From a Tent to Italy

And I finished. Despite the war, despite being displaced again and again, despite the hunger and the conditions I was living in, I completed my Bachelor's degree. I graduated with a final GPA of 86.46%. I sat every exam as someone who did not know if there would be a tomorrow. That degree is the one thing the war did not manage to take from me.

I watched my family's life collapse around us. We lost our home, our safety, and our stability. Every day in Gaza became another struggle for things that should never be a luxury: food, clean water, a safe place to sleep, and the chance to stay alive.

Despite everything, I refused to give up on my future.

Today, after everything I have survived, I finally have a real opportunity to continue my studies in Italy and leave Gaza.

This opportunity is not only about education and safety. The scholarship also provides me with accommodation and two meals every day. It provides €2,000 every six months to help cover my personal and living expenses. After years of not knowing where I would sleep, or whether I would eat, that means a bed that is mine, food I can count on, and the space to think about something other than surviving the next day.

But one thing stands between me and this opportunity: a required €12,000 sponsorship. The university and the association require this amount before they can issue my study permit. Without it, the place, the accommodation, the meals, and the support all stay out of reach.

It is incredibly painful to survive bombardment, repeated displacement, and starvation, only to finally reach a door that could lead me to safety and discover that money is the one thing preventing me from walking through it.

For me, this sponsorship is not simply about studying abroad. It is the cost of a chance to leave Gaza, reach safety, and begin rebuilding my life.

I am not asking for a luxurious life. I only want to live somewhere safe, continue my education, become independent, and one day be able to help my family rebuild what we have lost.