Palestinian teenage artist slams 'UK racist policies' after being denied entry

When Malak Mattar, an 18-year-old artist who lived through three major Israeli assaults on the besieged Gaza Strip was invited to the UK to showcase her work at an exhibition, she was nothing short of excited.

Malak was supposed to enter the UK for the Greenbelt Art Festival in England between 24 to 27 August after she had received an invitation to attend the festival to showcase her artwork.

“I was invited to two exhibitions – one in France and one in the UK,” Malak told The New Arab.

“Before I got my rejection from the UK, France refused to give me a visa but I wasn’t too upset because I had the UK and I was sure I would get accepted,” she added.

To make sure she would get accepted, she submitted her application through an agency called Real World Office and compiled all of the necessary and extra documents needed for her application and submitted it three weeks ago.

“I was so sure I was going to get it. Besides, if anything was a red flag, the office I applied through would have told me.”

She had even applied with a supporting letter from Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who was eager to support the teenager’s endeavor in promoting her artwork worldwide.

In the letter Warsi emphasised Malak's trip to the UK would "enhance" her "education and artistic experience".

But on 17 August, Malak was shocked to find out her application was rejected. She was not given a right to appeal her case because authorities suspected she was intending to settle in the country.

“One of the reasons behind my rejection was because they said I did not provide sufficient evidence that I’m a student,” Malak said, despite living in Turkey on a student visa and providing official evidence from the university to prove her enrolment.

“The UK Visas and Immigration Office accused me of not providing satisfactory proof that I am a student because I am not actively attending university yet and I don’t have grades to prove my academic ability. It makes no sense because my semester has not even started yet and I officially start my classes on 15 September.”

Malak's painting of Frida Khalo Click to enlarge [Malak Mattar]

“How am I supposed to provide grades if the university itself hasn’t even begun?"

Money was also an issue in her rejection, despite the fact that “every last detail” of her expenses was paid for by Greenbelt. “I was even put in a five-star hotel – I tried to give them no reason to reject my application but they still made up excuses,” she said.

Malak had also insisted that a bank statement was not necessary in her application but she had included one regardless.

The Home Office had used the bank statement to say her financial situation is somewhat irregular. Malak had shown that she gets £300 from her family and friends monthly to support her in Turkey and had sent over a bank statement proving that she has around £2,000 extra reserved from her family’s savings.

“I asked my dad to open up a bank account for me and to transfer some of our savings to it so I can prove that I am able to sustain myself financially with a fund in any emergency during my UK visit,” she said.

“I’m sure if I didn’t include the statement to prove I have savings, they would have had made up some sort of an excuse to say I don’t have enough money,” Malak added.

Malak asserted that race had played its role in her rejection “It all seems like excuses to me, especially as a Palestinian. It’s not fair. I am just an artist trying to get my work out.”

She added that the fact that she was given no right to appeal confirmed her suspicions to herself: "They could have at least given me the right to appeal so I can at least address their queries instead of just discard my case like this."

“I definitely feel like racism had a lot to play in the application and I felt like the way they found excuses and accused me of trying to settle in the UK was filled with hatred. It doesn’t seem like they even gave my application a proper consideration.”

The New Arab contacted the UK Home Office for a comment and to directly ask why Malak was given no right to appeal.

“All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules”, a Home Office spokesperson said.

“The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that they satisfy the immigration rules.”