By Farirai Dangwa
As the genocide continues in Palestine, Rhodes University shows solidarity for a student stuck in Gaza, unable to escape the conflict.
Mohammed Alshannat, a Linguistics PhD student at Rhodes University, returned to Palestine in 2020 due to the COVID-19 virus as he wanted to be closer to his family during the pandemic. 2020 was the last time Alshannat was in Makhanda, and he has been stuck in Palestine since then, enduring indescribable hardship with his family amid the war. Throughout his difficult time in Palestine, he has been in contact with the International Office and his supervisor at the Linguistic Department of Rhodes, communicating the inhuman conditions he and his family have had to go through.
In one of his messages sent on 24 March 2024, he says, “After 170 days of consecutive war, life in Gaza has become impossible. Gaza has been destroyed and become unlivable. I have decided to leave Gaza for good; we have lost hope of any cease-fire or humanitarian truce, our lives are in great danger. Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only exit to the outside world, is extremely jammed and only rich people can travel as you have to pay $9000 to the Egyptian authorities for every member of your family… We are in great famine, and our lives are in great danger.”
The film screening of ‘Between Two Crossings,’ directed by the late Yasser Murtaja, took place on 17 July 2024 at Barrat Lecture Theatre. The number of people who attended the 18:30 screening was moving, almost filling the lecture theatre seats, showing how the students and community of Rhodes and Makhanda are standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine, Mohammed Alshannat and his family. The screening was supposed to be followed by a Zoom meeting with the film’s editor, Mahmoud Abu Ghalawa, but he could not make it due to a family-related emergency. Even though he could not make it, he left a message for the audience members and said in his message, “The truth is always a target.”
The film followed the story of Nour Al Ghussein, a 21-year-old student who struggled to get the relevant documentation to leave Gaza to attend Portland State University on a full scholarship. She, alongside thousands of others, could not leave the Gaza Strip due to the restrictions that kept them in Gaza. The only exit points were the Erez Checkpoint, controlled by Israel, and the Rafah Crossing, controlled by Egypt, which proved difficult to exit due to the strict restrictions.
The film was screened in solidarity with Mohammed Alshannat and brought people’s attention to the fact that Israel has occupied Gaza for longer than people have been told. Even through these traumatic times, Mohammed Alshannat has been through over the years; he says in another message on 11 May 2024, “This morning the Israeli army is invading northern Gaza, we don’t know where to go, we are desiring death, the situation is beyond description… Starvation has returned; however, despite all that, whatever happens, I want you to bear witness that I and my family unconditionally love and forgive the Israelis and everybody else.”
