Support Khaled al-Mudallal’s Right to Education

Let Khaled Study Campaign, www.letkhaledstudy.co.uk

Khaled al-Mudallal is a Palestinian and a Business and Management student at the University of Bradford. He is currently trapped in Gaza due to the restrictions on freedom of movement imposed by Israel. Khaled needs to return to Bradford urgently to begin the third year of his degree course.

Khaled returned to his home town of Rafah in June with the intention of staying only for a few days. He has a British residence permit valid until November 2010.

According to Israeli human rights organisation Gisha, Khaled is one of several hundred Palestinian students who are being prevented from leaving Gaza to return to courses abroad. Gisha believes the Israeli government is in breach of international law. The right to education is enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The NUS Black Students’ Campaign, University of Bradford Students’ Union, General Union of Palestinian Students, University and College Union, Federation of Student Islamic Societies and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign are calling on all students in Britain to support Khaled’s right to continue his education and the right of all Palestinian students to access education free from the restrictions imposed by Israel’s illegal occupation.

What you can do:

* Print and collect signatures for the petition and encourage others to do the same – the petitions will be sent to the British and the Israeli Prime Ministers:

* Write to the Israeli Prime Minister calling for the travel restrictions imposed on Gaza to be lifted and for Khaled to be allowed to leave to return to Bradford.

* Write to the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling on him to bring pressure to bear on his Israeli counterpart to lift the restrictions on students from Gaza, including Khaled, leaving Gaza to access education.

* Contact student media to try to get articles published raising awareness of Khaled’s situation and the plight of Palestinian students living under Israel’s illegal occupation.

Please visit the ‘LET KHALED STUDY’ Campaign website for more information:

PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM KHALED

Dear All,

Peace be upon you,

This is me Khaled AlMudallal, 22 years old; I was born in Rafah refugee camp-Palestine. The life in the camp was extremely difficult. We had to live under difficult conditions due to the shortage of basic life needs.

Throughout my studies I went into difficult times because of the continuous Israeli restrictions on my people in Gaza Strip, while I was a kid I used to witness the Israeli army breaking into our homes in the camps, these scenes were so terrifying to me, which eventually left a bad and frightening image.

While I was 16 I visited the United Kingdom for the first time in my life to see my Dad who was studying PhD at Bradford university and then I decided to continue my education in the City of Bradford, I went to Grange College till I completed my GCSE’s and A-Levels then I joined Bradford School of Management with grades (A,B,C,C) to do Business and Management studies, I lived in the UK by myself after my Dad finished his studies in 2004.

In December 2006 I visited my family after nearly 5 years of not being able to visit Palestine because of the occupation in the Gaza Strip. Finally I got there just to see my family and meet my fiancée for the first time. During that time Israel had closed the border for nearly two months which caused missing all my first semester’s exams of my second year, I then arrived to Bradford university half-way through of my second semester after opening the border for few days.

My plan after arriving to the UK in February 2007 is to work hard on my studies in the second semester to do my course work and exams, then go back to Palestine in June to come back my new wife and return quickly to the UK after the board of examination of the university decided that I can do the missing exams in August 2007. Since then I was trapped in Gaza after Israel decided to close the Rafah crossing border, which is the only border for the Gazans.

I am asking you to:

I only ask everybody to listen to me and get me my basic right of movement and education back, I ask all my friends in the UK to campaign against these unjust policies against me and hundreds of Palestinians students in Gaza Strip. I ask the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom to urgently contact the Israeli government to stop immediately the warfare against the Palestinians.

Many thanks from Gaza,

Khaled AlMudallal
Sunday 30-09-2007

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