Hundreds of Syrian students face being expelled from the UK and sent back to their home country, where they could face torture and even death, the Huffington Post UK has learnt.
Up to 650 students face deportation to Syria where they may be subject to “detention, torture and even assassination at the hands of the Syrian regime”, according to the Centre for Assisting Refugee Academics.
Due to the conflict in Syria, many students can no longer pay their tuition fees as their sponsors have either been killed or imprisoned, meaning they cannot afford to continue studying.
It’s claimed that students risk being detained and tortured if they return to Syria
Mo Saqib, a third year student at Manchester University, is campaigning for the UK government to assist students whose degree funding has been cut by the Assad regime. Along with Christine Gilmore, a PhD student a Leeds University, he has been accruing evidence of the plight of Syrian students.
He told HuffPost UK: “The UK government’s position is that it’s up to universities how to assist students- we have evidence of universities who have already expelled students, and others who have threatened to do so. Expelled students will then be deported to Syria, where they risk being detained and tortured, or even killed, by the Assad regime.
“Their lives are at greater risk if they are suspected of having supported the Syrian revolution while in the UK. The UK government needs to step in and help Syrian students just as it was able to Libyan students in the same situation.”
He added: “For those students not sponsored by the government, but by family or companies instead, their families members are now either dead or out of work, and many businesses have closed or been destroyed,” Saqib says.
According to Saqib, many universities have transferred the financial liability onto the Syrian students – despite them having no means of paying.
“A number of universities have already expelled students. Others have made clear to students that the financial liability is on them – either they will be expelled, or the qualification will be withheld until the fees are paid.”
The National Union of Students is now launching a campaign on behalf of the Syrian students to force the British government to guarantee them financial support. At least 100 students were sponsored by the Syrian government under the British Council’s capacity building scheme but have had their funding stopped by the Syrian authorities.
According to the NUS, the students face “severe financial penalties from the Syrian authorities”. HuffPost UK has seen a draft motion for the NUS’s policy executive, which states:
“Syrian students whose student visas lapse and lose the right to work risk destitution in the UK.
“The British government must make an uncompromising commitment to supporting the rights and freedoms of the Syrian people. The foreign secretary William Hague ensured that Libyan students affected by the conflict in 2011 were able to continue their studies and should extend this gesture to all Syrian students.”
Foreign office minister Alistair Burt tweeted his support for Syrian students on Monday:
Despite Burt’s backing, Saqib says this is simply not good enough.
“Mr Burt has left the matter to universities’ own discretion, some of whom are expelling students. If a student is expelled, they may also be deported back to Syria, where they risk being detained, tortured or killed as the regime continues to indiscriminately target innocents.
“Mr Burt appears to think that the matter is one of transferring funds over to the UK. He is wrong, as students’ sponsors are either dead or out of work, hence unable to accrue funds,” Saqib adds.
“Furthermore, banks in Syria are also controlled by the regime and they are unlikely to fund students they suspect of engaging in anti-regime activities.”
The NUS has resolved to urge all UK universities to waive or reduce the tuition fees, or extend the payment period for any Syrian student affected by the conflict.
“UK universities should not make any Syrian student sponsored by the Syrian government personally liable for their tuition fees but should register their tuition fees debts against the Syrian authorities,” the NUS adds.
“[We resolve] to request all UK universities to make hardship grants, scholarships and bursaries available to all affected Syrian students, whether sponsored or privately funded, to cover their living expenses.”
HuffPost UK has contacted both Salford University and the University of Leeds, who have agreed to provide comments on Tuesday.
