Alaa Al-Qaisi is a young woman from Palestine whose university studies, home life, and means of supporting herself, have been devastated by the on-going war in her country. Born and raised in Gaza city, she completed her B.A. in English Literature at the Islamic University of Gaza, in 2016. Alaa subsequently enrolled for a Master’s degree at the same institution, under the supervision of the internationally-renowned poet, scholar, and humanitarian, Professor Refaat Alreer. Her master’s thesis was nearing completion last year when the current conflict broke out. Her supervisor, Professor Alreer, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on the 06 December 2023, along with his brother, his brother’s son, his sister and her three children. The Islamic University of Gaza where Alaa was studying had been destroyed a few weeks earlier. Alaa has herself narrowly escaped death on several occasions this year.

Prior to the war, Alaa financed her academic studies through online translation work for a number of companies based in the Middle-East, the U.S., and in Ireland. This source of income has become extremely difficult to sustain given the crippled state of the communications infrastructure in war-torn Gaza. Alaa has worked as a volunteer for a range of charitable, and peace-and-reconciliation organisations in Gaza such as the House of Wisdom for Conflict Resolution and Governance; Free Spectra, an organisation that supports impoverished communities in Gaza; and the Egyptian based Resala Association for Charity. She also volunteered as a sign-language assistant, working with Palestine’s deaf community.

Alaa has a deep and abiding love of literature. The poetry of Wordsworth, T.S. Eliot, and W.B. Yeats, the novels of Daniel Defoe and Fyodor Dostoevsky, are among her favourites, as are writers from the Arabic tradition such as Radwa Ashour, Ghassan Kanafani, and Al-Mutanabbi.

 Her ambition now

The hope that sustains Alaa amidst the death and devastation she endures on a daily basis in her native city – is to undertake a master’s degree in comparative literature here in Ireland. Her project will examine intersections between Western and Arabic literary traditions, with a specific focus on writers whose works grapple with themes of loss of identity, and cultural fragmentation. Alaa’s interest in these topics has been ‘inspired’ by her own traumatic experiences in Gaza. Literature, she believes, “doesn’t just reflect historical reality, it can also influence it, by bridging cultural divides and impelling change.”

It is not easy for Palestinians to leave their country. The deep emotional attachment they feel for their homeland has deterred many from leaving, despite being surrounded by so much death and devastation. In her video-posts from Gaza [link below] you will see Alaa explain how she and her family made the ‘Sophie’s Choice’ decision to remain in Gaza; a city where they are now forced to make their meals from food meant for birds and animals.

Though her family will remain in Gaza, the time has come for Alaa to leave. Many financial, logistical, and political obstacles stand in her way. Money is essential, and in short supply. It costs between €5000 and €10,000 for Palestinians to enter Egypt. The funds Alaa will need to travel on to Ireland, the living and educational costs she’ll incur here, will also be substantial.