Gaza-based poet Alaa Al-Qatrawi is still waiting to be evacuated as part of the PAUSE Program

The Gazan poet Alaa Al-Qatrawi, a recipient of the PAUSE program, remains in Gaza despite the approval of her relocation application by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Her supporters in France—including writers and public figures who signed an open letter published in Le Monde in November 2025, as well as a support committee based in Dieulefit (Drôme)—regret that the French authorities approved her evacuation to France without ensuring that the decision could be effectively implemented.

In regular contact with the Ministry, they criticize what they describe as a lack of concrete progress while the poet’s wait continues and her situation remains precarious. According to them, the lifting of the suspension of the PAUSE program has not led to any significant improvement for awardees still stranded in Gaza, several of whom remain unable to reach the French institutions that have committed to hosting them.