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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hundreds of students still stranded in Gaza |
| 2008-06-08 |
| They squander their days watching TV and surfing the Web instead of studying, but it's not for lack of discipline: Gaza students accepted at foreign universities are stuck at home because Israel and Egypt won't let them leave the blockaded territory. The students' plight made headlines last week when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice interceded with Israel on behalf of seven students with prestigious Fulbright scholarships awarded by the U.S. government. But hundreds without such powerful allies will likely lose their shot at a good education, given Gaza's sparse offerings. The blockade, imposed after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza a year ago, is meant to bring down the Islamic militants and inspire Gazans to opt for a more moderate leadership. But critics say the closure, backed by the international community, is accomplishing the opposite. Hamas has become more entrenched and Gazans are growing more angry at the West as isolation worsens the strip's poverty, say the critics, who include both Israelis and Palestinians. They add that Gaza is also being robbed of future leaders — the trapped students — because they can't get the necessary training. "I feel that I'm lost," said Ahmed Nasrallah, who studied computer programming in London, but has been stuck in Gaza since a summer visit home last year. "I am a victim of a battle that I am not part of." The uproar over the Fulbright students touched only on a small part of what human rights groups consider collective punishment of Gaza's population. "This is not about seven students, it's about hundreds of students, 1.5 million people and the future of Gaza," said Sari Bashi, head of the Israeli human rights group Gisha, which is taking the government to court over the travel ban. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 If I cared more I'd tell them where to find sympathy in the dictionary. As it is, I really couldn't care less. Let them all stay in Gaza until Egypt takes it back. Oh, Egypt doesn't want them? Sucks to be Gazan, then. I guess they'll be waiting a while longer. Maybe sometime in that wait they'll realize that this type of treatment is what happens when your area's largest exports are a)suicide bombers and b)hate. It's not likely, though. It's been 40+ years and they still don't have a clue. |
| Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 2008-06-08 18:27 |
| #2 I have met Paleo students in Greece, Maryland, and here in California. They fell into two categories: 1) Never want to return to the middle east and 2) Go back Kill Jews. Mever met one that wanted to go back and build a better life for their people through peacful means. If there is one out there I would love to meet them. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2008-06-08 10:57 |
| #1 Piss on Ms Rice's misplaced benevolence. Let them stew in their ignorance than train to become better killers. The first Palestinian I knowingly met was in my martial arts team at university. He told me he was studying chem engineering so he could return and kill Jews. Learning how to break arms and necks was just part of the curriculum. Probably became a bomb maker. Of course I told him I was a Jew. Next sparring session, like an underhanded muslim he initiated full contact when we were supposed to pull our punches. He got 2 in before I proceeded to wail into him. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-06-08 07:53 |