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The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Can a common denominator unite warring contestant nations at the International Mathematics Olympiad?
A resounding cheer erupted when on Monday three Palestinian teenagers shuffled on to the stage of a convention centre tucked away behind the golden beaches of Australia's Sunshine Coast. All of them from the West Bank, they were only half of a team able to attend the International Mathematics Olympiad, a gathering of the world's brightest young mathematical minds, where medals can offer tickets to any university in the world and launch brilliant careers. Two of their compatriots from war-ravaged Gaza could not make the journey to Australia and would instead attempt to compete remotely. But this was a marked improvement from last year's event in England, for which no Palestinian could secure a visa in time. Yet this heartfelt moment at the 66th IMO opening ceremony was followed by one that hinted at the deep divisions – driven by geopolitics and global conflict – which had played out behind closed doors just the day before and which threatened to unravel the oldest and most prestigious competition of young mathematicians. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The students in the room did not know it, but a jury of delegates from the 114 nations gathered had, the day prior, voted as of the conclusion of the event to lift a suspension applied to Russia's membership after its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian leaders were distraught, the Estonians and other Baltic nations among the outraged. Their talk had already turned to boycott. Even in the midst of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine boasts an astonishing mathematical achievement. The year the war began, in 2022, Russia was suspended from the IMO and Ukrainian IMO students were evacuated. One among them from war-torn Kharkiv, Ihor Pylaiev, won his second gold medal – with a perfect score and a joint top-ranked position in the world. A number of his compatriots also medalled and, after this achievement, would earn scholarships at Cambridge. Kyiv was supposed to host last year's maths olympiad. IMO Ukraine team leader Bogdan Rublev said in his country, 'the IMO is a very important event'. Even as war raged, the Ukrainians remained optimistic that the violence would end and they could host the IMO as planned. But, those hopes were officially dashed when Bath was named Kyiv's replacement. 'It broke our hearts,' Rublev said. 'We had worked hard to prepare and we were excited to welcome the world to our country.' Fellow Ukrainian representative Anastasiia Venchkovska, who was translating for Rublev on the Sunshine Coast, said Russia's IMO suspension was 'not just about mathematics'. 'Russia is not just a country at war, it is a state that systemically targets education, culture and children,' Venchkovska said. 'That is terrorism.' 'A country that destroys Ukrainian schools and universities should not sit at the same table as those against whom it commits genocide every day.' The opening ceremony at the Twin Waters Novotel Resort on Monday was well intentioned and, otherwise, good fun. The parade of nations, each with teams of up to six high school students, was determined by the distance each had travelled to compete. In a room full of sharp minds, it was a bit of sport to guess at the order by which teams would take to the stage and pose for the cameras. The Moroccans (17,934km) surprised many by being called up first, each in flowing white robes beneath a red fez, before making way for the Portuguese (17,887km), who bounded and hooted up the stairs to form a mini-pyramid. The Norwegians (15,333km) wore black suits, ties and sunglasses inside, the Peruvians (13,117km) football-style red and white trackies. The Iraqis (13,240km) chanted 'Lions of Mesopotamia!', the Aussies (1,030km) 'Oi, Oi, Oi!' The three young Palestinians (14,044km), however, made no spectacle, each briefly clutching their national flag. Their faces betrayed little emotion. They didn't have to – everyone in the room understood how much it meant to stand on that stage, knew the life-changing opportunity that platform might provide. 'It was very beautiful,' Palestine team leader Samed AlHajajla said. 'The happiness is not complete, it was sad that we couldn't have all the children.' 'But at least it is good to have half of the team here in person.' Though few picked who would open the parade, it didn't take a genius to guess who would follow the Palestinians. Six young Israelis (14,040km) came smiling on stage, playfully brandishing soft toy otters, the team's mascot, and two Star of David flags. The cheers and applause fell to a smatter. One or two muttered boos. Had an effort to suspend Israel's IMO membership on Sunday been successful, this moment might never have transpired. These six young people could still have competed – but remotely. The Israeli flag, like the Russian, would not have flown on the Sunshine Coast, nor next year at Shanghai. Instead, the opposite will happen. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The IMO is a tightly choreographed and controlled event: team leaders set the exam questions and so have to be quarantined from their students to prevent cheating. Before being whisked away to the leaders' site at a resort in Noosa, IMO board president Gregor Dolinar briefly answered questions about the jury meeting which resolved to lift Russia's suspension. He described it as a 'long and constructive' discussion from which the main message was that 'we want to stay out of politics as much as possible'. 'We exchanged our views and we said that our primary goal is to enable as many kids from all around the world to come to the same place and to give them this opportunity to show their talent,' Dolinar said. 'So mathematics is our primary goal – if we will start to be involved in politics, we do not know where to draw the line'. The jury meeting began with AlHajajla and lasted several hours. The Palestinian team leader spoke with passion about the ordeal of his country's representatives, in particular those trapped amid the horrors of Gaza. Other nations, particularly those from the global south, agreed and spoke in support of the Palestinian motion to suspend Israel. Dolinar made several arguments as to why the IMO should remain, nonpolitical. Among them was that being political was bad for business. The sponsors that the non-profit organisation needed to finance such a logistically complicated event, he warned, did not want to deal with politically motivated organisations. The IMO board put forward its own motion which proposed that measures only be taken against a member for breaking IMO regulations – for widespread cheating, say. All current suspensions – only Russia – would expire at the end of the Australian event. This caught many by surprise – restoring Russia's membership was not in the agenda. But the motion passed with a secret ballot of 62 in favour to 23 against, with six abstentions. Israeli team leader Dan Carmon said it was 'the right choice for the IMO at this time', adding that the organisation – which is run by volunteers – spent a lot of time in the lead up to the event discussing its stance on political matters. 'I think it will be much better for the IMO, and the fostering of young minds everywhere, that we are now focusing on inclusivity instead of excluding students and countries,' Carmon said. 'I think that is a much better direction for the IMO to go in order to promote the love of mathematics in the world and promote brotherhood between nations.' Far from brotherhood – for Rublev, Venchkovska and the Ukrainians – even sharing a stage with the Russian flag was 'impossible and unacceptable'. 'We came here not only to compete but to remind the world that, behind every problem we solve on paper, there is a much bigger problem we are living through in reality,' they said. 'We ask the international community to stay consistent, to stay principled and to stand with Ukraine'. Estonian team leader Oleg Košik said his was among the Baltic nations who made clear in 2022 that they would do so 'We see the continuous barbaric aggression of Russia against Ukraine,' Košik said. 'The constant bombings of cities, innocent civilians being killed every night. If the IMO will say now, 'OK, this is fine, we don't care about it' – what message does it send to the whole world?'
CBC
a day ago
- Politics
- CBC
As Palestinian students await Canadian visas, some are welcomed by France
Several Palestinian graduate students awaiting visas to study in Canada have been accepted by France in the last two weeks, said a group of professors advocating to bring them here. The group says dozens of students who received scholarships or admission letters from Canadian universities have been stranded as they face delays from Canada's Immigration Department. Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk (PSSAR) says the fact that some of those students are on their way to France — or have already arrived — is a sign of the Canadian government's neglect. "We're happy that the [students] actually got an opportunity," said Ayman Oweida, a health science professor at the Université de Sherbrooke and chair of PSSAR. "The heartbreak is that they did not come to us, when we've really put everything we can to have them come here." The students and professors began publicly raising alarms over the delays earlier this month. At the time, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CBC News it does not have the ability to conduct security clearance checks — obtaining biometric information such as photos and fingerprints — on the ground in Gaza, making it harder for Palestinians trying to enter Canada. It also acknowledged there could be delays for students who have already left Gaza. It said visa processing times can vary based on "whether an application is complete, if IRCC has to wait for additional information, how easily IRCC can verify the information provided and the complexity of an application." 'Dreams in Gaza destroyed' Ihab, a graduate student who just got accepted into Centrale Méditerranée, a university in Marseille, France, said in an interview his first choice was the University of Alberta. "I applied for a visa application at the IRCC, and I am waiting a long time," he said from Marseille. CBC News has agreed not to disclose Ihab's full name because he is worried about the safety of loved ones who remain in Gaza. CBC News saw an admission letter from the University of Alberta accepting him into a master's program in mechanical engineering last March, as well as a message from the IRCC acknowledging his visa application from mid-April. Ihab said he got no further communication from Immigration Canada, and applied to Méditerrannée on June 1. An admission letter shows he was accepted into the French university's biomedical engineering master's program on June 17. His French visa was validated just weeks later, on July 10. Ihab said French authorities helped him evacuate Gaza and conducted biometrics tests in Jordan. "I feel the government of France makes a lot of effort," he said, by providing support to students and contacting other organizations to facilitate their arrival. Ihab graduated with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Al-Azhar University in Gaza City. That campus has been reduced to rubble in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The enclave no longer has any active universities. The Israeli Defence Forces said they found weapons like rockets and explosives at Al-Azhar, accusing Hamas of using the facility to stage attacks. Ihab said he has friends who applied to Canadian universities in early 2024, and they have yet to leave the war zone. "They stay in Gaza, and their dreams in Gaza destroyed," he said. CBC News saw a similar series of documents for another student, who received an offer from the University of Calgary in June 2024. While the student was waiting for a Canadian visa, they were accepted at France's Université Grenoble Alpes in November 2024 and obtained a scholarship from France at the end of May. The student told PSSAR they now intend to withdraw from the University of Calgary. Three other students have also informed the group of their intentions to withdraw from admissions to Canadian schools, one stating they have already been evacuated by France, and the other two saying they have been offered evacuation. At the end of April, the French newspaper Le Monde reported some 115 Palestinians, mostly university scholarship recipients, had arrived in France. Nearly 900 Palestinians arrived from Gaza The Immigration Department did not answer a direct question on whether or not it is consulting with France on best practices to get people out of Gaza. It said in a statement that "as of July 8, more than 1,750 people who exited Gaza have passed security screenings," gaining approval to come to Canada. Of those, 864 have arrived. However, advocates say these are Palestinians who found their own way out of Gaza to Egypt, with no help from the Canadian government. IRCC noted universities make their decisions independently of the department. "However, all prospective international students must meet the requirements of Canada's immigration system — including obtaining a letter from a designated learning institution and securing an approved study permit — before they can travel to Canada." According to a French government website, visa applicants who live in Gaza must make their requests in Ramallah in the West Bank or Jerusalem, due to the ongoing war. France normally employs a third-party organization, VFS Global, to help applicants in Gaza. Oweida said he was surprised how the French government can leverage its diplomatic relationship with Israel to let Palestinians bound to France out of Gaza, in comparison to Ottawa's efforts. "France has had a really critical standpoint against Israel's ongoing war in Gaza," he said. "Canada should be able to do what France did."
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palestinian students say visa delays have stranded them despite admission to Canadian schools
With two of their peers killed last year, more than 70 Palestinian students are raising the alarm over stalled immigration to Canada despite admissions and scholarships at universities across the country, stranding them in Gaza or nearby Egypt and Jordan as they wait out a war. "The situation in Gaza is getting hard day by day, they are targeting many crowded and random places," said Meera, an industrial engineering student who has been accepted to the University of Regina on scholarships to pursue a master's degree, but is stuck waiting in Gaza City, where she's unable to submit a completed visa application to the federal Immigration Department. "Like so many other students, I become trapped with my dreams," she told CBC News in an interview. CBC News is only using her first name due to concerns for her safety. CBC has seen her acceptance letter from the University of Regina, as well as paperwork showing she has started an immigration file with the Canadian government. In December 2024, twin sisters Sally and Dalia Ghazi were killed after being accepted into a PhD program at the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario, in what the school described as an Israeli airstrike. "They didn't even start their dreams," said Meera, who knew the sisters. "They were very excellent girls who were always asking new opportunities and new chance to know more information about opportunities in Canada," she said. WATCH | Twin sisters from Gaza set to attend Canadian university killed in war: Like dozens of other students, Meera has tried getting through to Canada with the help of a Canadian non-profit called Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk. (PSSAR). According to PSSAR, there are more than 70 students who are stuck in Gaza waiting to get here. The federal government maintains the primary issue for Palestinians trying to leave Gaza and enter Canada is obtaining security clearance by providing photos and fingerprints, known as biometrics. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) cannot administer these tests on the ground since it has no presence in the war zone. "Movement out of Gaza remains extremely challenging and may not be possible at this time, as countries and other actors set their own entry and exit requirements," IRCC said in a statement. IRCC's explanation did not satisfy Aaron Shafer, a professor in Forensic Science at Trent University in Peterborough, who is working with the PSSAR to bring over another Palestinian student waiting in Gaza. "We know that other countries have managed to do this. France, for example, has managed to facilitate safe passage for students," he said. "I would call on and ask the Canadian government to try to facilitate something similar." In January 2025, French media reported some 32 students had managed to get to France to pursue studies over the course of the previous year, including at least one directly from Gaza. Shafer also says about a third of the students PSSAR is attempting to help have already left Gaza and are waiting in Egypt or Jordan, where the Canadian government still has yet to process their paperwork. "They could be in their lab tomorrow at the University of British Columbia or the University of Toronto, if the Canadian government would process their visas," he said. Alaa, one student CBC News spoke to in Cairo, Egypt, said he submitted his immigration paperwork in May 2024. He's been waiting for approval since then. Accepted into a PhD program in Montreal, Alaa says he has not received any update from IRCC. CBC News has also seen his documentation and is agreeing not to use his fill name in concern for his safety. Alaa says he lives alone, separated from his wife and four children who remain in Gaza, and is barely able to speak to them. He completed previous degrees in Gaza, but says his university, like all others in the territory, has been levelled in the war between Israel and Hamas that has been raging since October 2023. "That's a reason also that's made me take a decision to travel to Canada to complete my PhD, to return to Gaza, to enrich and contribute to rebuild our academic establishment." WATCH | Professor in Gaza returns to a university campus destroyed by war: Clock ticking on admissions Another obstacle the students are facing is expiry dates on admissions or scholarships. Meera told CBC News she has already twice deferred starting at the University of Regina, and is concerned about having to do that a third time. The admission letter CBC News saw for Alaa said his offer is valid only if "it is followed by a course registration in the Fall 2025 semester." Asked about delays for students who have already gotten out of Gaza and are waiting for visas elsewhere, IRCC said "each application is different, and as a result, the time it takes to process may vary. Processing times can vary based on a variety of factors, such as whether an application is complete, if IRCC has to wait for additional information, how easily IRCC can verify the information provided, and the complexity of an application." IRCC also did not directly answer a question about whether it is in touch with France or other allied countries about best practices to assist students leaving Gaza. "We can't comment on other countries' bilateral discussions with foreign governments," it said.
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Academics call on Ottawa to speed up Palestinian student visas
OTTAWA — A group of Canadian academics is calling on the federal government to speed up approvals of student visas for Palestinians after two students who were accepted at a Canadian university died before they could leave the region. Ayman Oweida, chair of the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network, said the two students, twin sisters, were killed in an airstrike in Gaza in December. The Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network is a volunteer group of Canadian academics that helps connect Palestinian students at the graduate level and above to research projects in Canada. But its work was set back by Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. The Canadian government has no diplomatic presence there — which means students in the enclave have no way to register biometric data with the government in order to complete their visa applications. The network says it has placed about 70 students in universities across the country, several with full scholarships. 'In addition to the two students that were killed, 15 students in Gaza who we've accepted have lost family members … direct family members, brothers, sisters, parents, and so on,' Oweida said. Oweida, who researches cancer treatment at the University of Sherbrooke, said one student who was supposed to work with him on a project has been stuck in Gaza for a year. He said the Canadian side of the network has reached out to MPs to try to resolve the issue, without success. 'I think the Canadian government has really an amazing opportunity here to step up its game and do something … to resolve this issue and bring these students home, home meaning Canada,' he said. One of the Canada-bound students still stranded in Gaza is Meera Falyouna, who is living near the Rafah border crossing. The 25-year-old masters student said she applied to the University of Regina while living in a tent with her family in December 2023. She was accepted to the industrial engineering program in April 2024 and submitted her Canadian student visa application in July 2024. Falyouna said she was supposed to start her studies last September. Because she's unable to provide the necessary biometric data for her visa application, she said, her file remains stuck in limbo even as she watches friends move on to study in places like France, Ireland and Italy. 'I don't want to be among the dead people. I want to be counted as dreamers, as future engineers, professors, doctors,' Falyouna told The Canadian Press. 'I want to be a person who has impact to Canada and also one day to return back to my country and help to rebuild the Palestinian academic system.' Matthew Krupovich, a spokesman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said that biometrics can only be completed once someone leaves Gaza. He added that countries in the region, including Egypt and Israel, control their own entry and exit requirements at their borders. People coming to Canada from Gaza also have to undergo an additional security screening since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. 'As security screening is conducted by agencies outside IRCC, we are unable to provide average processing times. Each application is different and as a result, the time it takes to process may vary,' Krupovich said in an email response. 'All study permit applications from around the world are assessed equally and against the same criteria, regardless of the country of origin. Security screening is one, but not the only, factor that can result in higher processing times.' The Rafah border crossing into Egypt has been closed since May 2024. Falyouna said the rest of her family got to Egypt just five days before the border closed. Falyouna said she fears she and her fellow Palestinian students could lose their placements entirely. 'I'm receiving now a support from my professor. She pushed to accept my defer letter every time, but I'm still in risk to not be accepted next time because I already asked for a defer for my admission three times before,' she said. Aaron Shafer, an associate professor specializing in genomics at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., said that a Palestinian student who was going to work with him has been trapped in Gaza for eight months. Shafer said he thinks the student has lost weight in the last eight months due to a dire shortage of food in Gaza. 'He probably weighed — just looking at photos, we've never met — 60 kilograms, but he's a small guy. And last week he said, 'We're happy because people are getting food. We haven't received any yet, but we're happy,'' Shafer said. Shafer said that about a third of the students who have been accepted by universities in Canada are already in Egypt but are still waiting for their visa applications to be processed. 'It's literally 70 students. And so that's what we're asking for, is to process the visas of 70 students that have positions in Canadian labs,' he said. For now, all Falyouna and the other students can do is wait and try to survive. 'I want to say to the Canadian government that we want to be treated as other students who came from at-risk situations from countries of the world like Ukraine and like Syria,' she said. 'We want to be to treated like them. We want to be treated fairly, we want to have the support they got. We just want to be alive to complete our dreams.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2025. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
CBC
04-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Palestinian students say visa delays have stranded them despite admission to Canadian schools
With two of their peers killed last year, more than 70 Palestinian students are raising the alarm over stalled immigration to Canada despite admissions and scholarships at universities across the country, stranding them in Gaza or nearby Egypt and Jordan as they wait out a war. "The situation in Gaza is getting hard day by day, they are targeting many crowded and random places," said Meera, an industrial engineering student who has been accepted to the University of Regina on scholarships to pursue a master's degree, but is stuck waiting in Gaza City, where she's unable to submit a completed visa application to the federal Immigration Department. "Like so many other students, I become trapped with my dreams," she told CBC News in an interview. CBC News is only using her first name due to concerns for her safety. CBC has seen her acceptance letter from the University of Regina, as well as paperwork showing she has started an immigration file with the Canadian government. In December 2024, twin sisters Sally and Dalia Ghazi were killed after being accepted into a PhD program at the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario, in what the school described as an Israeli airstrike. "They didn't even start their dreams," said Meera, who knew the sisters. "They were very excellent girls who were always asking new opportunities and new chance to know more information about opportunities in Canada," she said. WATCH | Twin sisters from Gaza set to attend Canadian university killed in war: Gaza twins set for University of Waterloo killed in war, school officials announce 7 months ago Duration 2:02 Like dozens of other students, Meera has tried getting through to Canada with the help of a Canadian non-profit called Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk. (PSSAR). According to PSSAR, there are more than 70 students who are stuck in Gaza waiting to get here. The federal government maintains the primary issue for Palestinians trying to leave Gaza and enter Canada is obtaining security clearance by providing photos and fingerprints, known as biometrics. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) cannot administer these tests on the ground since it has no presence in the war zone. "Movement out of Gaza remains extremely challenging and may not be possible at this time, as countries and other actors set their own entry and exit requirements," IRCC said in a statement. Professors find government explanation thin IRCC's explanation did not satisfy Aaron Shafer, a professor in Forensic Science at Trent University in Peterborough, who is working with the PSSAR to bring over another Palestinian student waiting in Gaza. "We know that other countries have managed to do this. France, for example, has managed to facilitate safe passage for students," he said. "I would call on and ask the Canadian government to try to facilitate something similar." In January 2025, French media reported some 32 students had managed to get to France to pursue studies over the course of the previous year, including at least one directly from Gaza. Shafer also says about a third of the students PSSAR is attempting to help have already left Gaza and are waiting in Egypt or Jordan, where the Canadian government still has yet to process their paperwork. "They could be in their lab tomorrow at the University of British Columbia or the University of Toronto, if the Canadian government would process their visas," he said. Alaa, one student CBC News spoke to in Cairo, Egypt, said he submitted his immigration paperwork in May 2024. He's been waiting for approval since then. Accepted into a PhD program in Montreal, Alaa says he has not received any update from IRCC. CBC News has also seen his documentation and is agreeing not to use his fill name in concern for his safety. Alaa says he lives alone, separated from his wife and four children who remain in Gaza, and is barely able to speak to them. He completed previous degrees in Gaza, but says his university, like all others in the territory, has been levelled in the war between Israel and Hamas that has been raging since October 2023. "That's a reason also that's made me take a decision to travel to Canada to complete my PhD, to return to Gaza, to enrich and contribute to rebuild our academic establishment." WATCH | Professor in Gaza returns to a university campus destroyed by war: 'This is really a crime:' Professor returns to ruins of Gaza university 5 months ago Duration 2:52 Clock ticking on admissions Another obstacle the students are facing is expiry dates on admissions or scholarships. Meera told CBC News she has already twice deferred starting at the University of Regina, and is concerned about having to do that a third time. The admission letter CBC News saw for Alaa said his offer is valid only if "it is followed by a course registration in the Fall 2025 semester." Asked about delays for students who have already gotten out of Gaza and are waiting for visas elsewhere, IRCC said "each application is different, and as a result, the time it takes to process may vary. Processing times can vary based on a variety of factors, such as whether an application is complete, if IRCC has to wait for additional information, how easily IRCC can verify the information provided, and the complexity of an application." IRCC also did not directly answer a question about whether it is in touch with France or other allied countries about best practices to assist students leaving Gaza.
