Grad student association cites ‘privacy reasons’ for silence about Palestinian scholar trapped in Gaza

The association representing grad students at the University of New Brunswick has cited “privacy reasons” for its silence about the case of a Palestinian scholar who remains trapped in the Gaza Strip after being accepted into UNB’s Master of Computer Science program.

Baraa, 24, says he’s urgently seeking support in his efforts to exit the devastated territory and begin his studies. The NB Media Co-op has agreed to withhold his surname due to safety concerns. With the school year starting on Sept. 8, he’s running out of time.

He’s among roughly 130 Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip who have waited for up to two years to receive a student visa from Canadian immigration authorities, according to the non-profit Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk (PSSAR) Network.

This week, the PSSAR Network announced that 14 graduate students’ unions have signed a joint letter calling on the federal government to address “a bureaucratic crisis that is preventing exceptional scholars from contributing to our academic community.”

The Graduate Student Association of the University of New Brunswick wasn’t among the signatories, although it is a local branch of the Canadian Federation of Students, which endorsed the letter. A number of the other signatories are CFS locals, such as the Memorial University of Newfoundland Graduate Students’ Union and the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union, among others.

READ MORE: Student accepted into UNB grad program stranded in Gaza awaiting Canadian study permit
READ MORE: Student accepted into UNB grad program remains trapped in Gaza one year after applying for Canadian student visa

The letter, sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney and several Cabinet ministers, states that 10 students have already lost their admission offers, while dozens more risk losing their funding and research placements for the fall term.

It also cites the tragic case of twin sisters Sally and Dalia Ghazi Ibaid, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike before they were able to leave the Gaza Strip to join a PhD program at the University of Waterloo.

The letter calls on Ottawa, in part, to use its diplomatic channels “to establish travel corridors and evacuate these admitted students, matching the humanitarian leadership shown by our G7 and European allies.”

GSA cites ‘privacy reasons’ for silence

Baraa said that he’s been accepted at a number of prestigious British universities, but without funding. He has full funding for his program at UNB.

He said he has reached out to the GSA by email to request support, but hadn’t received any response by Thursday.

The organization is meant to “act as the official voice of graduate students,” and its membership consists of “full and part-time graduate students enrolled in the School of Graduate Studies,” according to the GSA constitution.

The NB Media Co-op reached out to the GSA multiple times by phone and email — including email addresses associated with elected executive positions — but the organization didn’t respond until after the publication of this article.

“For privacy reasons, we are unable to comment on any specific individual’s circumstances,” said vice-president academics Quazi Mohona in an email on Friday morning.

“However, we can clarify the general distinction between acceptance and enrolment,” Mohona added.

“An applicant to a graduate program at UNB may be accepted into a program before becoming enrolled at the University. The individual becomes a student only once enrolment is complete. The Graduate Students Association represents enrolled students; it does not represent applicants or prospective students.”

Baraa previously stated that he believes that he’s a member of the association.

“I have my UNB student ID and my UNB email account has been activated, so I think I’m technically enrolled as an incoming graduate student,” he said via instant message.

Questions of accountability, transparency

The full makeup of the elected body remains unclear: at the time of writing, a link to the “Executive Committee” section of the GSA website produces an error message.

That lack of publicly available information raises questions about transparency and accountability at the organization, which receives income from tuition fees.

In May 2025, the GSA announced that Shabnam Saderi Oskouei had been elected president.

The standard term for the office of the president is two years, according to the GSA constitution, and a former member of the executive confirmed that Oskouei still holds that position.

At a virtual media conference on Tuesday, the NB Media Co-op asked student leaders if they had any message for graduate student associations that have so far remained silent about the dilemma faced by students trapped in the Gaza Strip.

Danica Reid, director of academic relations for the Graduate Student Society of Simon Fraser University, said that her organization is involved in efforts “to support knowledge around anti-Palestinian racism and other supports for Palestinian students at our university.”

“We hope that we will see more graduate student societies across the country supporting this initiative and signing on to this letter,” she added.

Undergrad union offers support

Baraa also reached out to the UNB Student Union, and although it specifically represents undergrads, he received a supportive message from a member of the executive this week.

Sirina Ismail, UNBSU vice president of policy and relations, told him that the student union would reach out to the relevant offices on-campus for assistance.

The UNBSU didn’t respond to requests for comment from the NB Media Co-op by publication time.

Faculty union issues statement

The Association of UNB Teachers — a labour union representing faculty, instructors, and librarians — provided a statement suggesting that the university administration should be advocating about the issue with Ottawa.

“While AUNBT is broadly supportive of labour solidarity, human rights, and the right to education for all, this is a matter for UNB to take up with federal government,” said Katherine Coburn, the union’s membership coordinator and administrative officer, speaking on behalf of the union.

UNB didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The university has previously stated that it cannot comment on the issue, because “the application process and status are managed directly between the applicant and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.”

Federal immigration authorities have insisted that students trapped inside the Gaza Strip are still required to submit biometrics — photos and fingerprints — even though IRCC has no presence there, making it impossible to finalize their student visa applications.

Advocates have called on Ottawa to evacuate the students from the Gaza Strip by coordinating with Egyptian and Israeli authorities, and to exempt the students from biometrics requirements, which is allowed under immigration regulations when “collection is impossible or not feasible.”

Prof condemns ’embedded structural racism’

Viqar Husain, a mathematics and statistics professor at the University of New Brunswick, said that institutional silence on this issue represents “embedded structural racism.”

He said that UNB and other universities in Canada were highly supportive of Ukrainian students following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“They were creating scholarships, they were creating opportunities, they were lobbying politicians and governments,” he said.

That’s a stark contrast, he said, with their silence towards Palestinians since Israel began its assault on the Gaza Strip almost three years ago — a military campaign widely condemned as a genocide — in response to the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

“They’re trying not to comment on it, because it happens to be Gaza,” Husain said.

He noted that Oxford University is part of a consortium of post-secondary institutions that have lobbied the British government to expedite visas for students from the Gaza Strip.

Here in Canada, he said, the “natural body” for that kind of lobbying effort is Universities Canada, an organization that advocates for Canadian universities at the federal level and whose members include UNB.

Husain has previously criticized that organization for failing to take a stand for Palestinians while pursuing partnerships with Israel.

Universities Canada didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.

Students face ‘witch hunt,’ advocates say

In response to queries from the NB Media Co-op, federal immigration authorities provided an emailed statement.

It said, in part, that IRCC has recently been expediting the applications of 37 Palestinian students and their family members who have already exited the Gaza Strip.

“As of the latest update, IRCC has completed all required interviews for this group and decisions are being made and communicated to applicants,” IRCC spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald said in an email.

IRCC has repeatedly stated that it is “committed to a fair and non-discriminatory application of immigration procedures.”

However, advocates have painted a different picture.

Even the students who have managed to exit the Gaza Strip have faced long delays. And when they were eventually interviewed by Canadian officials, they were subjected to a “witch hunt,” according to Nada El-Falou, PSSAR’s director of student services.

During interviews, students were questioned repeatedly and aggressively about whether their schools had any political or military affiliations, El-Falou said in an interview.

They were treated as “guilty until proven innocent,” she said, also noting that anyone who managed to exit the Gaza Strip would have already gone through Israel’s screening process.

Determined to begin studies

For now, Baraa continues to live in al-Mawasi displacement camp, an area that Israel previously designated as a humanitarian “safe zone,” where there are frequent reports of strikes by the Israeli military.

Several children were killed and wounded in Israeli attacks across Gaza overnight, Al-Jazeera reported on Thursday.

A so-called ceasefire came into effect on October 10 last year, but Israeli attacks have reportedly killed at least 1,207 Palestinians since then.

Still, Baraa remains determined to reach Canada to begin his studies.

“The years I have spent here in suffering have never stopped me,” he said. “On the contrary, my determination to achieve my goals has increased.”

This story was updated on July 31, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. to include a response from the UNB Graduate Students Association and additional information. 

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, via the Local Journalism Initiative.