Abd learned early that waiting can become a form of resistance.
In Gaza, waiting meant living suspended between one interruption and another. Power cuts, closed crossings, interrupted studies, broken plans. Life did not unfold; it stagnated. Yet Abd continued to study, to prepare, to believe that knowledge was not wasted even when the future seemed unreachable.
He was accepted to study abroad. A scholarship. A spot. A university that had said yes. On paper, his future existed. In reality, it was sealed behind borders that do not respond to merit, commitment, or time.
While others left before him, Abd stayed. Not because he did not meet the requirements, but because permits are not granted equally. He saw evacuation lists change, names appear and disappear, voices spread and collapse. He learned the vocabulary of bureaucracy under siege: “pending,” “under review,” “not yet authorized.”
Every delay was not just administrative. It was physical. The body absorbs uncertainty. The mind lives in permanent alert. Abd carried the weight of knowing that every postponed departure meant greater exposure to danger, more sleepless nights, more calculations about survival.
He did not ask for shortcuts. He asked for clarity.
The legal work began where patience ended. The files were examined, appeals were filed, verifications were requested. The lawyers did not fight out of compassion, but for rights. In the end, the confirmation came: Abd had the right to leave Gaza. Not as an exception. As a person who has the right to move towards his studies, his future, his life.
At that point, the wait had already changed him.
Abd will arrive carrying more than just luggage. He will carry the awareness of what it means to be denied movement in a world that speaks incessantly of mobility. He will carry the memory of those who could not leave. He will carry a responsibility — not imposed, but felt.
He is not leaving Gaza because it has disappointed him. He is leaving because staying would erase his future.
Abd's story is not about rescue. It is about persistence. About insisting that education is not a luxury. About refusing to let borders determine the value of a life.
When he arrives, he will not arrive whole. But he will arrive determined. And this too is a form of survival.