At barely twenty years old, a team of student university officers had the lives of Said Zaneen and his family on their shoulders – and they were going to do whatever they could to get them home.

A Geography Postgraduate Research (PGR) student who was working in Sheffield, Said Zaneen, was on an academic leave of absence in Gaza when violence escalated on October 7 after the Hamas attacks on Israel.

Alongside his wife and two kids, Said was trapped – and the people who could help were 3,754km away, in the UK. 

Earlier that year, Maria Jose Lourido Moreno and Lily Byrne were elected to the Sheffield Student’s Union Officer Team as the Education officer and President respectively – and in October, they became aware of Said. 

At a higher education conference, Maria was approached by the head of Student Support Services at the time, Andy Winters. He pulled her aside and alerted her of the situation – he asked if she’s okay with sharing her details with Said so that they can remain in contact.

Speaking on it, Lily says: “She was told in such a ‘well that’s happening’ kind of way, and obviously Maria – incredible human she is – instantly thought about how do we do it?, how do we help him?, and how do we help his family?”

Maria shared the story with Lily and the (at the time) Sustainability and Welfare officer, Jo Campling, and the three began to work together on getting Said home. 

“We took everything in turns,” Maria said, “It’s a lot of emotional and physical labour to recognise and know that ‘oh s**t! These five people’s lives are fully and completely in our hands, and we’re all only 21.’

“This is our full time job and now we have people’s lives on our hands.”

The main thing was getting Said a visa, who relinquished his own when he began his leave. To do this, the team needed to prove: 1. Said had the income to support himself, 2. Said had the qualifications to be here, and 3. Said actually had an offer from the university.

Getting the offer was the easy part – it was proving his finances that posed the biggest hurdle. According to Maria, that factor had several problems in itself:

She says: “How do you get an untouched bank account in Gaza? How do you get £9,200 in said account?

“The only way we could find a way out of that situation was if the university admitted to financially sponsoring him through the Palestinian Scholarship – but that only applies to taught students, and he’s a PGR.”

The Palestinian Scholarship was set up in 2014, in part by both the SU Officer team at the time and Sheffield Student Action for Refugees. It covers the cost of tuition, accommodation in an en-suite room and a maintenance award of £5,000 for Postgraduate taught students.

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The trio continued to search for solutions, even getting in contact with former MP Paul Blomfield, who Lily says was ‘very connected to students’ and ‘incredible at communicating to us about the logistics of what the government could do.’

“Some of the hardest parts of this entire ordeal was not knowing.” Maria shares, “There were entire days where there wasn’t any internet – where there was no communication. There was always a feeling of ‘we’re not going to make it! We won’t do this in time for this family to come out alive!’”

Said communicated with the trio through his supervisor – it’s a decision Lily says was taken as to not overwhelm him too much.

She says: “When somebody’s going through that, the last thing you want is people contacting you. There was already PalSoc, who was great at having a support network across the UK. There were pro-bono lawyers and other specific support already directly communicating with him.”

After months of working with MPs and discussion with the uni, a decision was made; the University of Sheffield would give the scholarship to Said and also cover his dependents. He  managed to get out of Gaza, and into Egypt and, eventually, alongside his family, made his way to the UK in March 2024.

Images from Sheffield SU

For Maria and Lily, it was one part of an already very full day, as it was the same night that Maria was re-elected as the Education Officer, and Lily stepped down as President. 

Lily recalls: “I was sat in Endcliffe park and Maria called me, and told me that he had crossed the border. I just completely bawled my eyes out. It took me a good couple days not to cry. 

“I specifically remember later, after my time as President was officially over, sitting in the SU and sat down opposite me was Said and his kids. I had told Maria this, and she asked me If I spoke to him, and I said no. The least I could do was to just see that he’s here, with his family, safe.”

Maria adds:  “I was suddenly reminded of the impact that a few people can have, and the strength that comes with holding each other’s hands and saying ‘we’re getting through this, no matter what.

“If there’s anything that Student Union’s are for, it’s for things like this.”

It’s like Maria said, having the lives of a family being placed on people who were barely twenty is a big ask, but for all involved – it was no reason to give it up. 

For both women, it was their position as an elected member of the Officer Team that gave them the motivation they needed to support Said.

“As officers, it often feels like the weight of 30,000 people is on your shoulders,” Maria shares, “But it’s why I was elected. If my life is going to be worth anything, and if I’m going to do anything with my life, It’s to do something good.

“I’ve been given the power and responsibility – it’s to use it for good.”

Both Maria and Lily have made the decision to not communicate with Said. It comes from not wanting to add to the pressure of a stressful situation, and a recognition that speaking with them  isn’t ‘his main priority.’

But Lily says that if she ever got the chance to say something to him, she would “wish him the best.”

She continued: “I think I would send my condolences for everyone that he may have lost during that period, but it’s something that I don’t think you can escape or forget about.

“I don’t know what kind of comfort my words could give, but I would just hope for him and his family and his kids and his wife.”

To go through such a heavy experience at such a young age definitely had an impact on everyone involved – with Maria even admitting that she isn’t ‘the same person she used to be.’

Through everything, what kept the trio afloat was the community that they had built for each other – Jo, Lily, and Maria all relied on each other for support, and were always available to take the weight off each other when needed. 

“I think I’ve learned that you need people around you and community and support systems to help you do everything.” Lily shares, “Humans I think, by nature, are social beings. I think having people around you that can push you and keep you going is vital.”

In the end, it wasn’t about changing the world – it was about doing what they could with what they had. For the trio of Maria, Lily, and Jo- helping one family reach safety was reason enough to keep going. It’s a reminder that sometimes the best way to solve an incredible problem is to come together and work together as a team. 

You can read Lily’s statement from when Said officially made it to the UK here.

Featured image from Forge Press