St. Anthony’s is offering a graduate scholarship to help a Syrian refugee

Only one Oxford College is currently helping refugees displaced by the largest humanitarian crisis of recent years. 

St. Anthony’s is offering the Oxford Jusoor Graduate Scholarship, for a one year Master’s degree, to one student a year who is a Syrian citizen or stateless person living in Syria.

Oxford has long been a member of the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) and there are currently four CARA Scholars in Oxford.

Chapel of St Anthony’s College

When asked what action the University was taking, we were informed: “the University and Colleges are planning substantially to increase our involvement in this scheme in order to help academics especially from Syria and neighbouring countries.”

This suggests we can expect an influx of Syrian academics in the coming weeks and months.

The  lack of action from the University comes in the context that it has it’s own Refugees Studies Centre, founded in 1982 with a mission to build knowledge and understanding of forced migration.

Other British universities have responded to the crisis commendably. Warwick, Sheffield and UEL have all offered scholarships to refugees, and the University of York is launching a £500,000 package of initiatives to aid refugees.

Local refugee charity, Asylum Welcome, informed us of a surge in support for their work following the “Solidarity with Refugees” rally in London, with a 100 new volunteers offering their assistance in the two weeks following the march.

They also stressed the importance and volume of the help they had received from the Oxford Hub. This shows a strong commitment from Oxford’s students, but will it be backed up by support from the University?