Cwtch Pals helps secure UK visa for orphaned Gaza teenager

The visa was issued to Amer, a 13-year-old orphan who was seriously injured during a bombing.

His uncle, Dr Yousef Khatib, a former consultant radiologist at Glangwili Hospital, lost almost his entire immediate family in the March bombing. Only his nephew Amer survived.

Dr Yousef, who now works for the NHS in Liverpool, fought first to get Amer out of Gaza and to hospital in Egypt, then to join him and his family in the UK. United.

During this process, Cwtch Pals, a group of mothers from Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion raising funds to get children and families out of Gaza, was instrumental.

“At the end of March, a doctor in Glangwili asked me if I could help his colleague, Dr Yousef Khatib,” said Vicky Moller of Cwtch Pals.

Dr. Yousef lost almost his entire Gazan family in a single bombing. Only one nephew survived but was seriously injured.

“I called Dr. Yousef and his voice broke as he told me he could not work or do anything other than try to rescue his nephew who was lying on the floor of a crowded hospital in Gaza, under threat. by the bombings,” Vicky said.

Dr Yousef appealed for help to the British public and, within a week, 100,000 people helped raise £20,000 to take Amer to a hospital in Egypt and pay for his treatment.

Cwtch Pals and other groups supported these efforts, seeking help from Lord Alf Dubs, himself a Jew rescued by the Kinder transport, and help from the Egyptian embassy in London.

The next step was to obtain a visa for Dr Yousef to leave the UK to be alongside Amer in hospital, which was also achieved.

“Yousef had told me in his broken voice that if he could not get permission for Amer to join his family in England, they would have to take their three daughters out of school and emigrate to give Amer a loving family able to support him, wherever he is. “, Vicky said.

Vicky said other families in the UK with injured or orphaned young parents in Gaza have applied for a visa so that child can join their family in Britain, but each application has been rejected.

Vicky was present at the debate in Parliament, forced by a 100,000 signature petition, earlier this month where the issue of visas for Gaza refugees was discussed, but she was disappointed by the minister's response to cross-party calls.

Undaunted, Vicky encouraged Dr Yousef to apply for Amer's visa and pressured MPs to ask the minister to approve the teenager's application to join his family in the UK.

“Today I learned that the application was successful,” Vicky said. “There are tears of relief at this small burst of light in a completely dark moment in human history.

“Credit goes to everyone who signed this petition, forcing debate, as well as activists like Safe Passage, and yes, our local Cwtch Pals who are making a lasting difference to a few families, lighting small candles in the black. .”

You can find out more about Cwtch Pals' work on Instagram and Facebook.

Next month the band are holding a fundraising concert for Gaza, featuring Timbali, The Undercover Hippy and A Band Named Brian, on June 7 at Trehale Farm, Mathry.

For more information about the group or to help in any way, contact members via Facebook.