Doha was invaded by Iran, which led to the evacuation of parts of Education City.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Student housing at Education City, a research and education complex with satellite campuses of six US institutions just outside the Qatari capital, Doha, was evacuated shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday amid warnings of an impending attack. Qatar’s Ministry of Defense later confirmed that its forces had successfully intercepted the missile, Al Jazeera reported.
American universities with campuses in Education City, managed by the Qatar Foundation, are Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth and Weill Cornell Medicine. These agencies have been working remotely for weeks now during the US and Israel’s war with Iran.
According to Francisco Marmolejo, president of higher education at the Qatar Foundation, 282 students living in dormitories were moved to hotels and other accommodations for one night before returning the next day. Other parts of the complex were not evacuated, he said. He noted that only about a quarter of Education City students live in dormitories.
“We are living in an unusual time in Qatar, as you can imagine, but … there has been an amazing cooperation between all universities, firstly, reducing the risk of students and, secondly, in ensuring the continuity of education in online ways and making the necessary changes in terms of testing and everything else,” said Marmolejo. “We have learned a lot during the times of COVID and those lessons we have learned have been very useful in this situation at this time.”
Carnegie Mellon CEO Michael Trick confirmed in an update Sunday that CMU students living in Education City dorms moved out Saturday morning; they were informed the same day that it was safe to return.
“All students chose to go back, but it was a long, stressful day for them. To all the students affected, I know the entire community wishes you a peaceful and restful night tonight,” Trick wrote.
Northwestern’s student newspaper, The Daily Northwesternthey also reported that the students living in the dormitories received a message from the Qatar Foundation Student Housing & Residence Life at 1:54 am on Saturday morning, prompting them to leave with enough of their belongings to last at least three days.
Indee Thotawattage, assistant director of student information at Northwestern-Qatar, said in an email that some students are already working to leave the country, according to The Daily Northwestern. The university, in partnership with VCU and Texas A&M, had organized a bus trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier in the week. From there, students, staff and their families were responsible for arranging their flights.
The CMU update also noted that there are now limited flights from Doha’s Hamad International Airport available to anyone who wants to “voluntarily leave Qatar.”
VCU, meanwhile, has been allowing students and staff to study or work abroad since March 5, days after the US launched its war on Iran.
“The decision to relocate is entirely yours. If you choose to travel, the school’s twice-a-year flight allowance for eligible staff will be credited on March 15 and can support your temporary relocation funding. All other costs related to travel and temporary relocation will be your responsibility,” campus leaders wrote in a message to the Qatar campus community at the time. “Currently, there is no set date to return to Qatar. We will continue to monitor the situation as it changes, we realize that it is difficult to predict. You will be informed when a reasonable date for the return is identified.”
Marmolejo noted that some Education City institutions also allow students and faculty to study and work outside of Qatar.
“All universities have been providing flexibility for people who decide to leave the country for a while, with the idea that they will return when the situation is normal. I hope that will happen,” he said.
Some students and faculty had already left the country for spring break when the conflict began and were unable to return to Qatar, he added.
Most of the Education City campuses have not published updates since Saturday’s evacuation.
