Imagine studying under Occupation It’s not just a matter of deadlines and early starts, but a fight for every last lecture, pen and legal right to achieve the education you deserve,that we take for granted…

doesn’t seem fair, does it?

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Fadhi’s storyFormer Birzeit student body president, Fadhi Hamad, was arrested for belonging to the student government and sentenced to 18 months during his first term. Upon his release, he returned to Birzeit and was re-elected to his former position. But he was once again imprisoned, as were his vice-president and the vice-president’s deputy. Hamad is just one of the last four student body presidents at Birzeit who were arrested during their terms as president for the involvement in student groups. About 75 university students remain in administrative detention today.

Fatma’s story“I am a Palestinian human rights lawyer living in Gaza. Earlier this year I was accepted into the Master’s degree program in Human Rights and Democracy Studies at Birzeit University located in the West Bank. I tried repeatedly to persuade the Israeli authorities to allow me to leave Gaza and attend my classes, but was blocked at every turn. No universities in Gaza, or indeed in any neighbouring Arab country, offer a Master’s in Human Rights. Yet my inability to attend classes is far from an exception.”

Fobzu works for Palestinians’ unconstrained right and freedom of access to education and Birzeit University’s role in the wider development of Palestinian society

Through no fault of their own these students in Palestine find themselves on the frontline of an unjust situation of occupation and deserve a better future.

Our Work

Scholarship ProgrammeThrough our Scholarship Programme, with your help, fobzu sponsored 31 students last year

“Without your scholarship programme there would be many students unable to pursue the career they’ve dreamt of. My plan for the future is to be a famous Palestinian architectural engineer.”— Student

Rapid Response fund Our Rapid Response fund helps students with essential books, travel, housing and IT.

Development ProgrammeOur vital Development Programme could fund a new research science laboratory and build a law court on campus to help train law students as part of an access to justice scheme. Our programme to support the ‘Training of Mental Health Counsellors and Supervisors’, funded by the Big Lottery, reached 36,000 children.

Right to Education CampaignThrough our ‘Right to Education Campaign’ we promote advocacy and lobby the British Government at the highest political levels to bring about change to the policies of access to education in Palestine.

What’s the problem?

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If you would like to meet us to discuss how you can help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

1 Gough SquareLondon ec4a 3det 020 7832 1340f 020 7832 1349admin@fobzu.org

Registered charity no.1114343 | Company no.5713430

Contact us

“We all get inspired by papers and teachers and conferences that take us out of our own areas of expertise and make us feel like citizens of the world and not just citizens of our own back yard… If we can spread the word to students that we are thinking about them and that we’re trying to make it easier for them to have those world-expanding ambitions then, perhaps, they won’t feel quite so alone.” — Sam West, Actor

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