KUALA NERUS - A Palestinian graduate's wish to receive his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) convocation today will never be achieved.
Informatics and Computing student Saber T R Syouri, 50, said that the deteriorating situation in Palestine currently does not allow him to come to Malaysia.
However, Saber expressed his gratitude towards Allah and the UniSZA for awarding him with a PHD.
"I would like to apologise. I can’t be there (at UniSZA) on this special day to graduate.
"This is because the situation here is dangerous and complicated. Pray for Palestine and Muslims.
"Thank you for everything. Thank you, Terengganu. Thank you, UniSZA, and thank you all,” he said.
He said this via a video recording that was played during the 15th UniSZA Convocation Ceremony (First Session) here on Sunday.
It was understood that Saber was taking refuge in the West Bank, and he had lost several family members, including a daughter and a son, in the recent Palestinian attacks.
The ceremony had six UniSZA graduates from Palestine who should have attended to receive their PhD and master’s degrees.
However, only one was present, and that was Health Sciences Faculty PhD graduate Hanan Kamel Mohammed Saad, 51.
The four other Palestinian graduates who did not attend failed to be contacted, and their whereabouts were unknown at the time.
Palestinians were now facing challenging times where thousands were killed after the continuous attacks by the Zionist Israel regime.
The death toll of Palestinians due to the continuous Israel bombings in the Gaza Strip had risen to 9,500 individuals.
Over half of the total victims were women and children.