Sir, – The Department of Justice’s refusal to issue visas to a significant number of Palestinian students to study in Ireland on scholarships to UCD, UL and NCAD is both inexplicable and grossly unfair.
The reasons given for their refusal are beyond unreasonable, given the extraordinary circumstances these students are living under. It is patently absurd to expect all applicants to provide original bank statements when the banking system is broken, or to demand explanations for gaps in employment or education in a time of unprecedented destruction of so much of the normal infrastructure in Gaza.
The Government professes to support Palestinians, indeed to recognise the state of Palestine long before many other countries have done, and yet it seems to fail to recognise the state that the country is in.
The students have overcome unfathomable levels of adversity to win their scholarships and to satisfy all other requirements regarding finance and accommodation, and yet the Government now places a wall in their way, as if there weren’t enough obstacles in their way already.
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It is not too late to reverse the decision and give these extraordinary students the opportunities they deserve to come here, to study and then to return to Palestine to help their country and its beleaguered people rebuild their futures. – Yours, etc,
ANDREW LEONARD,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
