Catalan universities to host 20 refugee students

Catalan universities are to host twenty refugee students currently residing in Lebanon so that they may continue their studies in the coming academic year. The group is made up of 5 girls and 15 boys, mostly of Syrian origin, but also from Pakistan and Palestine, who relocated to the Levant country due to ongoing hardships in their own homelands.

Displaced from war-torn lands

The project was put in motion by the Catalan administration. The students will arrive in Catalonia already in possession of a student visa, before being installed either in Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Lleida, or Vic.

According to Oriol Amorós, the Secretary of Equality, Migration and Citizenship, the Catalan administration is working closely with the Spanish embassy in Lebanon in order to process the students’ visas.

Amorós also explained how each student will receive an average of 10,000 euros from the government in order to cover their expenses, depending where they end up studying. For him, it is a matter of duty.

"As democratic countries, we have the obligation to contribute, making it so life does not stop for people and so they can continue studying, and when the war finishes, they will be able to return to their own country and help rebuild it," he said.

A unique programme

The universities and research, Acardi Navarro, stated that this hosting programme is “unique” in Europe, as they are only aware of similar initiatives existing in Japan and Canada.

Navarro also urged citizens to contribute to the reception of these students, in terms of finding a flat to live or general integration into Catalan society. The students are expected to arrive in May.