A Palestinian student has received an unconditional offer to study at the University of Glasgow. Trapped and displaced in Gaza, under the threat of airstrikes, he is urging for support, calling for an organisation or individual to support him through sponsorship.

By Samar Jamal | Photos by Qusay Al-Reqeb

“I am trying to transition from a tent in Gaza to a lecture hall in Glasgow”, explains 19-year-old Qusay Al-Reqeb, who has just secured an unconditional offer at the University of Glasgow, one of Scotland’s top educational institutions. However, if he can’t finance the costs, he won’t be able to go.

The young Palestinian, who earned a 97.4 percent average in high school, has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the support of Glasgow University’s Divestment Coalition, encouraging people to support him towards reaching his goal and studying in Scotland.

While the young Palestinian has received a partial scholarship, it won’t cover all the costs of his tuition fees or living expenses. At the time of publishing, Qusay had nearly reached his £5000 goal for his first crowdfunder, but this will only cover his living costs. Qusay hopes that an organisation or individual will support him through sponsorship.

“I launched this fundraising campaign to cover my living expenses in Glasgow because I literally have nothing, and I’m looking for an organisation to fully sponsor my studies there, as the university tuition fees are very expensive at £33,000 per year, not including living expenses.”

Currently, there is an ongoing genocide being committed in the occupied Palestinian strip of Gaza, as concluded by Amnesty International's investigation, making it impossible for people to live a safe and dignified life. Figures from December 2025, reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza shows that 70,373 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7 2023. A blockade has been forced in place by Israel since 2007, restricting the import and export of goods and resources, as well as movement.

Since Israel escalated its onslaught on the Palestinian people, these restrictions have been amplified. Making it nearly impossible to evacuate and pursue education abroad.

Yesterday, after keeping the border closed for 18 months, the Israeli government said 50 people will be allowed to cross into Egypt each day for medical attention. The patients can be accompanied by two companions. Reports from Al Jazeera show that, as of yesterday, only 12 people crossed the border, including five patients.

Currently, Qusay is living in a thin fabric tent pitched on the sand of the Gaza shore. He is one of thousands who have been forcefully displaced after having their homes destroyed by the Israeli military. For the past two years, his father has had his salary removed, leaving Qusay and his family with no financial support.

*Qusay stand infront of make shift tents in Gaza*

Speaking to Greater Govanhill, he said: “Before the war, my life was actually quite beautiful. I had a stable routine, a quiet room to study in, and I spent my evenings coding and dreaming of the future. Everything was on the right track.

“Now, that world is gone. I went from a warm home and a desk to living in a cold tent, struggling for the simplest basics of life. It’s hard to describe the feeling of having your entire life "paused" by fear, but the dream of Glasgow University is the only thing that keeps me holding on.”

After studying, he hopes to pursue a career in software engineering saying: “I want to prove that even after losing everything, we can still build something great. I want to use my education to help rebuild my community and show the world our resilience.”

“There are days when our only goal is to find a single meal. Education seems like a luxury in a place where people are fighting for a bag of flour; for me, it is the only path back to humanity,” Qusay wrote on his crowdfunder.

“Against all odds, amidst the hunger and the constant fear of bombardment, I managed to secure an acceptance to the University of Glasgow. When I received the email, I cried – not just out of joy, but out of the sheer impossibility of it.”

He expressed his support for the support he’s received: “I am writing this from my tent in Gaza, with tears of gratitude. In the harshest of times, your kindness has been my sanctuary. I am so happy to announce that we have reached my first goal of £4,500!

“Every donation felt like a promise that I am not forgotten, and that my dream of reaching the University of Glasgow is valid, despite the war around me. This tent has been my world for months, but because of you, I can finally see a world beyond it – a world of books, coding, and a future.

“The journey isn't over yet. I am now starting my second goal to cover my tuition and the costs of rebuilding my life in Scotland. Please, keep standing by me. Be the hand that helps me move from the darkness of a tent to the light of a classroom.”

Since speaking with Greater Govanhill, Qusay’s fundraiser has reached £5000, which will help with his living costs in Egypt. The neighbouring country that he has to cross into first, from the Rafah border, before continuing his intended journey to Glasgow.

The crowdfunder has been set up by Glasgow University’s Divestment Coalition (GUDC). A group of over 70 clubs and societies advocating for the University of Glasgow to divest from the arms trade. The coalition has supported other students in the past, too, including Ibrahim Alghorane, whose request for the Dima Scholarship was unsuccessful. He was later awarded support through Glasgow’s Humanitarian Response Fund after campaigning.

A spokesperson from GUDC said: “We are supporting Qusay’s campaign along with many other students like him because we firmly believe that this University (Glasgow) should bear the responsibility of higher education of Palestinians whose universities they have destroyed by funding the arms industry, especially companies like BAE Systems and Elbit. The Glasgow Uni needs to divest from arms companies immediately.

They added that they hadn’t been approached by the university to support Qusay’s campaign specifically, but they “had managed to get a meeting with the senior management to push for more scholarships and financial support so more students from Gaza can evacuate and continue their studies.“

The Dima Scholarship was set up in the name of University of Glasgow alumna Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, who was killed alongside her husband, her six-month-old baby and her brothers, when their home was bombed in 2023 in Southern Gaza.

Several ceasefire deals have been put in place in the last 3 years, each of which has been disregarded by the Israeli military in Gaza. Israel has now introduced a Yellow Line, which separates Gaza into two zones, one which is under Israeli military control and the other where Palestinians have more freedom to move but are still under constant threat of air strikes.

President Trump is now putting together a Board of Peace committee, which he claims is to help rebuild Gaza. The committee includes former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has been criticised for his involvement in the war in Iraq. As well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was issued an arrest warrant by the ICC for war crimes. There are no Palestinians on the Board.