Symbolic acts have no place at this stage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Gaza Strip is running on empty, with hardly any humanitarian aid due to the Israeli blockade. The Palestinian people are experiencing a devastating genocide that, in addition to killing people, erases the Palestinian identity by every means. Israel has bombed hundreds of schools and destroyed all the universities in the Gaza Strip. On January 17, 2024, they destroyed the last remaining university, Israa University, located in the southern Gaza Strip.
It’s been two years since this extermination began, and since then, many countries have shown solidarity with the Palestinian people and proposed different ways to help. Globally, there is a strong sense of empathy that seeks to perpetuate the culture and identity of an entire nation.
Education is one of the most important ways to pass this culture and spirit of research to new generations, and the Palestinian people face increasing obstacles to developing an adequate academic process. All of Gaza’s universities have been destroyed, and, meanwhile, the lives of many professors and students have been lost. It is a desperate situation both on a human and academic level, as Palestinians are completely paralyzed by the constant Israeli attacks.
However, most countries are constantly considering ways to help the Palestinian people. One of the latest measures being taken comes from Irish universities. For the past month, 11 Irish universities have welcomed 80 Palestinian refugee students, so they can continue their studies and escape the threatening reality from which they come. Another country recently taking this initiative is Italy, with 35 higher education institutions creating 97 scholarships for Palestinian students. And what about the University of Agder? How does it propose showing solidarity and help in this situation?
Sunniva Whittaker, rector of the UiA, is clear about some paths the institution should take to offer its assistance in the face of such a complex situation. The University of Agder’s position on the ongoing situation between Israel and Palestine is clear: the University of Agder condemns the attacks on civilians in Gaza.
“When the war started, we issued a statement denouncing the attacks on the Palestinian population and this was decided at the University Board level. We also said that we would actively seek ways to help the Palestinian people through concrete actions.”
Sunniva constantly emphasizes the idea of preparing “concrete actions,” as it prioritizes the most immediate assistance possible and supports alliances between various countries, and with Palestine itself to achieve specific results.
One of the initiatives that has already yielded results is Scholars at Risk. This is an international organization that, since 2000, has worked to promote and protect academic freedom and other core values in higher education. More than 650 educational institutions are part of this program, including the University of Agder. Through this organization, the UiA has been able to host a Palestinian scholar, who is now living in Kristiansand with their family.
Similar to this program, the UiA also offers Students at Risk. The main objective of this initiative —established by the Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH), and the National Union of Students in Norway (NSO)— is to identify students at risk of being denied the right to education or other rights in their home country. To provide these students with an opportunity to complete their education in Norway, strengthening them as agents of change. While they have been able to welcome students from various countries, such as Zimbabwe and Belarus, the UiA currently faces many obstacles in bringing Palestinian students, mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining visas.
“The higher education sector in Norway has tried to exert pressure on the authorities to enable scholars and students to receive visas [to enter Norway] swiftly. As a small institution we have to join forces with our peer institutions.”
However, what the university has learned from hosting students at risk is that we all have a role to play. Norwegian students must embrace new students with empathy and understand that they come from a very different background where normality doesn’t exist. The university tries to make its students aware of this through presentations and discussions with students at risk.
“I think it’s extremely important, obviously, for the individual students who come here, but it’s also important for our [Norwegian] students, to interact with those who are living under totally different conditions and who are actually risking their lives to gain the same rights as Norwegian students take for granted.”
These kinds of ideas help raise awareness in society, a much-needed action when it comes to helping and sending support to a country in need. Along these lines, the university also offered a visit from Francesca Albanese, an Italian scholar and expert on human rights:
“We invited Francesca Albanese, the UN envoy responsible for looking into the genocide accusations to hold a lecture. There was a huge turnout. This lecture was given within the framework of our Saturday University initiative whereby researchers from the university disseminate research to a broader public on relevant topics at venues not only in Kristiansand but also in Flekkefjord, Mandal, Grimstad, Arendal and Risør.”
Furthermore, at the international level, the University of Agder belongs to the European University Alliance. Specifically, the UiA belongs to the FORTHEM alliance, which is made up of nine multidisciplinary public research universities. These are the universities of Valencia in Spain, Palermo in Italy, Bourgogne in France, University of Latvia, Jyväskylä in Finland, Opole in Poland, Sibiu in Romania, Johannes Guthenburg University in Mainz, Germany, and, of course, Agder in Norway. For the time being, the institution is looking at the possibility of collaborating within the alliance to offer courses to Palestinian students.
At the national level, a consortium of universities has been formed to coordinate online education to Palestinian students; the University of Agder is not a part of the consortium at the moment, but will consider joining if this is a useful arena for concrete actions.
“There are a lot of practical hurdles. So we have to move forward in a sensible manner. We have to start doing something very concrete because I think everyone is impatient to see a change. […] But we can’t have just symbolic actions, organizing lots of meetings and then nothing concrete happens. So obviously we have to balance a long term perspective with short term actions. […] I think for a university such as ours, it’s best to build on relationships we already have, because we have already collaborated with Palestinian universities prior to the war. One concrete action we have taken is to pay tuition fees for students at a Palestinian university.”
As Sunniva Whittaker says, we must not act out of impatience, as this does not necessarily lead to real results. Small actions also contribute, and the University of Agder, like many other institutions, opts for alliances to offer large-scale proposals. And, while this is happening, its sense of solidarity continues with small contributions, because every effort counts in a situation as desperate as the one the Palestinian people are experiencing.
