Fifteen days into the tenure of National College of Art and Design Students’ Union (NCADSU) President Roy Fox and Vice President Mia Mac Mahon, they were approached with an appeal for support. Gazan couple Abdallah and Nour – whose full names have been omitted for personal safety concerns – had both been accepted to NCAD for Master’s programmes. However, despite tuition waivers, the couple lacked the funds to meet the financial requirements of the visa and for Nour’s relocation. Thus, NCADSU began the campaign to support the Palestinian scholars.
Selling old NCAD merch, co-hosting events (including Palestinian-led Dabke workshops), selling art, second-hand clothes and textiles, and a campaign on Chuffed.org have all contributed to the funds they have raised thus far, Fox and Mac Mahon said.
However, only a few weeks into NCDSU’s campaigning, RTÉ reporting would reveal an estimated 20 Gazan students had been refused student visas to Ireland. The reporting indicated a significantly lower rate of acceptance from last year, which saw only 22 of 114 long-stay study visas refused.
“This was a huge toll upon Abdallah, Nour, and also our staff”, Fox expressed.
Their immediate goal, Fox stated, is to reach a minimum of €15,000 by the end of next week. They have currently raised nearly 11,500. With this funding, Nour would both bolster her visa application by demonstrating access to sufficient finances and ensure she is able to sustain herself for the duration of her programme.
Further, they are trying to secure housing for Nour, an additional way to bolster her visa application.
“I think hospitality underpins so much of Ireland as a whole and like wanting to see your neighbour be protected and sheltered”, said Fox. “We’d love to see that reflected in the Department of Justice and what they decide to do”, added Mac Mahon.
In statements to the University Times, both Nour and Abdallah expressed that relocating to Ireland represents much more than a university placement.
“After everything my family and I have lived through during the war, education represents hope, safety, and the chance to rebuild my future through knowledge rather than conflict”, said Abdallah.
“The uncertainty surrounding the visa process places enormous emotional pressure on students like us. We have worked hard to earn university offers and secure financial support, yet our futures remain uncertain because of delays beyond our control. What must be done is simple: Palestinian students who have fulfilled all university requirements should have access to a fair, transparent, and timely visa process so they do not lose the opportunities they have worked so hard to achieve. We are not asking for special treatment. We are simply asking for the chance to study, live in safety, and build a peaceful future”, said Nour.
In addition to campaigning for Abdallah and Nour, Fox and Mac Mahon are working to aid Gazan artist Hasan Al-Zaanin, whom the University Times previously spoke with. Al-Zaanin has likewise been accepted to NCAD with a tuition waiver.
Al-Zaanin shared that studying in Dublin would mean having the opportunity to “be exposed to different artistic approaches, meet artists from different backgrounds, and gain new experiences and perspectives. Having access to proper materials and creative spaces will also allow me to develop ideas that I have carried with me for a long time but have not been able to fully realise”.
The visa requirements have “created a great deal of uncertainty among Gazan students who have received university offers”, Al-Zaanin further shared. “Many of us are trying to understand whether meeting the financial requirements alone would guarantee the possibility of obtaining a visa and being able to travel”.
Of the financial barriers to visa applications, Fox remarked that “It doesn’t make sense why there aren’t…circumstantial supports made for [Gazan] students who cannot reasonably accrue these funds under these conditions – because all sources of income are basically cut off”.
After hearing from students across Irish universities, Mac Mahon noted that “everybody is really anxious and scared because of the rejections that have happened already”, continuing “also a lot of students have been waiting a really long time for a response from the Department of Justice, which is just inhumane…it’s so cruel to leave people waiting that long”.
Navigating bureaucratic barriers, the NCADSU officers noted, has been challenging, and “unclear”, said Mac Mahon. They stated that although they have written a letter to the Department of Justice, no response has been given.
Continuing, Fox said, “every single one of us, even the senior levels of management, are basically waiting on the word from the Department of Justice and everything beyond that is just kind of guesswork”.
According to Fox, NCAD, despite being “a very small college in the scheme of things…with a lot less funds at their disposal”, have “still utilised all available resources”.
NCAD have “gone above and beyond…as far as they can do at their scale”, Fox continued, further noting that “everybody that we’ve talked to within NCAD is exactly on the same page as us. They want clarity. They want an assurance that, like, these students will not have to jump through these hurdles”.
In terms of their fundraising campaigns, Mac Mahon noted that the biggest support has been from “people believing that their small [donations] could make a difference, because it’s those people that really did help, you know, even if it was small, it really made a difference”.
“Seeing [small contributions] collectively balloon into this amazing support and this amazing sort of push to help these students”, echoed Fox.
“I think a small community like NCAD means that people really do pull up in a way.”
When asked about the importance of an art college taking on Gazan students, Mac Mahon emphasised the ability for them to “safely…develop their practise and tell their story”.
“It would be literally…an honour to have those students come.”
