{"id":572531,"date":"2026-07-28T18:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/572531\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T18:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:53:09","slug":"studying-in-ireland-was-the-hope-i-was-holding-on-to-palestinian-teacher-dying-inside-since-visa-refused-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/572531\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Studying in Ireland was the hope I was holding on to\u2019: Palestinian teacher \u2018dying inside\u2019 since visa refused \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Palestinian teacher Haneen Eshreim (32) feels like she is \u201cdying inside\u201d since her visa application to study at University College Dublin<\/a> was refused. <\/p>\n

Originally from Al-Zahra city in West Gaza<\/a>, she has lived with her family in a \u201cworn-out tent\u201d in Khan Younis in the south of the beleaguered territory for three years. <\/p>\n

A teacher of English, she successfully applied for a fully funded place on a one-year Master\u2019s programme in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), starting at the Belfield campus in September. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have always seen Ireland as a welcoming country, especially because of the compassion it has shown the Palestinian people,\u201d she said on Tuesday, speaking in English by phone from Gaza. <\/p>\n

\u201cI chose UCD because it seemed a very supportive place. I felt it was the right environment to build my future.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Gazan doctor fears she will lose place on UCC course after visa application rejectedOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Her visa application was \u201cprepared very carefully\u201d with assistance from UCD and a UK-based teacher friend. \u201cI provided very clear information about the scholarship from UCD,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Funds raised by a community group, Dublin 6 For All, amounting to \u20ac25,000, to be managed by UCD, would ensure she would not need State support while in Dublin. <\/p>\n

On July 20th, however, she received an email from the Irish Embassy in Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret to inform you that your application for an Irish visa has been refused … for the following reasons,\u201d it states. The letter says her application included \u201cinsufficient documentation\u201d demonstrating her financial security and proficiency in English. <\/p>\n

It says she had not properly accounted for gaps in education and employment, and produced \u201cinsufficient evidence of strong obligations to return to your home country\u201d. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Heartbreak as Palestinian GAA players are refused visas to visit IrelandOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

University sources say this marks a shift from last year, when about 60 Gazans were evacuated by Irish authorities to study in Ireland. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was in complete shock,\u201d Eshreim says of receiving the email. \u201cMy hands would not stop shaking. It was very painful. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

Asked about her life, she said: \u201cBefore the war<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Individual members of the Dublin 6 For All group have written to Minister for Justice Jim O\u2019Callaghan<\/a> on the issue. \u201cAs 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,\u201d they wrote. <\/p>\n

Eshreim says she is \u201cnot sure\u201d what she will do. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Justice<\/a> has been contacted. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Palestinian teacher Haneen Eshreim (32) feels like she is \u201cdying inside\u201d since her visa application to study at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9691,3409,61,60,3411,18573,43,4268,5762],"class_list":["post-572531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-department-of-justice","tag-gaza-strip","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-israel-hamas-conflict","tag-jim-ocallaghan","tag-news","tag-palestine","tag-ucd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}