Layla said: “Gaza is entirely unsafe, entirely destroyed, or burned, including my home university, which has been bombed many times.
“Despite nothing being clear, I’m counting days to go back to rebuild my Gaza, practice medicine there, give a hand to the most brave, innocent people, and live there until death.”
Mariam said coming to study in Leicester in 2024 “came at a time when hope was fading”.
She said: “I have a lot of mixed feelings, but the most important ones are that I am grateful and happy to seize an opportunity like this.
“On the other hand, I carry a sense of guilt for being here while my colleagues are still facing challenges without similar opportunities.”
Prof Shameq Sayeed, Leicester Medical School’s Director of International Teaching Partnerships, said: “Though their displacement – with family and friends still under constant threat in Gaza – constitutes an ongoing and unimaginable challenge, this funding removes at least one of the barriers to the students’ ability to complete their studies and return to Gaza as doctors.”
