PALESTINIAN peace campaigner 'Deacon Dave' Harvard is celebrating after learning that he and wife Arwa will be able to celebrate their first wedding anniversary back home in Sheffield – after British authorities relented and granted her a visa.
Dave, who describes himself as a Christian Muslim, married Arwa in Palestine last October. But they were parted after six weeks when Arwa's application for a visa was turned down.
Dave returned home alone, determined to fight the decision. But dre
ams of a reunion looked bleaker still when his lawyer dropped the case, on the grounds that they were unlikely to win.
He attended last month's court hearing, made his case, then flew out immediately to join Arwa in Hebron. Both feared that they were destined to be parted again when the ruling came through – and that they would have to find more money to fight on.
This week there was jubilation and relief when the court announced its decision.
"Wonderful news!" Dave told friends waiting anxiously for news back home in Sheffield. "Arwa's visa appeal was approved, and we don't have to pay another £515 to apply again. God willing we can come to England around October 10."
The couple are continuing their peacekeeping work in Palestine. But they hope to make their home in Burngreave, where Dave is a member of a radical Christian Ashram community.
