The Dalhousie Student Union is hoping to raise $30,000 to help Palestinian students affected by genocide to continue their studies in Canada. Launched this week, the DSU’s new fundraising campaign is one of the biggest in the union’s history.
The goal is to support 15 Palestinian graduate students in getting matched with professors and research opportunities at Dalhousie University and other universities across Canada so they can continue their studies. The purpose is to build meaningful academic relationships and research opportunities for these students and scholars in Canada, which, in turn, supports the reconstruction of Palestinian-led education in Gaza and strengthens Canadian universities by welcoming diverse perspectives, Palestinian knowledge and cross-cultural collaboration.
DSU president Mariam Knakriah says 100% of the funds raised will help Palestinian students and scholars, who have had their education halted by the war, come to Canada to study and provide them “a safer space to access their right to education.”
Academic life has been severely disrupted in Palestine because of Israel’s enduring war and its effects, which the Gazan Health Ministry reported this week has killed over 48,000 Palestinians and injured over 111,000 since Oct 7, 2023. The Israeli forces’ targeted bombings and destruction of schools, libraries and universities in Gaza have been condemned as “scholasticide” by academics worldwide, and called an attempt at “total annihilation of Palestinian education,” by the international group Scholars Against the War on Palestine.
Related
Dal faculty call for ‘an end to the scholasticide in Palestine’
The goal of this campaign, and the work of PSSAR, is to “match professors [in Canada] with students and scholars who are interested in continuing their education in Gaza,” says Knakriah, “and by matching them, they bring them to Canada to continue their education here in a safe environment and assist with funding for housing, tuition, visas and they also help their families.”
Knakriah says the original plan was for the DSU to coordinate a fundraiser to support Palestinian students with Dal’s administration through Student Affairs. However, she says those conversations fell flat over time, “so we decided to continue independently.”
She reached out to the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Program to collaborate on a DSU-led fundraiser based on the group’s work supporting students “whose right to education has been denied due to occupation, due to systemic injustice and due to the genocide.
“We’re the only university student union that is fundraising for the PSSAR independently.”
The PSSAR was established in 2024 by education workers in response to the war in Gaza and its detrimental impact on the education system. It aims to “empower Palestinian students and scholars” to continue their studies at Gazan universities through international academic assistance, thereby supporting the Gazan education workers’ call for international academic solidarity in rebuilding strong and independent Palestinian institutions of higher learning.
Through its partnership with PSSAR, the DSU’s starting goal of $30,000 will be directed to 15 Palestinian students to help bring them to Canada to continue learning at whichever school they can and wish to be connected with. “It would be nice to bring as many to Dalhousie as we can,” says Knakriah, “however, it’s really about whatever works for those students and wherever we can find professors who are interested in helping.”
All of the money raised will directly support these students. The DSU coordinates the fundraising, and the PSSAR coordinates the rest: connecting students and scholars with places to study and professors with whom to coordinate research, providing assistance with tuition, housing, travel visas and other education costs.
“Palestinians have long valued education,” says Knakriah, pointing to to the fact that, in 2022, Palestinians had one of the highest literacy rates in the world at just under 98%. “We’re working to ensure that students affected by the genocide still have opportunities to learn. Every effort we make helps preserve that right.”
Says Knakriah, $30,000 is just a starting goal, recognizing that $2,000 per student is not necessarily enough. She says the DSU is “hoping to help as many students as possible” by reaching its initial funding goal and supplementing support PSSAR receives from its other partners in Canada, such as Islamic Relief.
According to PSSAR’s annual report from last year, the program matched 101 students and scholars in 2024, secured 70 official university admissions letters from 19 Canadian universities and connected a total of $9 million in funding offered to students. This includes three students matched with a professor at Dalhousie.
In 2024, eight students from Gaza safely landed in Canada to pursue higher education, many with their families. The report says that 62 of the 70 officially admitted students “are waiting on their visas or the Rafah border to open in Gaza.”
The process begins when students and scholars in Palestine connect through the group’s online platform, complete an application form and upload their relevant documents. The PSSAR then works to match students who have applied with professors who have expressed interested, based on overlapping research interests. They coordinate an interview to determine whether a match makes sense and, if so, helps students apply to the matched university.
PSSAR helps students navigate and pay for travel, including applying for visas and settling into Canada, and stays connected with students once they arrive in Canada, to offer continued supports including mental health supports.
At Dal, the DSU has been leading the charge in supporting all students affected by the war. This includes speaking out against all forms of hate and discrimination, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, and advocating for the safety and well-being of all students on campus. It also includes bringing motions to the university’s senate and board of governors to waive admission fees and increase trauma-sensitive support for students affected by war during the admission requirement and funding application phases.
Aside from this new campaign, the DSU and Knakriah have already assisted PSSAR in finding professors at Dalhousie to support their work. “Officially, one professor has already been matched with three students from Gaza, and we are waiting for them to come to Canada,” says Knakriah. “There are a lot of complications, and it’s not an easy road to take, but I’m very happy that we could do that.”
Knakriah says she’s been in touch with many other professors who are interested in doing the same thing, which is the second way the DSU has and will continue to support the PSSAR’s work.
The campaign officially launched on March 10, and Knakriah was the first to donate. Knakriah is graduating this spring and says she’s had “two of the best years of [her] life” and is grateful for the resources she was given to bring her student advocacy work to life.
When it comes to all the work she’s accomplished during her two years as DSU president, which includes multiple advocacy and support efforts for Palestine, she says she’s “hoping that the next executives will continue that work.”
For the fundraiser specifically, she says “I plan to keep [it] open beyond my term, especially if we haven’t reached our goal.” She says she will “remain deeply committed to this work, and I know the full-time staff and some executives are dedicated to ensuring the good work continues.”
Related
Student union president hopes Dal will fulfill divestment before her term is up
Knakriah explains why this fundraiser matters to the DSU: ” Student unions have long been at the forefront of such initiatives.
“They stood up for the Black Lives Matter movement. They stood up for the MeToo movement. They have been advocates, not just for students, but for people around the world, and their influence is powerful.”
Knakriah says student voices are heard on national and international levels, “and, so, to have such a position and not use it for the benefit of people would be a waste.”
She says this is the type of fundraising and advocacy that all universities, faculty, workers, and students should support because it’s academic-based. “The same way we advocate for our students on campus, we advocate for students all around the world–because everyone deserves to be educated and have a safe environment to get that deserved education.”
The campaign’s donation link is now open to Dal students, faculty, alumni, and everyone who wishes to contribute. All donations made through the official link will receive a tax receipt.
The DSU will be at the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Dalhousie Student Union Building this Friday, March 14, from 2:30 to 4pm to introduce the fundraiser to people on campus. Union members will provide information about the students this campaign will support, the PSSAR and their work. Refreshments will be provided, and artwork will be for sale, with all proceeds directed back into the DSU’s campaign.
The DSU is also asking members of the Dal community to support the campaign by hosting an event, collaborating with departments to do so or volunteering.
“Our institution is very powerful, and we should be using that for the betterment of everyone,” says Knakriah.
Related Stories
Dal faculty call for ‘an end to the scholasticide in Palestine’
Student union president hopes Dal will fulfill divestment before her term is up
More support for students at encampment from senate, faculty and alum
This article appears in Mar 1-31, 2025.