Student solidarity: The development and value of informal peer-to-peer networks for sanctuary scholars

Mohammad Naeim Maleki (UEA), Rohullah Hakimi (UEA), Saifullah Danishwar (UEA) and Ali Ahmadi (UEA)

This practice-sharing story addresses a critical but underexplored aspect of the University of Sanctuary (UoS) work: how refugee and asylum-seeking students support one another across cohorts through informal, peer-led models of solidarity. While university-led sanctuary initiatives are rightly recognised as essential and supportive, recent research also highlights the vital role of student peer support and the value of lived experience in shaping inclusive sanctuary spaces in higher education (Speed et al., 2020).

This panel presents the lived experiences and practices of sanctuary students at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Panellists will represent different cohorts (2021/22 to 2024/25), highlighting how earlier arrivals connected to the UoS team, accessed support, and later became contributors themselves.

The panel will explore the following themes:

  • Inclusive engagement models: mentoring, mental health support, and access to university facilities
  • Practical challenges faced by newcomers: housing, family responsibilities, children’s schooling, and financial hardship
  • Evolving chains of engagement: how each cohort of sanctuary students built upon the efforts of those before them

The session will also address cultural sensitivities, such as how some sanctuary students may feel more comfortable sharing concerns with peers first. This ensures that UoS support remains culturally responsive to individual comfort levels.

This practice-sharing panel ultimately highlights how a community of sanctuary students can provide effective, culturally nuanced support for newcomers, and how this evolving “chain of solidarity” contributes meaningfully to the UoS mission. It emphasises both the practical and emotional dimensions of solidarity-building within higher education institutions.

  • Rohullah Hakimi is a PhD student at the UEA’s School of Global Development. His research focuses on the localisation of Community-Based Education (CBE) in Afghanistan, exploring its challenges, opportunities and implications. His broader interests include educational inequality, localisation and community participation in education in conflict-affected contexts. He previously worked in education programme management, quality assurance and monitoring with international NGOs and donors in Afghanistan.
  • Mohammad Naeim Maleki is a postgraduate researcher at the UEA’s School of Education and Lifelong Learning. His research focuses on the intersection of literacies, identity construction, agency and empowerment among male adult literacy learners in conflict affected states. He taught literacy and languages in different countries. He has worked with UN agencies in conflict areas, focusing on education and peace. Naeim has published research papers on teaching methodologies, literacies and education.
  • Ali Ahmadi is an incoming PhD student at Anglia Ruskin University, where he will research refugee higher education with a focus on the support services offered by Universities of Sanctuary and the experiences of refugee students engaging with these supports. His broader interests include refugee housing, health inequalities, and access to education for displaced communities. He also works directly with refugee organisations such as City of Sanctuary, supporting refugees in accessing essential services including housing and Employment supports.
  • Saifullah Danishwar is an MSc student in Impact Evaluation at the UEA’s School of Global Development. He is an economist and a finance and fundraising expert with extensive experience in the development sector, having worked with international NGOs and consultancies in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the USA, Yemen, and Ukraine. His research interests focus on trade policy and its economic impacts, with a broader interest in international development, economic policy, and the financial sustainability of programs in fragile and conflict-affected settings.