00:00Two young Palestinians from Gaza. Farah Ruka, wearing red, is a literature graduate.
00:06Malak El-Swirki, in black, wants to study. This should be Malak's ticket to a future full of
00:13opportunity, a Cambridge University scholarship to study history and political science.
00:19She's one of dozens of young Gazans with such offers, but they are stuck. They need to coordinate
00:25their exit with the Israeli authorities and get visas for their host countries.
00:30I need a visa so I can be evacuated from Gaza, but there is currently no UK embassy centre
00:36operating on the Strip, and I can't travel to neighbouring countries like Egypt or Jordan
00:41to apply for one. The British government is trying to find a solution, and we hope for
00:47the best, but I worry I might lose my scholarship. The university said if I do not attend in October,
00:54my scholarship may not be deferred, and I may lose it.
01:00The idea of studying abroad must feel like a lifeline, a lifeline that is being stretched
01:09thin. Life under constant bombardment in Gaza is exhausting, and getting enough to eat is
01:15a daily battle.
01:17I'm tired of the bombing and the buzzing drones. I'm tired of the torture of moving over and
01:26over and being displaced. I'm tired of the lack of food, and that each person in my family
01:32only gets three pieces of bread a day. I am a human being who has dreams of living like
01:37everyone else, but the surrounding circumstances do not help me reach them.
01:46Young Gazans like Farah can see how the level of destruction Israel has created will continue
01:57to damage their society long after the bombing stops.
02:01Any hope of a future in Gaza is gone. There is destruction and rubble. There's a lack of basic
02:09needs, water, electricity, food, and education, even online. There's no internet access, no
02:17job opportunities. For young people, life is at a standstill. It is clear there's no hope
02:23or future in Gaza. Even if the war stops, it will take many years before we can bring
02:29Gaza back to how it was, and this will take many years of our lives.
02:37Since the war began, Malak has spent much of her energy surviving rather than studying.
02:44The internet was cut off, and I was cut off from my education. I wanted to learn English
02:51and French 24 hours a day, but there were no resources.
02:56She says the worst experience was in December 2023, when she and her parents were displaced
03:02within Gaza City. As they looked for shelter, shots were fired and an Israeli tank approached.
03:08That day, my father and mother were wounded. My mother fled, but my father lay on the ground
03:15with an injured leg. The tank was getting closer and closer, and it looked like it was going to
03:20run him over. At one point, I was ready to leave behind everything in my life,
03:26sacrifice everything. I dragged him away from the tank and brought him inside.
03:36Even when the threat is not immediate, life in the ruins of Gaza throws a shadow into the future.
03:42Living abroad would be so much better. Even if the war stops, Gaza will need a long time
03:52for reconstruction. Living in tents is a story in itself. It's hot as hell, and there's no privacy,
04:01no basic amenities. There are usually five to eight people per tent. If you want to study, relax or spend
04:09time on social media. Everyone is on top of one another. There's no normal life or comfort.
04:19We have gone through so much. We are going through the worst forms of social collapse,
04:25structural and moral collapse of buildings and everything. We have lost many qualified people,
04:32people. And we hope to study so that we can return and replace the qualified people that the country
04:39has lost. When the time comes to rebuild, Gaza will need people like these young women.
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