By Lisakhanya Tali and Thato Didibeng
Rhodes University linguistics PhD students Mohammed Alshannat has been trapped in Gaza with his wife and four children and has been unable to leave to pursue his studies for the last five years.
Alshannat joined Rhodes University in 2018 to complete his PhD after undertaking a gruelling journey from Gaza to South Africa, including a month in which he was forced to stay in a camp in Egypt. This left Alshannat deeply traumatised upon his arrival at Rhodes; he needed a significant time to recover to be able to refine his research ideas.
“The first time I met him, he was sort of like a deer in the headlights and very much dealing with the trauma of making the trip over to South Africa,” Dr Ian Sieborger, a senior lecturer in Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, his supervisor said.
During his time at Rhodes, Mohammed made significant academic progress. But the Covid-19 outbreak forced him to return to Gaza. He continued to make progress on his thesis which analyses the BBC’s coverage of the 2014 and 2021 Gaza wars.
The war that broke out in Gaza on 7 October 2023 led to devastating consequences for Alshannat and his family when their home was reduced to rubble by a missile explosion. Since then they have been forced to live in tents. “Their home has been destroyed, as has most of the housing in Gaza,” said Sieborger. The family then had to evacuate from Gaza City to Southern Gaza, prompted by an Israeli Defence Force notice, which meant they had to sleep in the open despite owning a tent, due to a lack of space. Fortunately, they have since been able to rent a space to pitch their tent.
Despite these shocking living conditions and the lack of technological resources, Alshannat completed and submitted his draft thesis using only a cell phone, “Mohammed actually managed, in the state of war, to finish the thesis; writing his thesis on the cell phone during that time,” Sieborger said.
Alshannat told Sieborger that his eldest son, KhaderAbdullah was injured while seeking a bag of food and that his cousin was shot and killed by the Israeli army while trying to collect flour from a food distribution site. His family faces shortages of food, sanitation, and necessities, with Alshannat himself now in poor health.
Sieborger said Alshannat has demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination in completing his PhD and continues to hold a forgiving attitude toward Israelis. He recently received a message from him via WhatsApp: “In the face of this hardship, my resolve has only strengthened: I am more committed than ever to a path of love and forgiveness for all. May God extend grace to those who know not what they do.”
Sieborger has created an emergency fundraising appeal for the Alshannat family.
Beyond financial support, he says messages of encouragement and prayers provide emotional support and show solidarity, which Alshannat deeply values.
To contribute to the fund:
Account name: MOHAMMED FUND
Account number: 10225237472
Bank: Standard Bank
Messages can be sent to Alshannat via ian.sieborger@ru.ac.za
