In a heartbreaking turn of events, Palestinian academic Basem Abudagga has been dealt another devastating blow in his efforts to reunite with his family in the UK. Despite his tireless pleas, the Home Office has concluded that his case is not deemed urgent, leaving his wife Marim and their two children Talya and Karim stranded in the dire conditions of a tent camp in Gaza.
Abudagga, who was awarded a scholarship to pursue a PhD at York St John University in 2022, has not seen his family in person since the autumn of 2023. Their family home has been destroyed, and they now find themselves living in a camp near the sea, facing the harsh realities of displacement, food scarcity, and the constant fear of bombardment.
In a devastating letter from the Home Office, officials stated that no “sufficiently compelling” reason had been found to defer the requirement for Marim to attend a visa application centre (VAC) in Gaza – a facility that no longer exists due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment. The Home Office also implied that the children’s interests would be better served by remaining with their mother in Gaza, a decision that has left Abudagga and his supporters appalled.
“When I read that they link bringing my family to the UK with UK security, and suggest the children are better off in Gaza, I simply could not believe in British values and norms any more,” Abudagga said. “I expected the British government cared about family life, about human rights.”
The Home Office’s response has been met with widespread criticism, with legal sources noting a “noticeable toughening” of the government’s approach to immigration and asylum cases, particularly those involving Palestinians trapped in Gaza. Abudagga’s local MP, Rebecca Long-Bailey, has written to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, urging the Home Office to reconsider the decision.
Abudagga’s wife, Marim, is now also mourning the recent death of her father, further compounding the family’s anguish. “My wife is trying to do the daily duties of bringing food, securing the tent from the weather – it is very cold, very windy, very rainy – when her father passed away two weeks ago. The details are very, very hard,” Abudagga said.
Determined to challenge the Home Office’s decision, Abudagga has instructed the human rights firm Leigh Day to represent him. Sarah Crowe, a human rights lawyer at the firm, stated, “We will be writing to the Home Office to set out why their decision-making in this case is plainly unlawful. In line with the Home Office’s own policy, Basem’s family should have their applications predetermined, which is an important step in reuniting the family.”
As the Abudagga family’s plight continues to unfold, their desperate plea for reunification has once again been met with bureaucratic obstacles, leaving them in a state of utter despair and questioning the very values they had hoped the UK government would uphold.