Immigrant Student's Dream Funded by Strangers After Online Hate Campaign
Staring at her phone in disbelief, Alaa Radwan saw that strangers had donated £40,000, meeting her family's goal to fund her Master's studies in Britain. For a moment, everything went quiet inside her. She hugged her husband and cried, not just from relief but from shock that unknown people chose to support her dream.
The family ordered a cake, celebrated with singing and dancing. Her three children, all under five, didn't fully grasp the scale but knew something life-changing had occurred. They thought it was a birthday cake, so the family let it be one. After surviving the flee from Gaza in May 2024, this celebration marked a new life secured, defying hateful trolls who wished for their failure.
A Dream Deferred and Revived
Alaa's aspiration to pursue an MA in Britain began in 2016 at age 24, when she received three unconditional offers but couldn't secure funding. She paused her dream, building a career as a teacher, getting married, and having children, yet never forgetting her goal. Before the war, life was stable with jobs and a beautiful home, despite recurring Israeli attacks.
During the conflict, the family fled to Egypt to protect their children. Alaa, a teacher at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, was placed on forced exceptional leave but continued teaching Gaza students online. She and her husband started teaching Arabic online globally to support themselves and help families back home. Simultaneously, Alaa wrote articles on Substack, sharing her experiences in Palestine, amassing around 2,000 subscribers who valued hearing directly from Gazans.
In January, her contract was terminated as the war took their home and jobs, stripping any remaining stability. This loss reignited her dream. Researching British universities, she focused on media and communications, choosing Goldsmiths. Within a week, she prepared intensively for the IELTS, wrote her personal statement and research proposal, and received an unconditional offer for a Master's by Research.
Crowdfunding and Online Backlash
To fund her MA and family living expenses, Alaa created a GoFundMe on March 13, raising about £600 in three days. Sharing it on X on March 17, she hoped for a few thousand pounds. Hours later, a Reform MP and former Home Secretary shared her post, criticizing universities for 'selling immigration instead of education' and questioning her right to bring her family, insinuating system abuse.
Her words framed it as an optional luxury, sparking awful attacks and hateful messages claiming they were 'not welcome' and that '95% of the country' disliked them. Thankfully, this negative attention spurred a donation surge to around £16,000, with kind messages like 'Good luck with your studies' and assurances of welcome. However, Alaa was shocked by the hate's volume and intensity, forcing her to delete the X post—which had over 6.5 million views in 10 hours—and deactivate her account temporarily.
Trolls even reported her fundraiser as a scam, prompting GoFundMe to pause fund transfers. Alaa underwent an exhausting verification process, requiring direct confirmation from Goldsmiths of her MA to keep the page active.
Media Intervention and Goal Achievement
On March 29, Owen Jones interviewed Alaa, where she discussed the attacks and her experience. The response shifted dramatically, with donations flooding in. Two days later, she reached her £40,000 goal. Alaa has paid her deposit to Goldsmiths and awaits confirmation to apply for a student visa, hoping to move to London in August 2026, weeks before her MA begins.
The family plans full self-support in the UK, with her husband teaching full-time and Alaa working up to 20 hours weekly as an international student. After her master's, she aims for a PhD and to continue writing and speaking about Gaza.
For months, uncertainty shaped her life, waking each day unsure of the future. Now, breathing feels possible again. This experience reminded her that even in dark moments, people choose kindness and champion strangers. That feeling will always stay with her.
