Four university students in urgent need of medical treatment in London have been denied visas to the UK, reports Mariz Tadros At noon on 9 April Mohamed Fawzi was attending a lecture at the Faculty of Commerce, Alexandria University. Outside he could hear a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians. When the lecture ended he joined fellow students in one of the many solidarity rallies which have swept the country. Demonstrators poured onto the streets. During the ensuing confrontation with anti-riot police a rubber bullet pierced Mohamed's eye. When he regained consciousness he found himself in hospital with many others. "The doctors said I needed an operation, but they would not perform the surgery because the risks were too high," Fawzi told Al-Ahram Weekly. "They advised that such an operation could only be performed abroad." Overseas eye operations were also recommended for three other students hit by rubber bullets during the Alexandria demonstration, Tarek Shehata and Sabri Mohamed from the Faculty of Commerce, and law student Hisham Mohamed. After 17 days in hospital Fawzi, blind in one eye, was advised to undergo surgery as soon as possible. Following several appeals the government agreed to pay to send the four students abroad for the operations. The Egyptian Ministry of Health chose London Bridge Hospital in the UK. Payment was transferred to the hospital and the operations scheduled for 11 June. Fawzi thought they had overcome the biggest hurdle. The four students applied for visas at the British Embassy on 19 May and, as Fawzi recalled, from the outset any mention of their injury in the demonstrations was met with apprehension. They were, he said, questioned thoroughly about their role in the demonstrations and their political beliefs. Fawzi said that they were advised not to apply because their application would be rejected. "The president of Alexandria University vouched that we are not politically active students," said Fawzi, "and that he is willing personally to guarantee that we will not overstay our visas." The visa section at the British Consulate scheduled a date for interview in July despite protests that the operation was due on 11 June. They were then told the interview had been brought forward to 9 June. When they did go they were informed that their applications had been rejected and the decision was final. Among the reasons given for rejection was the students' economic situation: there was no guarantee they would not overstay their visas and search for jobs. By refusing the visas, says human rights activist Gasser Abdel-Razek, the UK is violating the UN convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Under Article 2 and 12 of the Convention, the UK is bound, within its resources, to make health services accessible. Suzanne Fayad, of the Nadim Centre for the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, is shocked at the application of double standards by Western governments "who call upon governments in developing countries to respect human rights when they themselves do not observe them." Gareth Bayley, press attaché at the British Embassy, denied that the students' visa requests were rejected because of their participation in demonstrations. "All we can say is that the visa officer believes their application does not indicate they are genuinely seeking entry for the purpose and period stated in the application," Bayley told the Weekly. He also claimed there were discrepancies in the stories which the students told the visa officer regarding the circumstances surrounding their injuries. "It is entirely natural that our stories are not identical," Fawzi said. "We are not all in the same faculty, nor the same years, and the first time we met each other was in hospital. We were all injured in different confrontations on that day." According to an official in Alexandria University President's office, the university provided the British Consulate in Cairo with documents confirming the validity of the students' visa applications; endorsements were also provided by the Egyptian Consulate in London and the Egyptian Council of Ministers confirming that the Egyptian government would finance the students' medical treatment. While Bayley admitted that there "were obviously strong references in their favour", he added that they were of "secondary importance". The decision, he said, was based on the application form filled in by the applicants and the interview with the visa officer. Fawzi emphasised that it was not his choice to go to London, but the government's. "I told them I didn't care where I had my operation done, here, in England or anywhere, I just wanted my eye back." Tarek Shehata is equally desperate: "At the moment I can only decipher darkness and light, I can't even see shadows. The doctor told me if I don't have an operation this week I may never recover my eyesight." The four men intend to begin application procedures with the Spanish Consulate if the British remain adamant. But although Western consulates insist their visa policies have not changed following 11 September, a shadow appears to have been cast over Arab visa applicants in general. "It is an insult to the Egyptian government and its people when so many government officials vouch for these students and are completely disregarded," said Fayad. On Saturday the Al-Nadim Centre issued a statement saying "the position may be an expression of an almost global official sentiment that tolerates human rights violations [against] Arabs on the basis of their being potential or possible terrorists." Fawzi is scheduled to have a minor operation soon to delay the deterioration of his eye until he is able to have major surgery abroad. The longer he waits, though, the slimmer the chances of success.
