and cognitive neuroscience. British actor Alfred Enoch, best known for the Harry Potter films and How to Get Away with Murder, is donating his school drama tie. “As we become increasingly aware of the atrocities in Palestine, it’s vital not to resign ourselves to apathy and inaction,” Alfred Enoch told The New Arab. “Participating in this auction is a way of taking responsibility, affirming that the oppression of others will never lead to our freedom. It is an affirmation that everyone has the right to education, and that talent, ambition and hope should never become casualties of conflict," Enoch said. After graduating, Hasanain plans to use what he has learned to return to Gaza once the borders open and help rebuild the Strip through the power of technology. “I genuinely believe that technology will help rebuild Gaza faster, smarter, and more sustainably for the future,” Hasanain said. "With the knowledge that we could acquire from top universities, we’ll be able to help rebuild Gaza more effectively.” As the university student sits in his accommodation in Glasgow, relaxing during his summer break, there is only one thing Hasanain can think about: reuniting with his brother. “It would be amazing to have my brother reunited with me here in the same city, where he could be chasing his dreams as well, studying and being able to give back to society one day,” Hasanain said.